I wanted to share my experience with a dead starter and Powermaster Technical support. I will post a very short version of this at the end for the impatient folks who don't want to read a novel 
I purchased a 9050 in September of 2021. It died in July of 2023, just shy of two years. After confirming the issue was the starter and not a wiring problem I contacted powermaster customer support through email.
Here is what I sent them.
Here is the reply I received
Pay attention to the place where he explicitly mentions low voltage being a common issue. I have had issues with my batteries from sitting, and issues with corrosion in my cables, right up to the point it wouldn't start so I had to replace the cables.
So I bought a new starter and shipped this one off. I received a call today (two days after their receipt of the starter) Ed told me that they found lots of damage from low voltage, I don't remember exactly what was said, arcing corrosion or something possibly? I don't want to make it sound like he was spouting BS or anything, I just don't recall exactly what he had said. He also told me the oil from my leak had seeped past the seals and contaminating the internals.
None of this was any surprise to me. He said it wasn't worth repairing, but they could sell me another starter for a discounted price. I did not feel like I was being taken advantage of. Everything made perfect sense and I appreciated the time they took to look at the old starter and explain everything to me.
He told me the price and I will update it with the exact number later, but I believe it was roughly $160 shipped, with about $22 of that being just the shipping charges. For comparison, the replacement starter I bought was the cheapest place I could find another powermaster. Summit had it for $223 plus $18 shipping just over $240 shipped. So they sold me a replacement starter for almost $100 less than list. I was unable to pay at that time as I was driving so I told him I would call back.
I called him a few hours later after work. I told him about the debacle I was having with my alternator and asked what he had. All said and done I spoke with Ed for probably 30 minutes. It was extremely pleasant and honestly felt like talking to an old friend. He was more than happy to answer any questions I had and encouraged me to call again if I needed help.
(Details on my alternator drama here https://www.oilburners.net/threads/diego-revisited.87745/page-19#post-1125895)
I asked him the important question about the replacement starter. Is it a full rebuild of my old one? Is it a complete new unit? Will it be fully tested? Basically what's the deal.
He told me they are technically Blems. It could be a cosmetic issue, or something that failed function testing the first time around. Basically anything that was deemed not good enough by QC to be sold as a new unit. He told me anything that failed the functional test the first time would be replaced and repaired until they passed the test. Everything is run through a Dyno load test and must pass before they will sell it even as a blem. I am perfectly ok with that. I've run Blem batteries before for years without issues. As long as it works as it should, I'm perfectly happy with saving a big chunk of change if it has a scratch nick.
He told me that the person in charge (he used a name, I don't remember what it was) is very strict about their quality standards and I believe he said they make everything here in the US. Their own windings, their own varnish, everything they can control to produce a quality product.
He could be feeding me a line, he could be pulling my leg, but I didn't get that feeling at all. He didn't try to hide anything as far as I could tell and was very pleasant, but it didn't seem fake, he seemed like a genuinely nice person.
I will update this when the replacement arrives and any relevant data will be added as well, but that is my experience and I am extremely pleased. A little customer service goes a long way with me. Unless everything falls apart when the replacement shows up (which I highly doubt) they have earned my repeat business and my respect.
TLDR (Too Long, Didn't Read)
My old starter was shot because of issues that were technically my fault and a lack of proper maintenance on my part. They offered a reasonable replacement at a sharply discounted price and were very pleasant to deal with. They have earned my business and I have no issues recommending them.
I purchased a 9050 in September of 2021. It died in July of 2023, just shy of two years. After confirming the issue was the starter and not a wiring problem I contacted powermaster customer support through email.
Here is what I sent them.
Here is the reply I received
Pay attention to the place where he explicitly mentions low voltage being a common issue. I have had issues with my batteries from sitting, and issues with corrosion in my cables, right up to the point it wouldn't start so I had to replace the cables.
So I bought a new starter and shipped this one off. I received a call today (two days after their receipt of the starter) Ed told me that they found lots of damage from low voltage, I don't remember exactly what was said, arcing corrosion or something possibly? I don't want to make it sound like he was spouting BS or anything, I just don't recall exactly what he had said. He also told me the oil from my leak had seeped past the seals and contaminating the internals.
None of this was any surprise to me. He said it wasn't worth repairing, but they could sell me another starter for a discounted price. I did not feel like I was being taken advantage of. Everything made perfect sense and I appreciated the time they took to look at the old starter and explain everything to me.
He told me the price and I will update it with the exact number later, but I believe it was roughly $160 shipped, with about $22 of that being just the shipping charges. For comparison, the replacement starter I bought was the cheapest place I could find another powermaster. Summit had it for $223 plus $18 shipping just over $240 shipped. So they sold me a replacement starter for almost $100 less than list. I was unable to pay at that time as I was driving so I told him I would call back.
I called him a few hours later after work. I told him about the debacle I was having with my alternator and asked what he had. All said and done I spoke with Ed for probably 30 minutes. It was extremely pleasant and honestly felt like talking to an old friend. He was more than happy to answer any questions I had and encouraged me to call again if I needed help.
(Details on my alternator drama here https://www.oilburners.net/threads/diego-revisited.87745/page-19#post-1125895)
I asked him the important question about the replacement starter. Is it a full rebuild of my old one? Is it a complete new unit? Will it be fully tested? Basically what's the deal.
He told me they are technically Blems. It could be a cosmetic issue, or something that failed function testing the first time around. Basically anything that was deemed not good enough by QC to be sold as a new unit. He told me anything that failed the functional test the first time would be replaced and repaired until they passed the test. Everything is run through a Dyno load test and must pass before they will sell it even as a blem. I am perfectly ok with that. I've run Blem batteries before for years without issues. As long as it works as it should, I'm perfectly happy with saving a big chunk of change if it has a scratch nick.
He told me that the person in charge (he used a name, I don't remember what it was) is very strict about their quality standards and I believe he said they make everything here in the US. Their own windings, their own varnish, everything they can control to produce a quality product.
He could be feeding me a line, he could be pulling my leg, but I didn't get that feeling at all. He didn't try to hide anything as far as I could tell and was very pleasant, but it didn't seem fake, he seemed like a genuinely nice person.
I will update this when the replacement arrives and any relevant data will be added as well, but that is my experience and I am extremely pleased. A little customer service goes a long way with me. Unless everything falls apart when the replacement shows up (which I highly doubt) they have earned my repeat business and my respect.
TLDR (Too Long, Didn't Read)
My old starter was shot because of issues that were technically my fault and a lack of proper maintenance on my part. They offered a reasonable replacement at a sharply discounted price and were very pleasant to deal with. They have earned my business and I have no issues recommending them.
