Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site umcp-cs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!seismo!umcp-cs!prophet
From: prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Sears batteries revisited, and my personal experience w/Sears
Message-ID: <56@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Sep-84 16:07:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.56
Posted: Fri Sep 21 16:07:49 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Sep-84 02:17:06 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 58


<>

A few months ago, Sears had a sale on their new 60-month battery (NOT Die-Hard)
and so I decided to go ahead and replace the battery in my 1979  Datsun  310GX.
The battery in my Datsun  that  I  was  replacing  was  the  original equipment
battery (over five years old).  This original  equipment  battery  was  a GREAT
battery, it had survived a couple of winters where the temperature would dip as
low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit.  The battery was still working  fine,  since the
weather was warm, but I was afraid that it would not survive a sixth winter  of
below zero termperature. Since Sears was having a sale, I decided to go for it.

Anyway, I took the car to Sears, and bought the battery.  They pulled  the  car
into the service facility, where I tried to watch the mechanic from the  lounge
as best I could.  (Sears will not allow customers to enter the sevice areas). I
saw the mechanic put in my battery, and then he proceded to test the electrical
system.  I knew something was wrong when I saw him  start  the  engine,  take a
reading from the meter, and then, stopping the engine, he proceded  to  tighten
the alternator drive belt.  Then, after starting the  engine  again  and taking
another reading, he called in the service manager.

At this point, the service manager began heading for the customer lounge, and I
thought, oh no, they're going to try to hit me  for  a  new  alternator.   Sure
enough, the manager came in, and said, " Your  alternator  is  not  putting out
enough current, you're going to have to replace it."  Being a former  mechanic
myself, and taking careful care of my car, I knew the service manager was wrong.

Besides, the manager's phrase "not putting out  enough  current"  is erroneous,
because an alternator's competence is measured by its output  in  volts,  which
is not current (amps).  I told the manager this, and he said that most cars put
out about 20 amps, whereas mine was putting out only 10.  This  is  ridiculous,
because the current in the circuit depends almost entirely upon  the  state  of
charge of the battery.  I told the manager to just finish installing the  batt-
ery and I would be on my way.

When I got home, I ran a thorough check of the electrical  system,  and   found
nothing wrong.  Three months later, the car is running fine, and the battery is
holding its charge perfectly.

On a separate incident, my brother took his 1974 Capri into Sears to have a new
water pump installed.  Naturally, to put on the pump, they had to remove t
he hoses from the pump, thus draining the radiator.  When  my  brother's   wife
came to pick up the car, she paid the bill, and then drove off.  After a couple
of blocks, the car overheated!  It turns out they "forgot" to replace the fluid
in the radiator!!!  My brother raised so much hell with Sears  that  they  gave
him a free 24 month, 24000 mile warranty on the engine in  case  anything  went
wrong as a result of their mistake.

My conclusion?  I'm not going near a Sears "mechanic" except as an absolute lastresort.

                        Dennis

-- 
Call-Me:   Dennis Gibbs, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Center.
UUCP:	   {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!prophet
CSNet:	   prophet@umcp-cs
BITNET:    GIBBS@UMDB
ARPA:	   prophet@Maryland