Ion issue

[usmtsrocks]

Bought an ion around 2 years Ago, love the auger never had any issues til last weekend. Was on red and Friday worked great no issues, Saturday I got nothing, no power no matter what I tried. Battery is great, always keep out of cold. Was thinking the trigger/safety switch. Had that apart and all wires look good and connected....no clue what the issue is. Called the 800 customer support number and got no answer or call back after leaving a message. Anyone else have this issue, or know who to get ahold of to figure this out? Kinda frustrated. Thanks.

[leech~~]

Here is some info from another site where a guy had an issue like you did.

Having not actually read the manual I left the auger out in the cold and went to fishing like I would any gas auger. Like so many times on the ice it was time to move and we packed up and moved to a new location. Once there I hop on the auger to pop a few more holes but it will not start. A little frustrated I give up and we fire up my buddys gas auger and pop a few more holes. Temp outside still in the high -28° range. Later in the day the temps had warmed up and I was able to use the auger again. Pretty upset about this first trial I went home kind of grumpy. Got on their HSOforum and found out they recommend keeping the battery warm in extreme temps taking it off and putting it in the hut should fix this issue. I also read that the battery should hold a charge for six months. Ok, no charging between this and my next trip. This time we headed to Twin Lakes wanted to test the cold temp theory by keeping the battery in the hut but it was not needed with this weird Colorado winter temps were in the low 20s which the auger should be able to keep up with even if left outside. IMO.Time to see if the auger is still fully charged, I pulled it out and hit the battery tester on the battery three lights, nice the battery held its charge. I popped a few holes through 2ft of ice still cut quickly and quietly just like it did its first holes. Awesome. Fished most of the day popping a lot of holes looking for fish and the auger held up great. As the day went on I was drilling another hole and half way through the auger just stopped. Hrmmm maybe I let up on the trigger a little I drill some more and it goes another 10 inches and stops. Hrmmm again. I start it again and it pokes through the ice. So I start the next hole and it keeps stopping. I check the battery tester and it lights 2 lights. Should still have plenty of charge, IMO. But the next half dozen holes I drill all have the same results the auger just stops as you are drilling it turns fine but when drilling it no longer can cut through the whole ice column doing it instead in spurts. Finally it would only turn two or three rotations and it would stop, hitting the battery tester only showed one light. Their HSOforum says it will do 40 holes through 24 of ice. I was not counting but between the two trips three weeks apart I probably came close to that number. The lights on the battery seem to me a little mis-leading at two lights I feel it should still be able to drill through 24 of ice no problem. But at two lights you still will make it through the ice, at one light its time to switch batteries. Which I recommend buying a backup battery for the auger.

Here's another suggestion for keeping the batteries warm.

One thing that I thought was a nice touch, was a battery bag that was offered for free at the expo where I bought the auger. The bag is designed to hold two batteries and has hand warmers in interior pouches to keep the batteries warm. The bag also offers some insulation against cold, snow, and ice. It is available on the Ion HSOforum’s accessories page, but doesn’t have a price listed.

[pushbutton]

This will be my third year as well after buying a first run product, so far like you, never an issue. Always have suspected the safety switch thingy could be a weak point, wether this is your issue or not, obviously can't say. Also have always given favorable feedback simply because the unit has performed great within it's limitations....with the caution..... that time will tell how reliable the unit is over tme. Keep us updated.

[usmtsrocks]

I'm 99.9% sure it's not the battery. How does one get ahold of anyone do with ion? Calling the number on their site seems completely worthless

[pushbutton]

Am sure they were shut down over thanksgiving. Are you calling Eskimo customer service or Ion # ? Try calling the Eskimo customer service #....they will be able to direct/help.

[Hawg]

How can you expect anyone to be there on a holiday? They are nice people and you can talk to anyone you want there. They have never not answered the phone during business hours.

[usmtsrocks]

Hawg, I am not that dumb to expect them to answer on Thanksgiving. I have called all week with no answer...thanks for your 2 cents tho. Pushbutton, I have not tried Eskimo directly, but I will! Thanks!