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Battery Question #11934506 11/15/16 01:46 AM
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RedShadWorm Offline OP
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Novice boat owner here, and I have an old boat. 92 Ranger, same year Johnson outboard.

I have a talon, 2 HDS Touch units, livewells, and nav lights that run off of the starting battery, and two batteries that run the trolling motor. Batteries are good lead acid batteries about one year old.

After fishing for a while and cranking up to move, I'm getting a low voltage alarm (less than 11 volts I believe) on the fish finder and one time after running the livewells most all day the battery didn't have enough juice to crank. I jumped the starting battery off of the trolling motor batteries and went on my way. I've never had a problem running the trolling motor and have never noticed a drop in power.

My question is as follows. Is this to be expected and something that I should just manage during the day or does this seem like a problem that I should get checked out? I expect older outboards such as mine don't have the alternator power that newer models have to run the prolifiration of electronic devices we've enjoyed. Is there another solution I might want to think about? Do you think the starter battery could be bad?

Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11934526 11/15/16 01:59 AM
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Slade Offline
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That has happened to me, I replaced the starting battery and issue went away. It has happened once or twice with a newer battery but I was running my livewell and both graphs,
Etc. I thought I may need to replace the battery again but it has only happened once. So I would make sure it has a good strong charge on it and see if it happens again. If it keeps happening then I would replace the battery.


PB 10.58 Joe Pool

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11934541 11/15/16 02:09 AM
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Lou r Pitcher Offline
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Everytime you discharge a flooded lead acid battery below 50%, the plates will sulfate. If recharged promptly, they can sometimes fully recover, almost.

Best to buy more than enough battery capacity to start with, monitor battery voltages during the day with a digital gauge being careful to never over-discharge the battery which on some days later toward the end of life of the battery means stopping to go to shore and recharge when the battery reaches only ~50% state of charge. A battery should never be allowed to become so discharged that it would not easily crank an engine.


Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11934547 11/15/16 02:16 AM
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tommyc Offline
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Some of those devices draw power when your boat is sitting where ever you store it. Make sure the batteries are topped off right before you leave for the lake.
I am a fan of Optima blue tops, 31 series. Have to have a charger that will charge agm batteries though.
If running the live wells all day, you have to have a huge battery, imo, with all the other devices drawing power as well especially if you are not doing much running around.


Tom Cornelius

Romans 10:9-11



Re: Battery Question [Re: tommyc] #11934554 11/15/16 02:21 AM
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RedShadWorm Offline OP
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Yeah, I do a good job always charging overnight before fishing and try to after fishing but always isn't possible. My storage unit doesn't have power unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm going to look for a new high quality cranking / accessory battery and see if I get some better results.

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11934841 11/15/16 06:31 AM
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Bobby Milam Offline
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You didn't say what size battery you have. My starter battery that came int he boat is small. I find that night fishing for 6 hours, my battery will barely have enough juice left to start the motor. It is still good, just not sufficient to run everything for extended periods of time. I had enough room that I just added a larger battery and it runs nothing but my lights and fish finders. My cranking battery is solely for the motor and never had another issue. The motors don't put out enough of a charge to recharge the battery, more of just enough to operate it.

Find a way to charge them right after fishing to keep from shortening the life of the battery. Sounds like your trolling motor is either 24 or 36v which is more efficient than the 12v cranking battery. They don't need the same power that cranking the motor requires at one time.

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11934846 11/15/16 07:03 AM
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bbassfishes Offline
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I had the same issue. The solution is a higher end starting battery. I picked up an AGM battery. Never had the issue again. The only down side is that AGM batteries are far more expensive than regular batteries. IMO it's worth the extra cost to not have to worry if my boat will start at the end of the day.

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11935057 11/15/16 02:18 PM
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varnoldi Offline
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Install a perko switch. I have a group 29 deep cycle battery that runs everything when trolling (finder, live well, trolling motor and radio w/2amps). When its time to move locations , switch the perko over to the starting battery and its full. once started change the switch to "ALL" and the motor will charge both batteries. A Perko switch is $29- cheap insurance.

Can switch the perko to "OFF" when storing , nothing will draw the batteries down this way .


2003 VIP vixen 2096
Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11935091 11/15/16 02:47 PM
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Lou r Pitcher Offline
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Quote:
I do a good job always charging overnight before fishing and try to after fishing but always isn't possible. My storage unit doesn't have power unfortunately.


