Excellent service. Good price. The service man was very attentive to detail and did a good job. Had to crawl under the house had to get plenty dirty and took it all in stride. read more

Jim at Ballard Electric was recommended from a trusted mechanic. He was excellent to work with - he is super knowledgeable and easy to work with. He pointed out that the parts needed for my alternator were out of stock everywhere and weren't shipping reliably from the manufacturer. However, he worked with me to discuss options to get me back in business as soon as possible. He's incredibly busy but was able to turn things around for me quickly without charging a premium. I wholeheartedly recommend him and will bring my alternator to him if I ever manage to blow it up again. read more

Another old skool shop that we're lucky to have around. Jim put new brushes in the Mirtsubishi gear reduction starter from my 7.3 Diesel for $50. Of course you can't buy simple brushes from a parts store anymore, they just swap out the whole thing for $230. Jim looked up the brushes and ordered them. They arrived when he said they would, the starter was done when he said it would be done, and the price was what he estimated. And in regards to another reviewer who was "uncomfortrable" with the political stuff on the walI, you can expect thart in an old skool shop with blue collar guys working there. I think it's great. If that get's your panties in a bunch you need to take your junk to O'Reilly's read more

Brought my Yanmar Hitachi alternator in at 8:00AM yesterday. He welcomed me into his shop, asked what was going on with the alternator. I told him my voltage output was not consistent and that I was worried the regulator was bad. Without making me feel like an idiot, he said "let's put it on the test bench and see what's going on!" He wired it up, showed me which dials he was using to diagnose, and everything behaved perfectly. He explained to me that this particular alternator needs power to operate, and that it must not be getting power on the boat. Gave me advice for checking wiring, and sent me on my way without asking for a dime. The least I can do is a nice Yelp review; thank you! read more

Ballard Electric saved me A LOT of money recently when I had to replace the solenoid on a starter for a Mercruiser V 8 engine. I had purchased a brand new starter from Ballard Marine Service, a Mercruiser dealer, and the back of the plastic case on the solenoid broke off during installation of the battery cable. Ballard Marine Service was NOT at all helpful claiming that no replacement solenoid was available and that I would have to buy a complete new starter assembly. WRONG ANSWER. I had been considering buying a new small Mercury outboard from them. Needless to say I will NOT be doing ANY business with them in the future. I took the starter to Ballard Electric. Jim looked at it and commented that the solenoid was fairly common part and that they had a replacement on the shelf which they offered to install on the spot. Less than 30 minutes and 50 bucks after walking in the door I walked out the door with a new solenoid and a starter that's fully operational. I love their helpful manner. read more

Ballard Electric took great care of me... I was in a pinch getting ready to head out of town in my classic 36' Chris Craft Commander and one of my Ford FE 427 starter Bendix gears stripped out... poor design from Ford and Jim replaced it in 1 day saving my trip and for a very fair price. Now the other starter gear is worn out and I will soon visit them for the repair. VERY happy they are here in Ballard providing excellent service to keep our classic vehicles running. read more

I buy starter parts from these guys occasionally. The atmosphere in the shop is a little 1960's, but that can be kinda refreshing. I really like Charlie, he's always willing to give some advice too. Technically, these guys are awesome. Service may be a little gruff, but the work they don't cannot be beat! read more

Took a couple of starters in for a "free estimate" They checked them and gave me an estimate of 230$. A new starter cost $140, so I told them not to do the work and that I would pick them up. When I tried to pick them up, first they had trouble locating them, I had to come back a different day to pickup once they found them. Once I picked them up, I found they were completly disassembled, they even took the solenoid apart. I now have junk. Couldn't even re use the solenoid. Go elsewhere, buy new, but if you take your stuff to these guys and dont have them perform the work expect a box of dissassembled pieces. read more

Took my marine alternator in for testing, because it did not seem to be working properly. Upon picking it up I was told that the tech could find nothing wrong with it. $158 dollars later I got my alternator back. even though there was nothing wrong with it Ballard Electric overhauled my 3 year old alternator to the tune of $158. Screw me once shame on them. I won't give them to screw me again. read more

They had the starter I needed but it was faulty and died in two months. When I took it back I had to pay for the replacement because the owner was not there to give me a refund. It took two months, and several calls and two visits, for them to get back to me, then they had the starter fixed and only gave me the repair for the starter. Great, I am out $211 for the starter and $200 in labor to get the faulty one replaced and now I have an extra started that I do not need. I was given great recommendations but will go somewhere else next time, and I recommend you start looking elsewhere. read more

Bad news. No stars I'm afraid. The man running the shop went through a stack of papers after I walked in to inquire about the starter I had dropped off. He initially mentioned he remembered my name, but not when I'd dropped it off and rhat it must have been months ago. (I know it was a day or two before a notable event for me and must have been the 12th or 13th of July 2012. That's about 12 days that I left it with him.) Then he went to the back for a while, emerging to say he didn't have my starter, that it must have been shipped off. I persisted, reasonably I felt, and asked what he was looking under to locate my starter in those papers he'd sifted through. I was thinking I might be able to furnish more pertinent information that might yield positive results. "Your name," he replied. He'd been looking for my name. "And what is my name?" I asked. He had no idea. He didn't know. He told me I should leave and get some help. Taken aback, I asked what sort of help he was suggesting and what he might do if he were in my position. He told me I could get an attorney, saying, "I don't have your damn starter. Are we done?" The starter was not an inexpensive unit from a small car. No apology, no offer to make things right in any way, no acceptance of responsibility, and though I was not upset or loud or rude, just sort of stunned, I felt he was actually being insulting to me with his tone and comments. Unbelievable, but true folks. Was it because I'd told him I was from out of town? Surely one can not sustain a business with such practices alone, however, I wouldn't want to support someone who ever worked that way. I'd find another shop and save the dice rolls for the casino. read more

My car broke down on the way home a couple weeks ago, and I had it towed to these guys. They weren't open, as it was a Sunday, but I left a voicemail and an email with the owner and called them first thing Monday morning. They were SO NICE! They were quick, thorough, and INCREDIBLY COST EFFECTIVE! I expected their work to cost nearly $600 and they charged about $450! Give these guys a chance! :) read more

I've used Ballard Electric (aka, Romaine Electric in Ballard) twice in the past couple years. Once to get the alternator for the inverter on my boat rebuilt, and once to rebuild the electric motor for my bow thruster. The latter is a 29 year old Wesmar model that the Wesmar people insist doesn't exist - "We never made a 12V thruster that big, your problem is you are driving a 24V motor with 12V power." The motor itself was devoid of external identifying markings, but Ballard Electric was able to find serial numbers inside, identity it, and rebuild the motor, as well as confirm it was absolutely a very powerful 12V motor. Ballard Electric was also able to identify and source the right replacement solenoids used to drive the motor from the joystick control (there were four solenoids, two pairs wired in tandem to drive the motor in opposite directions). It now works perfectly (was weak and had dead spots before) with plenty of power. If I'd followed the advice of the Wesmar people (wire it up to 24V) I probably would have fried the motor and/or solenoids and then looking at several thousand for a new thruster. This is an old school business but they know what they are doing, and I feel particularly comfortable taking old school electrics to them. read more

Seeing the other reviews, some of which are great, I usually would ignore a bad one like this. Someone can always find something wrong even when everyone else says great so go with the majority... But I urge you not to ignore this one. My rebuild was a vintage 6 volt fan motor for a car heater blower. It's a vintage 1941 car part so as I've done for many years with old car things, I clearly asked if this was something they even wanted to work on and the answer was yes. And I'm realistic that a small individual job will take a back seat to a big job, it's just good business. But it was pulling teeth to get them to even start on it. So finally it was done the first time, after waiting a couple of months, and they agreed it it didn't work right. Also, a hole was drilled in the bottom of the metal housing for which they had no explanation. So, after they agreed it needed to be further worked, it just sat on the shelf. Every time I asked it was "not yet"...and the reason was "we just haven't gotten to it". And each time it was the same guy mentioned in the other review(s). So I told them I'd be down the following Friday to pick it up done or not and lo and behold it was magically done. No explanation. So - just save yourself the frustration and months of time and go elsewhere. read more

I called to try and get a quote and figure out how long it would take, they informed me that I had to bring it in. I found this odd cause my old shop Ace Alternator would get Starters, Alternators etc done in 4hrs or less; or exchange, and guarantee price I showed up at 7:20am and waited till 7:40ish for it to open, I walked in and was greeted by a rude employee. He was not extremely rude but definitely hit a nerve. He informed me to leave it and they would give me a call. He didn't give me a receipt which was upsetting but i went along with it. While looking around there was a lot of Anti-Obama propaganda which was off putting and made me uncomfortable not to mention unprofessional. I left went on with my day till around 10:30 still had not received a call. When I came in the Starter was right were I left it and had not been touched. I took it and left and am going to go to Allstar Alternators & Starters and will leave a review for them. read more