Anyone else having this problem? Just seems since I had them installed, my cranking battery is drained each time I hook it up to the charger. Like 40% more than before they were installed.

Something must not be right

There isn't any draw on the battery when they arnt in use

I would go through all the connections on the batteries and make sure nothing is connected wrong

never had this problem, only have one pp. if a wet battery check the water level- also check it with a battery hydrometer you might have a weak cell or two - or maybe its time to replace.

i installed a 50amp cutoff switch between the pump and battery to prevent drainage or accidental deployment while pulling boat.

My pp pump has a blinking LED on it that doesn't shut off. It drains my battery. I'm working on getting it fixed.

I'm not familiar with that style pump. My signature series is just a basic motor/pump/resivore

mine does too but the service people at hydrilla gear say that it would have take a whole lot of hours- they said more than 30 days if i am not mistaken or even more, just sitting there in order for it to drain a battery. i also think they said that it pulls a 10th of an amp. call hydrilla gear just to make sure i may be way off on my info. great service.

They will pull on your battery alittle, Just put a battery cut off switch, $6-$12 bucks , Problem solved.

That's what happens when you let your boat sit for so long without use buddy. But hey at least you got one. You should let me use it. I will break in the livewells for ya. Lol

The blades have a pump with the LED on it that stays on all the time. So they most likely are pulling more than a little. But Dillards right. It has sat longer than normal this time due to a move.

This sort of perplexes me. I don't understand how or why manufacturers release products that drain power when not in use. Why should a peron have to go too the trouble and expense of installing an additional electrical switch just to prevent unnecessary battery failure ? It makes no sense to me. I don't have a powerpole but I did have an accessory wired directly to my cranking battery and even when the accessory is turned off it pulls a small drain on the battery. I found out the hard way. When I returned home after an extended family emergency my cranking battery was toast. I contacted the manufacturer of the accessory and explained the issue and was told that the new units addressed this issue. I sent mine in and it was replaced with a new "improved" model. I also received great customer service in that I received an additional check to replace the battery. After installing the new "improved" model I verified that the new "improved model did the same thing, it pulled juice from the battery at all times even when turned off. Now that I know tha that I simply pull the power cable from the unit when I load the boat and leave it off until the next trip. In this case it's not that big of a deal once I found out and the power cable is rather accessible but I just don't undetstand why products are released in this fashion.

It's a new Optima blue top. It's not the battery.

Most all newer outboard engines, some depthfinder/gps/side-imaging units, powerpoles, security systems, radio/stereos, draw a small amount of parasitic voltage from whatever battery they're hooked up to, get used to it or get rid of it!

I was told by people who know and install a lot of PP's that it is wise to have a power cut off to your pumps. In case there is a malfunction where the pump engages when your not around , it could burn a pump up. I have one on mine just as a precaution.

I understand installing a cutoff switch to prevent damage in case of a malfunction. This makes sense. I have way too many accessories on my boat that do not draw or drain the battery regardless of how long it sits. It is for this reason I think it's nonsense for a product to come to market that "will" drain your battery when not in use or turned on.

Glad you posted this I am going to put one on my boat. Good info.

It drained mine in a couple weeks.

Bro same thing happens on my blades. I have to take the fuses out after every time because it drains my cranking battery. Idk what the deal is.

Prepare to get further frustrated. Increasingly many of our boat electronics place small parasitic loads on the c battery even when console is turned off and boat is not being used. Digital Trolling motors, marine stereos, two way radios and boat security alarms are some examples.... and you would not want to switch power off to your emergency float switched bilge pump.

FIX:
1) People/dealers are buying/rigging too large of cranking batteries with excessive unneeded CCA/MCA amps. Bigger is not better. They need batteries with more RC minutes. Batteries installed by dealers often don't have enough Reserve Capacity Minutes and far too many CCA/MCAs above what the boat motor calls for.

2)Owners need to charge up at end of every day's fishing and leave on FLOAT charger 24/7 at home.

3) They can also do what I did on my bass boat...install a dedicated 'house electronics' deep cycle battery and keep it charged.

End of over discharged cranking batteries.



.

Yep mine does the same thing. Led is always on. This is on the new "c" monster pumps.

unhook the negative everytime you park it. always a good habit. we hit a bump on the way back from choke and fuel tank got loose and landed on some wires. i know you shouldn't have to, but its habit with me everytime i pull up the ramp.

http://askville.amazon.com/electrical-th...questId=9373555
It's something you should not take for granted. Trickle charger or cut off switch. Cars will do the same thing if you park them for months.

mine does same thing. new monster pump. not a problem 1st half of year, but when deer season gets close and through it, i have to charge a lot.

Don't rule out the battery Chris. Dustin bought three new Optima Blues a month ago. One went dead in 2 weeks. Not bashing here but he's not the first person I've known that has had a bad Optima....

Your late model computer controled outboards drain on the battery all of the time. Your newer GPS`s draw all of the time. Disconnect switch needed.

My new Optima Blue top had to be replaced the first week I had it. Just saying dude!

