Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 36

Thread: Halo 2 woes

  1. #1
    Member rayofthedead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Trevose, PA
    Posts
    74
    Post Thanks / Like

    Halo 2 woes

    This is part review part venting. I ordered the Arctic Ice Halo 2 the day it hit the site. I also ordered the matching grip which didn't hit the site until a week later for some reason. Once I got the Halo I was stoked. It looks and feels like a quality machine. The finish on the Arctic Ice model is really cool too. It's like unfinished aluminum, and I say that in a good way. I ran that bad boy for a week and fell in love. It has everything my Edge X has plus more give and will run traditional needles and tubes. It's just awesome.

    About 10 days or so, it started stalling on me when I pressed the peda down. If I tapped the give knob it started right up but I'd have to do that every time I stopped. I noticed the motor heating up after a bit of running it this way. I tried a bunch of cartridges to no avail. I was so stoked to have the machine, I didnt want to send it back so I pulled the motor out and ran it for a sec to see if it gave me any trouble. I put a small dab of lube on the shaft after pulling the cam and also on the slide to see if it was a line issue. Nothing changed so I disconnected it and put it in the drawer and decided to send it back.

    The fact that the machine was giving me trouble doesn't bother me one bit. It happens and I know the type of quality FKI is known for. My complaint is with how everything transpired after I sent it back. I won't even call this a complaint, but a warning to anyone experiencing issues with their equipment. They determined that the motor was over lubricated and that I needed a replacement motor. They told me this wasn't covered under warranty. I understand why because they assume I over lubed it and that was that. I explained to them that I only lubed it after having issues. I'm ok with this because I'm impatient and wanted to try to fix the damn thing myself. My issue is that I'll never know what was actually wrong with my machine. Hopefully it was a motor issue and it will be fine when I get it back. Like I said, just a warning. Learn from my mistake and don't tinker if it's fucked up.

    my only true complaint is that they never told me what was wrong with my machine. I didn't get notice that they received the machine, looked at the machine, or that I even owed them money for the repair. It was after my third call to them that I found out it was 'pending payment'. The guy who helped me was super nice and even sympathetic when I told him what happened. I just wish I would have been kept posted on my machine. I don't make a lot of money and i only have 2 machines, this Halo 2 and my Edge X. Luckily the Edge runs like a top but if I didn't have it or it broke down, I'd be screwed.

    I guess this is just a critique on the repair process more than anything. It's not the end of the world and hopefully my machine runs great when I get it back. I just thought I'd post something since it was on my mind. FK makes a great product and their customer service is great, hopefull this is just a hiccup and any more interaction I have with them will go smooth.

  2. Like rollhard liked this post.
  3. #2
    Member Christo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    N/A
    Posts
    72
    Post Thanks / Like
    By this account, you have been a pretty stand up guy to have accepted liability in the first place, when the faulty motor is still there, surely it could be identified as problematic regardless of the lubing.. I should hope it comes back perfect

  4. #3
    Member rayofthedead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Trevose, PA
    Posts
    74
    Post Thanks / Like
    Thats all I'm hoping is that it was a faulty motor. I had a Stigma Bizarre a while back that had a slide that was just a bit to big and it was causing friction in the machine and they had to send me a new, modified slide. I just hope that the motor was the issue and I dont have to send it back again. Yeah, I'm bummed that i had to pay $100 for a new motor but like i said, i accept responsibility for the lubing, but if it was a faulty motor, i'm ok with it and I'm just out a hundred bucks and I learned a valuable lesson.

  5. #4
    Senior Member eduki's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Bilbao Spain
    Posts
    239
    Post Thanks / Like
    Hi there! You gave an honest description of what happened, sorry for your problem and I understand your frustration, knowing that wasn't you who fucked up the rotary, but I also have to understand Fkirons as they don't know if your excess of lubrication was the origen of the problem or not and they have a legit excuse to talk about warranty limits, but at the same time kind of weird that they didn't have more reports of problems like you had, and give you an explanation.
    Bad idea to open by yourself the machine, even if you don't touch anything inside and just open it, it's enough to be out of warranty 99% of times with whatever the item in this world.

  6. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Helen, GA
    Posts
    331
    Post Thanks / Like
    If they told you what was wrong then they would have to accept responsibility for the problem. Thats one scenario. Another is that you slipped through the cracks and didnt get the communication that your problem deserved. Who knows man. Pro tip: You need more than 2 machines.

  7. #6
    Member rayofthedead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Trevose, PA
    Posts
    74
    Post Thanks / Like
    I'm willing to accept that I probably slipped through the cracks and got forgotten about. I really dont have hard feelings about it, I'm definitely willing to give them another shot if it comes down to it. I never use more than one machine for any given tattoo, i feel a daily driver and a backup should suffice. Especially when using $550+ machines and cartridges.

    eduki- just to clarify, i never opened the motor, the halo 2 has a motor system where the motor disconnects from the machine for quick swapping. I never did anything to the interior parts of the motor.

  8. #7
    Senior Member Butternuts's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Saint Marys
    Posts
    318
    Post Thanks / Like
    I had both the Halo 1 and 2. How did you over lube it enough to get it into the motor?

  9. #8
    Senior Member eduki's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Bilbao Spain
    Posts
    239
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by rayofthedead View Post
    I'm willing to accept that I probably slipped through the cracks and got forgotten about. I really dont have hard feelings about it, I'm definitely willing to give them another shot if it comes down to it. I never use more than one machine for any given tattoo, i feel a daily driver and a backup should suffice. Especially when using $550+ machines and cartridges.

    eduki- just to clarify, i never opened the motor, the halo 2 has a motor system where the motor disconnects from the machine for quick swapping. I never did anything to the interior parts of the motor.
    Yes, my bad... I misunderstood you sorry

  10. Like Mog liked this post.
  11. #9
    Knows Whats Up!
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Vancouver bc
    Posts
    1,049
    Post Thanks / Like
    To be honest I have had problems with almost all of my fk iron machines I won't go into huge detail and well there customer service had been good in the past I also experience the same as you being ignored / forgotten sad they have had a down fall of it with them getting so much busier Really frustrating when you are loyal to a company for years and send out recommendations to buy there products and then they make you not want to continue doing business with them after repeated incidents like this

  12. Like rollhard liked this post.
  13. #10
    Member rayofthedead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Trevose, PA
    Posts
    74
    Post Thanks / Like
    I hear that man. I also am a huge proponent of supporting machine makes that are artists as well and are actually beneficial to the progress of our industry. I stopped using Cheyenne products and started with FK solely for that reason and stuck with them because of their quality. Hopefully with all of their success and hard work, they can maintain their standard not only in products but in all aspects of to company. I plan on being a long time supporter of FK Irons but I won't give them blind allegiance.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •