I have been buying batteries for my cars, trucks, and boats from Wal-Mart for many years. They have always been great at swapping out batteries whenever I had any problems with them, including just wearing out. The last few times I have been there, I have had to deal with their new procedure. They insist on checking the battery before going any further with the process. That?s fine with me. I?m not there to rip anybody off ? I just need a new battery. But they always insist the batteries I bring in are good, and give me a really hard time replacing them.
This weekend, I was trying to bring my batteries back to life on my ?toon. I have three onboard, and none of them would keep a charge. They were all on the charger over night, but, no matter what combination I put the batteries in, I could not get the motor to turn more than about a half a turn. I put a meter on one, and could watch the voltage slowly drop from 12.8v to below 10v in just a few minutes. These batteries are baad, m?kay?
I took them to Wal-Mart, and after selecting the batteries I wanted, their tech started the testing routine. He hooked his little magic box to the first battery ? it?s good. Then the next battery ? it?s good, too. And the last battery ? yep, it?s good. I know for a fact that these batteries are toast. I explained that none of these batteries would crank my outboard motor, and I can turn that motor by hand, so it doesn?t take much. Besides, the batteries are three years old, so I didn?t expect to get anything for them ? I just needed to replace them.
He handed me the printout from the tester, and sent me up to Customer Service. They couldn?t figure out what to do, so I wound up getting the core charge back for the batteries ? the most I expected to happen ? and bought three new ones. Bottom line is I got what I needed, but why put me through the Magic Tester routine?
** end of rant **
Jack
South Florida
This weekend, I was trying to bring my batteries back to life on my ?toon. I have three onboard, and none of them would keep a charge. They were all on the charger over night, but, no matter what combination I put the batteries in, I could not get the motor to turn more than about a half a turn. I put a meter on one, and could watch the voltage slowly drop from 12.8v to below 10v in just a few minutes. These batteries are baad, m?kay?
I took them to Wal-Mart, and after selecting the batteries I wanted, their tech started the testing routine. He hooked his little magic box to the first battery ? it?s good. Then the next battery ? it?s good, too. And the last battery ? yep, it?s good. I know for a fact that these batteries are toast. I explained that none of these batteries would crank my outboard motor, and I can turn that motor by hand, so it doesn?t take much. Besides, the batteries are three years old, so I didn?t expect to get anything for them ? I just needed to replace them.
He handed me the printout from the tester, and sent me up to Customer Service. They couldn?t figure out what to do, so I wound up getting the core charge back for the batteries ? the most I expected to happen ? and bought three new ones. Bottom line is I got what I needed, but why put me through the Magic Tester routine?
** end of rant **
Jack
South Florida
