IS MY DEAD SONEIL BATTERY CHARGER WORTH FIXING?
 

My 4-Amp 24-volt battery charger recently died.

FACTS:
My Soneil charger came with a 1-year warranty; and,
Soneil claims that their Soneil battery charger has a 50,000 MBTF
(Mean Time Between Failure) Hours rating, which is peculiar, given the
1-year limited warranty.

WHAT I LEARNED SO FAR:
So, I obtained some quotes from battery charger repair shops,
including Soneil's recommended fix-it shop in MN. I got quotes from
$80-$160. However, a new charger would cost only $115 plus shipping
and taxes.
I also phoned an electric wheelchair manufacturer who alleged that
Soneil chargers last an average of 2-3 years use (by their disabled
customers) before needing replacement.

A REPAIR TECHNICIAN'S OPINION:
I also spent $20 for a well-respected electronics repair person to
review the dead Soneil charger. This are his opinions..
...two transistors, a resistor, diode, etc need replacement.
...a nut for the heat sink connection to the chassis was missing
...no heat-sink compound between the heat sink and chassis.
...The repair techician also opined, in his review, that the large
capacitors were only rated to 85 degrees whereas there are ones
available that are rated up to 105 degrees. Also, in his opinion, the
small 'chemical' capacitors would dry out from heat and would not last
anywhere near 50,000 hours.

I am unable to find any useful or helpful owner or technical reviews,
user comment, or consumer reports. Please tell me what to do, in your
opinion.

xxx

I take it from your explanation that you are an Adult
if that is the case then you are full capable of making
your own descisions.Nobody here can do that for you.
Its an appliance basically therefore you either fix it or replace it.


You make the descision.

jmo
kip

john wrote:
I take it from your explanation that you are an Adult
if that is the case then you are full capable of making
your own descisions.Nobody here can do that for you.
Its an appliance basically therefore you either fix it or replace it.


You make the descision.

jmo
kip
Kip, I hope that you don't end up in a wheelchair someday....

To the OP...I assume that you are disabled, since this is a wheelchair
charger. Did the person who looked at your charger quote you a price? If
so, why don't you have him repair it? IMO, you 'might' get by with the
original capacitors.

Perhaps there is a non-profit or other organization, such as a technical
school, in your area which could do the repair for the price of parts, or
grant you the repair/replacement funds.

OTOH, if you can get a new charger for $115--assuming it's not just more of
the same--that might be the way to go.

jak

If a heat sink was not attached properly in the first place, then it was
defective as built, and I think you have a warranty claim.

It also sounds like it might be a good investment to have the local
technician *rebuild* it, better than new.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:41:00 -0500, "jakdedert"
wrote:

john wrote:
I take it from your explanation that you are an Adult
if that is the case then you are full capable of making
your own descisions.Nobody here can do that for you.
Its an appliance basically therefore you either fix it or replace it.


You make the descision.

jmo
kip
Kip, I hope that you don't end up in a wheelchair someday....

That's exactly what needs to happen to him.

To the OP...I assume that you are disabled, since this is a wheelchair
charger. Did the person who looked at your charger quote you a price? If
so, why don't you have him repair it? IMO, you 'might' get by with the
original capacitors.

Perhaps there is a non-profit or other organization, such as a technical
school, in your area which could do the repair for the price of parts, or
grant you the repair/replacement funds.

OTOH, if you can get a new charger for $115--assuming it's not just more of
the same--that might be the way to go.

jak

Get a Grip..
Either fix it or replace it....Now thats not hard is it ?

kip

"john" wrote in message
...
Get a Grip..
Either fix it or replace it....Now thats not hard is it ?
kip

Who are you and why are you ridiculing this person (who is wheelchair-bound
and needs to charge his wheelchair battery) for using this newsgroup for its
intended purpose, namely to ask for technical advice?

His question was non-trivial. If indeed the heat sink was not properly
assembled at time of manufacture, then he probably has a warranty claim even
after the warranty has expired, because it was a pre-existing problem.

My recommendation was that the shortest, least expensive path to a good
charger might be to have the local technician rebuild the charger (with
minor improvements noted).

In short -- One of the things this person wanted to know is whether the
local technician's advice made sense. And several of us were able to
confirm that it did.

In short -- One of the things this person wanted to know is whether
the
local technician's advice made sense.

Now he doubts the local Tech,s advice !


then he probably has a warranty claim even
after the warranty has expired, because it was a pre-existing
problem.

You are not serious are you ?


Get it fixed or replace it..

kip

After reading these posts...
I don't beleave that it will be repaired under warranty. They will find a way
to fight it unless they had other units that had the same problem. Or they will
say that you taking it apart voids the warranty anyway.

If it truly had the problems listed, then I think you would be better off
having it repaired. With better parts and done correctly.
With luck you be able to find someone that is willing to help you out and not
rip you off.
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