Waterlogged Ron Francis Panel

[CarMichael Angelo]

I ordered my Ron Francis wiring harness from Summit last week. Summit does not stock them, they are drop shipped directly from R.F.
I'm out of town Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, and arrive this afternoon. Evidently, the Ron Francis panel arrived Friday, followed immediately by a torrential down pour. The UPS driver attempted to "weatherproof "the thing by covering it w/ a plastic bag, but the wind must've caught the bag, and blew it open. What I found when I got home was a completely waterlogged over box, to the point of it tearing open from the weight of the wire inside. All of the individual bundles of circuit wire were "baggied", and consequently were not subjected to any moisture. But the panel,..........that was a different story.
It was in a separate box inside, and pretty much one side of that box was wet. The rest of the box was starting to suck up the remaining water kinda like what a paper towel does when you put a corner of it in a spill.
I opened the over box and started removing everything inside as quickly as possible. I opened the panel, and blew whatever water was on it off. It's pretty straight forward as panels go, and I doubt that there is any remaining water hiding somewhere,....laying in wait to cause me some circuit failure down the road 8-12 months from now when I start wiring this thing.
The instructions are soaked, and some pages I'll never get back, as they are stuck closed.
On one hand, I'm tempted to say I got lucky,..and take my chances that I saved everything before it got hurt. On the other,..I'm thinking about the what-ifs, and am tempted to file a damage claim.
UPS has always been great to me, and actually I want them to leave what I buy so I don't have to d ick w/ signing for merchandise when I'm not here 90% of the time they come.
I concerned that filing a claim could endanger that.

 

[rbohm]

i would say first contact ron francis and see what they say about the situation. they may tell you to send the panel back for replacement, or tell you that there should be no problem. either way you can have them send you a new packet of instructions.

as for UPS, they deal with things like this all the time, and as long as you are not an A$$ about the situation, they are going to take care of you, its part of the job.

 

[95BlueStallion]

^ What he said. I dont think I would ever fully trust it after getting water logged. You will have to deal with that in the back of your mind as you try your first hot rod power tour or something.

 

[84Ttop]

Let me be the third to say that a claim to UPS is in order here. I would let them handle it and ask that it is replaced. FWIW my UPS guy always bags my stuff and ties the bag in a knot on the one end to keep the bag closed. Obviously you can't always be home but that doesn't make up for the lack of effort on UPS's part.

 

[S&B]

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

i would say first contact ron francis and see what they say about the situation. they may tell you to send the panel back for replacement, or tell you that there should be no problem. either way you can have them send you a new packet of instructions.

as for UPS, they deal with things like this all the time, and as long as you are not an A$$ about the situation, they are going to take care of you, its part of the job.

^ What he said. I dont think I would ever fully trust it after getting water logged. You will have to deal with that in the back of your mind as you try your first hot rod power tour or something.

Let me be the third to say that a claim to UPS is in order here. I would let them handle it and ask that it is replaced. FWIW my UPS guy always bags my stuff and ties the bag in a knot on the one end to keep the bag closed. Obviously you can't always be home but that doesn't make up for the lack of effort on UPS's part.

I'm calling RF as soon as they open. I'l let them make the call on whether or not the thing needs anymore consideration.

I was just pissed that the thing was soaked, and the box it came in was trash.

 

[tannerc91gt]

I'd rather have a part delivered broken by UPS than safely by FedEx.
I'd be making a call to UPS I'm sure they'll make it right. Mine always puts the boxes in a plastic bag and has been sticking them in the basement door lately. UPS ftw

 

[Noobz347]

I'm calling RF as soon as they open. I'l let them make the call on whether or not the thing needs anymore consideration.

I was just ****ed that the thing was soaked, and the box it came in was trash.

Doesn't help for this order Mike, but I keep a large brown plastic box on the front stoop. I got it from Sam's club:

I think it was like $40. It stays empty and every delivery I've gotten (regardless of carrier) has been smart enough to put item into this box. The air-shock actuators keep the lid closed.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I actually have one of those,...but my wife would frown on me emptying the pool junk out of it so I could use it.

My conversation w/ RF was pretty matter of fact. It was no big deal for dude at RF. Said " You said you blew it off real well right?" Yeah,...."Then you're fine,...the panel is SS, and the connections are brass. You'd have to had that thing submerged in saltwater for a week before I'd even be worried"

He emailed me the replacement instructions for the main panel, and column that had turned to mulch.
I found a box and threw all the stuff in there. I won't need it for about 6 months anyway.

 

[madspeed]

Uhm, you ordered the item, someone else shipped it. The damage claim is for THEM to file, not your problem. Have them send a new item and pick up the wet dog

 

[89oem]

i know you dont know me, but what madspeed said is right,
the guy at RF has no skin in the game when you have issues down the road. have them send you an RMA and a new set up. ive had the same ups guy forever and he didnt mind when ive returned things that look like they had a dance party on them and stuff was bent inside, including a wing i got from AM. if its no big deal then they should be happy to swap out....