Electrical issues/advice

[BrownClown]

Here's my story:

I take my boat to get de-winterized in April and take it out soon after. The first thing I notice on the display is that the volts are showing 12 even not 13.3 as usual. I thought after the winter maybe I forgot what it was supposed to be?
Anyway, I look in the battery compartment and notice that the negative lead to the accessory battery isn't even connected, plus it doesn't look wired correctly as they have put everything on the accessory battery. I called them the next day and sent pictures. They say put the negative where it should go and I should be good. That doesn't work either. They say the batteries need replacing. Spend $200 plus on those. That doesn't work. The batteries aren't charging. The volts drain down past 11.5 when the low volt alarm goes off.

I take it back to Diamond Lakes Watersports in Hot Springs to get them to figure out what the problem is. Low and behold, they say that the new starting battery has a bad cell. They put their new ones in and claim that it's fixed.
I drive an hour to pick it up and they start it to show me that it holds volts, but it only shows 12-12.2. I told them that's not correct, but they insist it is.

I take it out a few days later and now it's worse. The volts are bleeding off at a faster pace. I drop it off and leave it for nearly 2 weeks. They scramble a few days before I get home(I was out of the country for work) to get it fixed. I have the EIDB system and they didn't understand how it worked, so they took it upon themselves to cut the bridge and completely rewire the system. On top of that, they didn't understand how the stereo was wired, so they rewired that. Now the amp is drawing power directly of of the starting battery. The back of the head unit now looks like a spaghetti explosion of wires that they left cut and hanging all over.

They have completely screwed up my boat and now I don't trust them to fix it. I've already hauled my boat to Abilene once when the previous dealer couldn't/wouldn't fix the warrantee issues. After I hauled it there I haven't had any problems until Diamond Lakes Watersports de-winterized it. Should i bite the bullet and haul it 8 hours one way yet again? Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should do?
I've thought of getting an estimate and/or getting it fixed and asking them to pay for it, but I doubt they will. Maybe take them to small claims? What a PIA that would be.

I'm open to all suggestions or opinions. I'm at my wit's end and have lost half the summer because of these clowns. Help!

[skippabcool]

Yikes. I don't know what to do but I would not be happy. Hope it all works out for you. Worst part is you still have to get it fixed correctly.

[Moki]

Electrical problems can be tricky. I think if it were me, I would make the 8 hour trip and make sure that it is done right.

[chpthril]

First question, is it now fixed and have you verified this? Reason I ask is because running an alternator unhooked (battery ground cable is the same as the positive cable) can damage an alternator. It sounds like the root cause was the cables left unhooked and now you have a dead alternator.

[BrownClown]

First question, is it now fixed and have you verified this? Reason I ask is because running an alternator unhooked (battery ground cable is the same as the positive cable) can damage an alternator. It sounds like the root cause was the cables left unhooked and now you have a dead alternator.

It's partially fixed. My father in law and I ran it and figured out where the cables "should" go using a volt meter. The problem I'm having is that they've made such a mess of the wiring back there that we're having a hard time figuring out what they did exactly. They cut a spliced a few times and have bypassed the eidb system, so it doesn't work as advertised now. We also figured out that they wired the amp directly to the batteries, so that's a likely culprit to the batteries draining. So, what I have to do now is pull that big fuse out of the housing when pull the boat out since the eidb is no longer isolating.

[BrownClown]

The alternator does seem to be working fine from us putting the volt meter on it.

[Ewok]

You should try to call tige and get a wiring diagram for how the battery isolation should be set up and try to do it yourself or have a better mechanic or stereo installer fix it for you, and send the bill to the bad mechanic. If they refuse to pay the bill take them to small claims court. Make sure you document everything with as many photographs as possible for the small claims court action, you shouldn't need a lawyer for small claims court.

[Ewok]

And this all sucks but at least they didn't screw up enough to crack your block.

[chpthril]

It's partially fixed. My father in law and I ran it and figured out where the cables "should" go using a volt meter. The problem I'm having is that they've made such a mess of the wiring back there that we're having a hard time figuring out what they did exactly. They cut a spliced a few times and have bypassed the eidb system, so it doesn't work as advertised now. We also figured out that they wired the amp directly to the batteries, so that's a likely culprit to the batteries draining. So, what I have to do now is pull that big fuse out of the housing when pull the boat out since the eidb is no longer isolating.

Amps are typically wired to a battery, either directly to the battery post, or indirectly to the battery B+ post via the "C" post od a dual battery switch. SO that will not change even if the wiring is returned to the OEM configuration. An amp should not draw a measurable current when the system is off. If they are, there is an issue or its something else.

I would suggest finding either a Tige dealer that knows and understands the Tige EIDB or a mobile/marine audio shop that has a solid understanding of 12V wiring and dual battery setups. The Tige EIDB system on your boat is actually 'bout as simple as it gets, but with all the other wiring, its make sit look complicated. Everything needs to run off the either one or the other battery and the EIDB diode isolator actually has ZERO bearing on this.

Sounds like back in the 80s when all the old school carburetor gear heads were gutting EFI and replacing it with a carb, to simply fix one that was running rich due to a dirty air filter

[TigeTrojan]

If you do decide to press the issue with the bad shop, small claims might be a viable option. Not sure what the rules are in AR, but in CA the limit is $5,000 and no attorneys are allowed. Definitely take lots of pictures of all the things they changed and get a statement from whatever reputable mechanic fixes it right about how much the first guys screwed up. I would definitely talk to the shop first, and at least try to get a refund considering the de-winterization was botched.

[BrownClown]

I just got off the phone with the former owner, now partial owner and we had a very good and frank discussion. Unfortunately, he left to work for Skier's Choice and due to conflict of interest issues, is a somewhat silent partner.
Anyway, long story short, he's offered reimbursement and to have them work on the boat until its right for no charge.
The other option that he gave me was to take it to a few other shops and get quotes to fix it.
I explained to him my obvious reluctance at letting them continue to work on it and he said he completely understood.

I wish he was still there because when he left, he created a huge vacuum of knowledge at that place.

What to do....

[Ewok]

If you can find a good place to take it to i would find another shop and send the bill to the bad shop. If there isn't another option you can roll the dice on the bad shop but they obviously don't have the knowledge to make it right. It wasn't a simple mistake that they can fix, it was a complete lack of knowledge of what they were working on. Unless they hired a new mechanic who understands the Tige dual battery system and is certified and can do it right I would find another shop who can do it right.