That is a serious problem and no matter what size battery you use, regularly storing it in a state of discharge and less than fully capacity is going to result in very much shortened battery life and soon an inability to last a day on the water. You need to charge it promptly the day it is off the water and all nite as a just turned green charged light still does not mean it is yet close to being yet properly fully recharged.

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11935516 11/15/16 07:41 PM
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Bigron119 Offline
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What SIZE is your Battery??? Is it a group 24, 27, or maybe even a 31. With alllllll the electronics we use nowdays the group 24 just doesn't keep up with the daily battery drain. Also, check if your automatic bilge switch is activating frequently. (If you have one.) Mine got stuck in the Garage and depeted my battery so much that I had to get a new one. Even after I changed out the auto switch it fell over and was causing my bilge to come on more frequently than it should have. The point is there are lots of "side" electrical units that do a drain. (Power Poles also. Not sure of the continuous possible drain from a Talon.) Do you run your RECIRCULATOR/AERATOR on Continuous or with a timer. That can cause a significant continuous drain.
1. Check any continuous running items. If you are just now experiencing the problems it could be due to that or your battery not getting recharged.
2. Always recharge your Cranking Battery when you finish up the day. Do NOT rely on the Motor/Alternator to do that completely.
3. Check your battery size. Consider moving UP to the biggest you can afford and have room for!!!! (You get what you pay for! Little battery, Little Money.)

I won't say you have a crappy battery and recommend you get a $400 battery or you need to get an onboard switchover system. Your system is probably overusing your juice. You can upgrade to a stronger battery for approx $130 for a Group 31. IF there is not an UNUSUAL drain staying on.
4. CHECK YOUR WATER LEVEL in the Battery. Often times I have forgotten to check during the HOT summer and my batteries were low on water. It is very very easy to forget.

Last edited by Bigron119; 11/15/16 07:48 PM.
Re: Battery Question [Re: Lou r Pitcher] #11935875 11/15/16 11:16 PM
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PaPa@fork Offline
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Originally Posted By: Lou r Pitcher
Quote:
I do a good job always charging overnight before fishing and try to after fishing but always isn't possible. My storage unit doesn't have power unfortunately.


That is a serious problem and no matter what size battery you use, regularly storing it in a state of discharge and less than fully capacity is going to result in very much shortened battery life and soon an inability to last a day on the water. You need to charge it promptly the day it is off the water and all nite as a just turned green charged light still does not mean it is yet close to being yet properly fully recharged.


X2
You MUST CHARGE before you go and after you return, if you don't and I don't care what type of battery you buy it's not going to last.


If it was easy, everyone would do it
Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11935941 11/15/16 11:44 PM
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GIG'EM AGGIES Offline
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All the advice you've gotten here is right on. The two best and should solve your problem is #1- ALWAYS ALWAYS charge your batteries as soon as possible after use and #2- using nothing less than a 31 series deep cycle battery for everything. AGM battery's are great but very expensive but if you maintain your lead acid battery's they will last as long. I've got good service from Everstart battery's but I keep my boat in my garage and put the battery's on charge as soon as I get home and I have a great 3 bank charger.


I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 50 years later. I get an allowance every month. I have PU truck and a bass boat, I am blessed.
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Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11935997 11/16/16 12:05 AM
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Curtbass Offline
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If you add water to a battery, ALWAYS use distilled water. NEVER tap water due to mineral content. ALWAYS charge a battery as soon as possible after use. Sitting in a discharged consition can shorten battery life by up to 50%


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Tight lines & stay safe out there.Gods blessings
Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11936116 11/16/16 01:10 AM
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YAKaddict Offline
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I run all my electronics , bilge , radio ,livewells and trolling motor off of a deep cycle , and run my motor off of a starting battery and i have no problems. From what I understand a deep Cycle gives continuous power but a starting battery gives you a instant boost of power(starting the motor)...i may be wrong though. Only time my deep cycle runs low is after a long windy day of having my tm(12v) on high power.

Re: Battery Question [Re: RedShadWorm] #11936534 11/16/16 08:46 AM
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Lucky Al Offline
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If you don't have a master switch on the starting battery, the gps on your depth/fish finders will discharge the battery overnight, or even while towing. I installed a Perko switch, but if I don't remember to turn off the power after fishing, the battery will discharge significantly. If you can't fish for a full 8 hours, the battery probably has a bad cell. A load test will tell you. I even turn off the unit on the helm when I'm fishing to conserve power.

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