Battery Troubles

Just got back from the dealer….dealer is a good one because he assumes Im honest first and foremost then checks for himself…his gauge reads the same as mine but his load meter does not drop the voltage below 10V which actually IS a dead battery….I agree, from this point forward I will check every battery I take off the shelf and that is solid advice for anybody. 10.75 VOLTS is a dead battery. He called Interstate who simply said, “BS…there is nothing wrong with the battery because that has never happened”…this was said despite my dealer telling him what he has got as well (dealer was peeved as well). I left the battery at the dealer who put it on his charger and I am to return at 4:00 to see what hes got….who knows what will happen then considering that Interstate said ,”BS”. So…now being self employed I have spent my day pulling batteries from my boat, troubleshooting, driving 35 miles one way to the Interstate dealer, being told by the Interstate rep that Im full of it, driving back because there is nothing else to do and the hour I can spend in the shop is worth it, then have to go back and see what the results were…meanwhile my 50K rig sits there all pretty doing nothing…ok big deal, I cant go out this evening or this weekend because my battery that was dead in eleven months died and I was given a dud as a replacement…I got 50K I spent that says, yeah…its a big deal. As a self employed machinist who personally owns CNC equipment capable of repeating within a fraction of the width of a hair…it is not only frustrating but quite frankly a bit of an insult to be told by a manufacturer that “it cant be faulty”….BS…there is no such thing as ONE HUNDRED PERCENT in manufacturing PERIOD! Not saying all this to bash BCB…just a story to let you guys know what is actually happening on the street by the manufacturers that you use.

I appreciate the sentiments etc. regarding your perception of quality manufacturers…here is how it went down for me (just got back). Went to the dealer who had my battery on charge since I left, upon my return we both went back, pulled it off of charge and measured it at 11.9 Volts (should be like 12.8+) and when loaded it dropped to 10.9 Volts…what does that tell you? (10.9 V is a BAD BATTERY and this one will not hold a charge). This is RIGHT AFTER CHARGE and anybody that knows batteries will tell you that it will “settle down” in an hour or so therefore it will be exactly where it was when I dropped it off…11 VOLTS unloaded. That tells me I was given a replacement that is a bad battery….the dealer agrees but does not want to get stuck holding the bag…the Interstate rep wants to “see it for himself”…on Monday because he simply cannot fathom that there is a possibility that one of there batteries was bad from the word go which reasonably tells me that he susupects something is “fishy” and that the dealer is “in on it” too or that we are just collectively too stupid to check a battery. I was told to come back Monday….given the fact that I have a friend coming in from out of town and we were to spend some time on the water…I angrily bought a new battery. It is BS…AGAIN…the end user takes it in the shorts…it is not right and when I need some backup it is not there!!!! (Not you…because I never asked for you to get involved…it should happen at the dealer level) Since I bought my boat…that is now $5-600.00 I have dropped into it to “keep it going” that I should not have to have dropped into it…that is the bottom line. My “experience” with my boat has been great except when there is a problem. The boat itself is great and I expect problems to arise…it is how those problems are “taken care of” that Im growing very tired of and it is quite frankly a little disheartening to wonder when the next thing will “go wrong”…I am fully aware it is going to take alot of driving, frustration, and ultimately $$$ to replace my “warranty” items. Now, having vented…There is some good….My original ProPak went bad…one phone call and an explanation…I had a new one at my door within days no questions asked…I was thrilled. Had a trailer solenoid go bad…one phone call and it was at my door in a few days…I was thrilled. So…Cul-M-Rite +1 ; BCB +1 ; Lowrance = Buyer Beware ; Interstate = Buyer Beware. Again, this is not a Bash BCB thread…this is telling it how it is and hopefully you can appreciate the feedback on what is happening with the manufacturers you choose on the street level. (I sincerely do believe you try to pick the best product/support that you can). As a Machine Shop owner…I gotta tell you, Im in the wrong business…I would love to be able to take the “position” that “hey, Im just the middle man here”