Signature solar defective replacement

[ddeatrich]

Hey guys.

Look at these weird terms and conditions from signature solar. Provide products to you without any warranties, or condition of the items? Anyway onto the post.

I have a defective/bad EG4 LifePower4 battery. Signature Solar has agreed for me to send my battery back and troubleshoot it, and send me a replacement if it is bad, which it is. However, they need it to be sent back on a pallet with ratchet straps. They said they will ship the ratchet straps back, but they don't reimburse for having to purchase a pallet(I threw the pallet they sent it on away long ago). Has anyone else dealt with having to buy a pallet to send something defective back? The rep said they don't reimburse and then randomly sent terms and conditions. Upon reading them, it seems a little strange.

Here's what the sig solar rep sent me.

Unfortunately, we do not provide reimbursements for the purchase of pallets used in shipping products. Please refer to the information below. We will try and assist you as much as we possibly can on your return, are the original shipping materials still available to you?


SECTION 13 - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY We do not guarantee, represent, or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable. You agree that from time to time we may remove the service for indefinite periods or cancel the service at any time, without notice to you. You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the service is at your sole risk. The service and all products and services delivered to you through the service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided 'as is' and 'as available' for your use, without any representation, warranties, or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement. In no case shall Signature Solar, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the service or any products procured using the service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

 

[sunsurfer]

Pallets are easy to find for free or a couple of dollars. I would not worry as long as they are paying the freight. That is the pricy part. Let us know what part failed. I helped a neighbor diag there batt and they got a replacement. Likely its the BMS. Did you setup BMS tools and have a look to see whats going on?

 

[ddeatrich]

Pallets are easy to find for free or a couple of dollars. I would not worry as long as they are paying the freight. That is the pricy part. Let us know what part failed. I helped a neighbor diag there batt and they got a replacement. Likely its the BMS. Did you setup BMS tools and have a look to see whats going on?

Yeah I tried everything so far. Updated firmware, did tests, etc. I received the battery with state of health/total capacity being 78%. I thought it may have just been a weird visual glitch, so signature solar had me go into BMS test and manually force the values to say 100% SOH. I reset the BMS, calibrated through a few weeks and multiple cycles, and the battery doesn't get full capacity. I did a capacity test with a consistent load(1000 watts) and the battery died fairly quickly. Showed sig solar the tests and they agreed cells must be bad.

I thought the terms and conditions they sent me were really strange. Wanted to get others thoughts on that as well.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

"I have a defective/bad EG4 LifePower4 battery. Signature Solar has agreed for me to send my battery back and troubleshoot it, and send me a replacement if it is bad, which it is."

Amazing ... we can't tell you if you'll get a replacement, even though you've proven in the field that it is a defective product ... we have to see it in our lab. Then, there's the possibility they won't like something they see and will blame you for it, and then offer to fix it vs send you a new one. I hope you do end up getting a new battery, but other threads on this forum seem to indicate otherwise.

When I ordered a set of LiTime 12v300ah LiFePO4 batteries, one was giving me bms issues early on. It would discharge and go to sleep, while weirdly reporting 500 volts or so. Had to jump through hoops to wake it up. Involved LiTime support, took pics of multimeter readings and such, & sent it in to them, and they agreed the battery was in trouble. They arranged for a cross-swap:

1. I ship the failing battery back (I saved the shipping materials) with their UPS pre-paid label (they paid for shipping).
2. once they see that UPS has it, they cross-ship me a new battery.

... and I'm back in business.

I'm amazed that folks buy from SigSolar, given all the reports of these kinds of after-the-sale issues; I have to admit they are a powerful "sales organization". The T&C terms made no sense in relation to this post, so one would have to read the whole thing, but I have issues with "send it back to us, and then and only then will we tell you if you are getting a replacement". I have had to spend inordinate amounts of time reading the T&C's way before I purchase a product, and if the warranty process and/or return process is a hassle, I move on ...

Good luck with your efforts to get a replacement ... pallets can be had all over a typical good-sized town, almost always for free. Find a big box store, and ask for one ...

 

[ddeatrich]

"I have a defective/bad EG4 LifePower4 battery. Signature Solar has agreed for me to send my battery back and troubleshoot it, and send me a replacement if it is bad, which it is."

Amazing ... we can't tell you if you'll get a replacement, even though you've proven in the field that it is a defective product ... we have to see it in our lab. Then, there's the possibility they won't like something they see and will blame you for it, and then offer to fix it vs send you a new one. I hope you do end up getting a new battery, but other threads on this forum seem to indicate otherwise.

When I ordered a set of LiTime 12v300ah LiFePO4 batteries, one was giving me bms issues early on. It would discharge and go to sleep, while weirdly reporting 500 volts or so. Had to jump through hoops to wake it up. Involved LiTime support, took pics of multimeter readings and such, & sent it in to them, and they agreed the battery was in trouble. They arranged for a cross-swap:

1. I ship the failing battery back (I saved the shipping materials) with their UPS pre-paid label (they paid for shipping).
2. once they see that UPS has it, they cross-ship me a new battery.

... and I'm back in business.

I'm amazed that folks buy from SigSolar, given all the reports of these kinds of after-the-sale issues; I have to admit they are a powerful "sales organization". The T&C terms made no sense in relation to this post, so one would have to read the whole thing, but I have issues with "send it back to us, and then and only then will we tell you if you are getting a replacement". I have had to spend inordinate amounts of time reading the T&C's way before I purchase a product, and if the warranty process and/or return process is a hassle, I move on ...

Good luck with your efforts to get a replacement ... pallets can be had all over a typical good-sized town, almost always for free. Find a big box store, and ask for one ...

Yeah I don't like that either. They should send me a replacement after already determining that it was bad. But yet now they have to determine it's bad a 2nd time in a lab? Also now I'm down 1 battery while they "analyze" or do whatever they're doing in their lab. Who knows how long they will take?

That's pretty good support you had with your LiTime batteries. That's how it should be. Signature Solar is great when you get their products and they work. If you have any issues though? Good luck. It's a real hassle to deal with.

The terms and conditions thing, the signature solar rep sent me seemingly randomly after I asked if I would be reimbursed for a pallet, so I included it in the post. That part doesn't make sense to me lol. But yeah thanks!! I'll look around and see if I can get a free pallet.

 

[sunsurfer]

... and I'm back in business.

at least till the next failure.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

In any manufactured product, I expect the occasional failure ... I've bought 6 batteries of varying capacity from AmpereTime (& now LiTime), so 1 out of 6. While I can't say that is an impressive QA score, I *can* say that their return policy is *outstanding*. All researched before I bought them, as best I could from websites, docs, etc. Not bad ...

I also reconfigure battery-bank, in a flash, so I can work around most single item failures ... the family doesn't like the idea of "we'll be down for a few weeks for shipping" ... one battery failure should not stop the whole train.

 

[windsurfer]

All of those terms are not enforcable... they cannot indemnify themselves against their own negligence.