Drive Electric Warranty problem

[lockman1]

Originally Posted by ddrmr

Lockman, When I called Drive with the initial problem, the tech guy tried to troubleshoot it with me; but, when I told him the charge indicator flashed "red" 6 times, then stayed lit, he told me it was fried. At first he was going to send a new unit, but then called back to say they wouldn't stand behind it.

I'm sorry to hear that DE is doing that to you, (and others) but... have you even tried to reset it per custom carts info?

Custom carts.... is DE "blowing smoke"? is his charger really "fried"? or can it be reset?

[custom carts]

dont know but if it was fried it would not even flash. i use to do some warranty work for .and i stoped doing work for them about 8 mounths ago. that company is a joke. i left messages to the owner 5 times im still waiting for his call so what can you say for a company like that . any way if dd wants to reset it or not it cant hurt to try. i wish him good luck in fixing his charger

[ddrmr]

@Custom Carts: Thanks for the advice. My Charger is all black. I pressed the reset button, but nothing changed. Light flashes RED 6 times, Green once, then solid RED. I'll play with it more tomorrow.

[dougmcp]

6 flashes indicates a broken or corroded connection somewhere. If you've had any boilover while your batteries were charging check your wiring.
The ElCon charger is a good 3 stage smart charger and should perform much better than any of the old style ferroresonant chargers that most carts came stock with.
If you need assistance call Electric Conversions, 515 N. 10th St., Sacramento, CA 95811, Ph: 916-441-4161, they were the importer and seller of these units in the US.

[ddrmr]

Bottom line in this is that Drive Electric is not standing up to their warranty. It's a 7-month old cart! They are just using every technicality they can to avoid standing behind their product. ADVICE: IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING A NEW CART PURCHASE, CHOOSE ANYONE ELSE....NOT DRIVE ELECTRIC!!

[dmax27]

Check your wiring under the batteries like dougmcp said. There were people who had the Elcon charges that had problems. I think a lot of them found out their batteries had to much water in them. Every time the batteries were charged they boiled over and acid spilled out onto the wires below. Clean the area under the batteries real good and check the wires. You might find some some damage you can fix in just a few minutes. Relocate the wires so you don't have the same problem in the future. Make sure the water in your batteries is a the right level before charging. I have the Delta Q charger in my cart so far so good.

[dougmcp]

Originally Posted by ddrmr

Bottom line in this is that Drive Electric is not standing up to their warranty. It's a 7-month old cart! They are just using every technicality they can to avoid standing behind their product. ADVICE: IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING A NEW CART PURCHASE, CHOOSE ANYONE ELSE....NOT DRIVE ELECTRIC!!

Im' not defending anyone here, either Drive Electric or ElCon and whether or not they uphold their warranties is not the point to this post.
You don't have a warranty on a cart that was purchased 3rd hand.
Warranties are no different in most businesses, unless there is a warranty transfer agreement, it is for the original purchaser only.
If you assumed you were getting a bargain on a cart and warranty to boot you were mislead, weren't paying attention or didn't do your homework.
You can buy another 3 stage Protech smart charger for $150, I don't see a problem here.

[ddrmr]

Hi Dougmcp, You'd be correct if I had bought the cart from two people who actually had possession of it, then passed it on to me. In this case the cart had not even been assembled until just before it was shipped to me. That's what made it a brand new cart. The sweet deal for Drive is that, by their non-transfer of warranty statement, The cart lost its warranty even before it was assembled; so, they never had to back it up. They had the option of throwing together a bunch of left-over, sub-standard parts and then shipping it to me: the guy without the warranty!

[ddrmr]

Just to be fair, I feel I need to report that, out of the blue, I got a call from Drive Electric and they are going to honor the charger warranty. I have not received the replacement charger yet, but they said it was shipped last Friday 5/6/2011. I will let you know if it does not show up, but I feel confident it will. They also asked me to be sure to let the Attorney general and BBB know when this is resolved.
As a result of my experience, I can say that I negotiated fairly and honestly with them, but it took a concerted campaign to ultimately convince them to do the right thing.

[jeffquadski]

Did you ever get the charger?