A trades instructor tells newcomers that loose wires, dirty coils, and missing screws cause most failures, not the obvious breakdowns. Noticing small problems is a skill you have to train yourself to develop, and it's what separates good technicians from the rest.
If you're new to the trades, it's easy to focus only on the big problems. The failed compressor, the empty system, the obvious failure. The small things matter though. Loose wires, dirty coils, missing screws. Small things don't take long to become big things, and technicians who notice small things prevent big problems later on down the road. Attention isn't automatic though. It's trained, and it becomes one of your greatest strengths. And now you know, and now you can help someone else know.
