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Well first I just want to say to all, long time no post... I've been quite busy lately but haven't forgotten about this place. The battery service program that the three A's is incorporating into there membership benefits... Does it work??? Is it profitable?? Maybe someone could call me to discuss #'s. I know parts of jersey have it up and running, I would just like to hear it first hand. Thanks in advance
Hello Bellmore,

Welcome to ITOW Talk!

I do not tow for AAA, What is the AAA battery program?

BTW: Cool Avatar!

the battery program works great. for aaa.
they purchased their own trucks and took away all our light service calls during the day. and we are left picking up the burnt up, shorted out cars and irate customers due to aaa so called certified battery truck employees.  they are towing security, if you ask me. battery installs avg. 160.00 from the tickets i have seen. and there is not such thing as customer first.
  one day i called for a jump at 8 am. i was told 45 to a hr. the address was my lot, with 3 trucks logged into the gps they provided.  after 40 min i canceled.  at 65 min. they call saying the driver cant find address but he was parked next door. aaa is using devoted contractors like pawns.
Funny you bring that up Mr Bent, we at one time were thinking bringing in some AAA stuff so we did the same kind of test... we went to a local AAA tow only company and called in a call to AAA across the street from his shop.. giving a 45 min ETA we figured he would get the call.. about 3 hours later the driver showed up from a company out of SF 30 miles away.. meanwhile across the street sat 4 yellow trucks with GPS... i guess you could say we no longer have any interest in bringing AAA aboard
AAA has a battery service vendor Columbia SC. Those guys don't seem to provide much service. They go out to most jump start calls, tell the member if they tried to boost the battery it just might explode. When the member won't buy a $120.00 battery from them, they leave them sitting there. Then AAA sends us out for a tow, and as I boost them off I tell the member what the battery service said before they can tell me.  lol  what a joke     :rasp:
YOU'LL find that your light service calls will drop off as the battery trucks take over all tire changes and lockouts. they are just giving you the ones that say they have no spare or it's on the highway. they get to pic and choose what they want the contractors to run. and it will effect eta as well as call volume.
Quote (boomer @ Aug. 10 2005, 12:15 am)
AAA has a battery service vendor Columbia SC. Those guys don't seem to provide much service. They go out to most jump start calls, tell the member if they tried to boost the battery it just might explode. When the member won't buy a $120.00 battery from them, they leave them sitting there. Then AAA sends us out for a tow, and as I boost them off I tell the member what the battery service said before they can tell me.  lol  what a joke     :rasp:

Here's what I do on jumpstarts: I use a Vector jump pack, which has a digital voltmeter. Hook up cables, turn on pack, start car. Then I check the voltage. 13.5 - 14 volts, alternator is OK. 13.0 - 13.4, iffy, probably a burned out diode or two, have the alternator tested. Below 13.0, alternator or regulator is bad, have it towed to a repair shop.

If the voltage checks out OK, I'll ask them if they left anything on that killed the battery. I'll also look at the battery. If it's an OEM and the car is over 3 years old, I'll suggest they may want to get it tested regardless of what killed the battery. Same thing in an older car if the battery is obviously old.

I don't currently sell batteries, although I might once I finish the transition from mostly MC work to mostly retail work. I will NEVER play the "battery will explode" game.
What does a battery read when it has a dead cell and the alt. is fine?
 every cell carries 1.2 volts. It is very possible to have a dead cell and misdiagnoise it as a bad rectifier bridge. there os alot to look for besides voltage. loose connections  often on gm double positve post (corrosion) or loose starter, relay corrosion. the list is long so don't condemn the battery with out checking water level, load test and varify that it was charged before preforming test.12.6 volts or possibly higher from static charge. to remove the surface or static charge turn the light on for 5 -10 secs and them read voltmeter. w/out tools you can then watch the gauge or light and w/ brights on engine off. watch for dimming within the first 30 secs. (not a good Sign). during test volts should never drop below 9.6 volts. needed to energize coil and field alt. on start up.
 if you have a dome light and it vanishes when you crank it, you have a bad connection. ussually ground. and all the sudden your domelight is bright when you set for a second. repeated clicks are low voltage or loose contact. one click and headlights darken moderatly is a lockup started or worse( ussually). this is the most common problems i come across but not near everything  that could or has gone wrong.
One final note, never Never cross the cable to check for contact. electronics will 90 % of the time fail faster than the spark you made. you may be lucky once but it won't last. the safest way to make sure your life is by turning the parking lights on. only because they don't actuate motors or draw a major load.never with the key on. This is not suggested by any manufacture, but I've been around cars all my live and never has this method caused me a problem.

this should open a can of worms, so let me have it...
:poke:  :wacko:
as a matter of fact AAA sold a battry to a lady last night for 118. claimed she couldn't drive the car with out this being replaced now. WHATEVER>>>
  SO 5-6 hours later they call me and ask me to go jump this same car. as soon as i pulled up i hear a humming sound from the car and she says its still running?? ok. now i'm scratching my head and   I walk up to pop the hood on this 92 regal and the cooling fan is ready for take off. she said it made that noise when he fixed it earlier but she thought he had started it. poor lady... I explained to hear what had happened and told her to request her old battery back. gave her a number to buy a battery w/ 2 yr. free replacement @ $35 dolllars installed. 1yr. less than AAA but also 98 dollars cheaper. i tapped the relay to kick off the fan relay got her a part number and told her the part would be 15-35 dollars and 15 to have a tech install it. Alll this and she can now open her own hood sleep at ease and trust that their is still honest tow truck drivers out there like she remembered in the 40's(her words).
 It has to mean somthing to do our job because none of us will ever get rich behind the wheel. we are there to help others and go home with a clear contious. how does the AAA  get away with taking the little money we earn, just to increase their own profit margin is really  insulting to me ! I bust a$$ to beat their eta's, I start 3 ot of 5 tows they send me to, I take the slack for the bad dispatching, lost calls,  now I sweep behind these "battery trucks techs". Wonder if they got to the same schools the jiffy lube guys attend?
We need to form a united towing union of sorts. orginize stand up and be heard. we aren't the only victims, the member of
AAA are also losing just as much. My Co. alone adopted 9 mdc satelite computers from AAA that they payed somewhere around $3200 a piece.  Someone has to pick up this offset. so that brings it back on us and the members.  It doesnt take a college education to  add and subtract. but these are the same guys goiing before congress and enforcing the seatbelt act, they carry alot of influence. they were  also the  ones that  lobbied the safety glass windshields inactment, child carseats, crumble zones. and the list goes on.  we can't right a force of this magnatude  alone.  ONE BODY, ONE VOICE,LET US BE HEARD.
Quote (MRBENT2U @ Aug. 13 2005, 2:56 pm)
What does a battery read when it has a dead cell and the alt. is fine?
 

As far as I know, there is no easy way to positively verify a battery's condition while that battery is discharged. I'm sure there's some electronic gizmo that can test it, but I'm talking about a simple voltmeter check.

Basically to do a good test on a battery, it needs to be charged for X hours, then a voltage and load test done. Of course its hard to sell someone a battery in 5 minutes that way.

The funny thing is when you are dead sure the battery is shot, the customer insists you are full of it ("It always started before"). And the ones that have a 6 month old car and left the headlights on want to take it to the dealer and have the battery replaced under warranty..
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