Topic: new 898 screen wont power up straight out of the box

[jwbanks]

brand new 898 fresh from the box
screen wont light up only a slight flicker and the buttons on the left will light up
12.55vdc at the plug .....unplug and plug back in and tried several times still nothing
and humminbird tech support closes at 4:30? dont they think people work
any ideas im in a panic with a tournment looming overhead this weekend
just ordered a 570di friday hope i dont have more of this to look forward to

thanks   jason

[calli1]

Man...I'm sorry to hear your troubles.  That is a bummer for sure.  You will need to contact HB first thing in the morning....tell them what is going on.  They will or should get you fixed up.  Where did you get the unit from?  I would return for sure for another new one in the box.

[jwbanks]

ordered from iboats.com
they take 2 to 3 business days to even contact you with a return auth #
really sad
yea gonna call hb in the morning

thanks for the reply though

jason

[calli1]

That would be heading back and getting a new one.  Tournament or no tournament.  I have sold my 898 and upgrading to a 1198.  I am without one now and just fished a tourney this past weekend without one.  You may have to do the same.  Good luck.

[lwlittle]

I had the same exact problem - returned the defective unit to BBG and received a new one via overnight the next day - problem solved

[stillbear]

Now you will test your vendor if you have a good one you will have a new unit overnight. That unit would
go back to the vendor if it was mine. Not HB.    Gary

[ITGEEK]

Jason,
Here's my 2 cents.

I would doublecheck your wiring to the battery.
Also, 12.55 volts only indicates that your battery is fully charged.
It doesn't mean your battery is any good.

If possible, try it with a different battery.
Also, see if the battery it's hooked to now can run something else with a similar draw (light, radio, etc.).

Also,
When powering on the unit, push the power button in and hold it for a few seconds before letting go.

Good luck.

[jwbanks]

battery shows 12.55 with a load on it
called hb today after going through their checks they decided it is junk                                          they wanted it shipped back to them after waiting 3 days on a return auth then test it then send me another lookin at like 2 weeks
same story at iboats wait like 2 weeks
so i ordered another one gonna return this one for a refund
really disappointed with both companies
all ive heard is how bad lowrances' customer service is if its worse than this i would be really upset

[tjj]

Man that's a bummer.  Sorry to hear of your experience with your 898.  I got mine about two months ago.  Everything went  like clock work.  Very bright screen and just awesome images.  You will really enjoy using it when you get yours up and running. 
Hang in there.  Good luck to ya.

[calli1]

You know, the sad thing is, there always seems to be problems.  Someone has to get them, otherwise, things would be great.  Sorry for your troubles.   The good thing is nowdays, you have resources to turn to like this website and they help...help in a major way.  Things will get better....  Good luck and you will LOVE the Humminbird S I unit......you won't leave home without it!

[jwbanks]

thanks for all the cheers...it does make ya feel better during something like this
i just sold a 797c2 SI a little while back to help finance this
cant wait to get it goin

thanks
jason

[ITGEEK]

Jason,
I think you are being too hard on both Humminbird and Iboats.
Realistically, they don't know you from Adam.
As far as they're concerned, you could have dropped your unit and broke it, and may be trying to pull a fast one on them.  They have absolutely know idea what the truth really is.  They only have your word on what is happening.
They have to go through the proper procedures and inspect your unit before they can ship out a brand new unit.
That's only smart business.
If you had a company, you'd probably do the exact same thing.

I don't think Lowrance would handle it any differently.
It's going to take a little time, but Humminbird will make it right.

There will be plenty of tournaments in the future.

[jwbanks]

no i dont think im being too hard on them customer service is non-existint anymore
when i was in hvac business we bent over backwards for our customers
i dont doubt they will make it right
but i didnt expect them to just send me one free
i offered to buy one from them and be refunded when i returned the broken one
that is a fair offer
hb said no
iboats said yes
so i ordered another new one iboats said they would credit my card when the broken one is recieved
if i didnt need a depthfinder i wouldnt order one...not one in 2 weeks
but if i was iboats with a customer having this much problems willing to order another one because he was in a hurry i would have offered free 1 day shipping i believe ...but i am happy with their service

[ITGEEK]

Jason, trust me.
Humminbird has extremely excellent customer service.
I've had a few issues with my unit, and each time, Humminbird fixed it quickly.
So far, I'm not out of pocket a red cent.  They are very fair in determining what is the right thing to do based on the history of the unit and how a person takes care of their unit.
Their customer service people are friendly and professional.  I am more than a happy customer, and they have a lifetime consumer in me.  As a matter of fact, I called them one day out of the blue just to personally thank them for the great job they do.   The person I talked to was surprised and delighted to hear the compliment.

Unfortunately if your unit has a problem, it will take a little time to get things right.
1) You must first call them.
2) You must send your unit back to them.
3) They must inspect it and decide to repair or replace it.
4) They must send it back to you.
5) You must test it.

The company probably has a policy that they must inspect any unit that is not working properly to decide if a replacement or a repair is in order. 
This will help in their overall quality control.

Your offer to buy a new one and get credited when they got your old unit was extremely fair in anyone's book.  But, if it's against company policy, the sales rep/customer service person you talked to just couldn't go along with it.  They might have thought it was a good idea too, but rules are rules.

The problem here was not with Humminbird, but with the small time frame involved because of the tournament.

[sonar2000]

I think you hit the nail on the head.
HB does try to help in every way at the customer service level.
As far a a unit failing near or at a tournament.....Well electronics do have an odd way of choosing the wrong time to go bad.
In our SAR world we have every thing backed with a spare. Just like the tournament we cant have a failure on a mission that stops the mission.  It is a bit expensive but in fairness to the service offering we have to have that kind of redundancy.
Some of the tournaments we have worked in have factory reps with spares. Which would help. Some of the tournaments do not have factory rep so there is a potential for out of service issues.
Something to consider for the tournament sponsors might be to have a fund that would provide spare parts during the tournament.
But I dont know how that would be received by the fishermen.
Chuck

[jwbanks]

update............
ordered new unit from iboats ........it works like it should
sent defective unit back to iboats for credit
just waiting on credit
anyway im not bashing either company for the prob i had anything man made can fail but its how companies handle such failure is what makes them great
the people i talked to at hb couldnt have been nicer the only thing i have a compalint about it the fact they only stay open till 4:30  mon -fri .....which happens to be the time im at work along with about 70% of the rest of the country
if hb could make a change to their customer service would be their hours so we could be at home with our units to perform the checks that they want us to do without ....doing them tonight then call back tommorrow
people need to remember its ..customer... service

jason

[tjj]

jwbanks

Glad to hear you got it going now.  After a few successful trips on the water with the new sounder you will feel better about the whole ordeal.  Have fun and enjoy.  Maybe catch a few too while your playing.