As a public service, I'll summarize what HB CS told me: These units are very sensitive to voltage and amperage fluctuations. The 1st thing u always do with power problems is connect the unit directly to a good battery. Duh, I should have known. Sooo I did that and it worked
. The problem may have been that the I originally hooked the unit up while the batteries were charging, may have sent 13+v to the connector, lesson learned.
It doesn't explain the static charge. I might install an in-line switch behind the unit to disconnect power from the connector while plugging in and out, as a precaution. Still, any day u don't have to mail the FF to Alabama is a very good day.