C Monster controls do put a slight draw continually, I leave my boat on my Stealth charger 24/ 7 and use a deep cycle battery for all of my accessories without incident so far

Not trying to hijack the OP here. I understand the "FACT" that lots of setups drain batteries. All I'm saying is I have plenty of experience with setups and accessories that DON'T drain batteries when turned to the OFF position. The question remains. Why don't manufacturers ADDRESS this issue before releasing product. We all KNOW it can be done. Just sayin......

So share how you 'know it can be done' and let's get a US patent.....

you will then be having an idle Power Pole connected to the battery drawing absolutly 0 milliamps and then magically it wakes up and turns on full pump power instantly whenever you want to press a button on the wireless remote.

Lou, not sure what you're getting at but my experience over 30 yrs. with several bass boats has shown to me that it is not necessary to have accessories that slowly but surely put a drain on batteries. I'm just saying this is my experience which includes letting my boat sit as long as 4 months. I've had boats with a wide range of accessories during these years. Since I am convinced it is possible I just don't understand why products come to the market that will insidiously bring aggravation and frustration unneccesarily. Look at it like this (and I'm not trying to be a jackwagon here, I'm just saying...)
They did send a man to the moon a while back it seems this request is a rather reasonable position when all things are considered.

I understand having a cutoff switch serves the purpose of accidentally activating an accessory, but a knowing, willful intentional drain on the battery is unneccesary and easily preventable before products come to market.
Comments to the effect of "get used to it or get rid of it" do nothing to promote useful discussion of this issue.

Thanks,
Steve

The new generation of products do tend to work differently than old generation products.

Your old 1990 era trolling motor used to route the full motor current through the foot pedal switch and so it drew 0 amps until it was pressed. And you likely replaced that expensive huge foot switch more than once when it repeatedly arc'ed, & failed. Today's TMs send a small sense voltage up to that foot switch and now that little switch lasts and lasts and we tend to happily accept the fact that the switch sensing voltage does place a small parasitic draw on the TM battery.

Similar with Power Poles....they place a small but necessary parasitic load on the battery if you choose to not install a console powered driven relay or manual breaker or other means to shut off your PP power entirely.

I myself don't want to buy a PP equipped with a huge on/off switch requiring heavy gauge wiring to be run up to my crowded console just to eliminate a few mill-amps of battery drain.... a drain which for a day or two doesn't affect properly sized , maintained and regularly charged batteries anyway.

i dont think you understand. It will drain my battery by half in only 3-4 days... and will be completly dead (not being able to crank the big motor) in about 10.

They def have an issue with the C-monster pumps.

3-4 days is too long for a partly discharged battery needing charged to not be on a charger. Batteries properly maintained on a bass boat with today's electronics need recharged overnight after a day on the water and then left on a proper float charger 24/7.

For trailering safety and no drain on the battery, the power pole power needs the boat supplied power to be powered off by a user installed switch.

This!

And mine just sat for about a month! I got it back charged and going. Worked fine today.

They should have an on off switch like my troll motor.

i installed my cut off switch right by the pump, not on my console. my boat too has sat (unfortunately) for a month and my batteries were ok. after every boat outing i connect my batteries to charger- if i know i wont be going back out soon i periodically charge them too. they are always ready to go. my one cent, inflation.

Ive got two 8ft. blades and have both of them hooked up to one of my trolling motor batteries, no problems.

No problems here either, I do turn my main switch off if boat is going to be setting for awhile.

Mine's been doing the same thing Chris. I've been pulling the fuse while in the garage and plan on installing an on/off switch asap.

I have sold and installed hundreds of Power Pole units. I will say that not ALL of the C-monster pumps are draining batteries. Some guys have noted some factors that come into play. Electronics, Engines, lights, and these new electrical dash systems such as found in Ranger, Skeeter etc all draw on the batteries. With all systems working properly and a healthy battery the new CMONSTER pump should last weeks without draining a battery. If anyone has any questions or needs any help. Please feel free to shoot me an email or call my cell phone. 561-926-2664. Rich.

put a relay inline with the power wires to your pump's and have the relay energized by your power switch,that way the only time they have power is when the master switch is on.The relay needs to be a continuos use relay are even a continuos use solenoid similar to the old ford solenoids that only power on when the master power switch comes on.that will eliminate the draw from the pumps.

Sinkey i can do this for ya no problem.

This is what I had done a couple of months ago by Joe @ Dean's Marine and the problem is fixed! Great suggestion Stan!

A sizable amp rated N.O. (Normal Open)powered relay will stop the Power Pole's battery drain onlywhenever the console/console switch are powered off.

But it will add yet an additional parasitic power drain on the cranking battery throughout the day when the console/switch is powered. It will be similar to leaving a live-well pump running during the day's fishing.....

and the parasitic battery drain caused by the Power Pole itself that is being complained about, will still be there all day whether the Power Pole is used or not.

The coil in the user installed relay when energized all day draws several milliamps itself which are wasted not powering anything else.

As long as you crank the big motor and it can recharge the battery during the day, the additional relay drain on the battery may not be noticed.
-------------------
From the Power=Pole Installation Manual:
6. Unravel the red and black wires on the HPU. Route
the red wire to a 12 volt positive source via a battery
switch, and route the black wire to a 12 volt negative
source via a common ground post.
http://www.power-pole.com/jlmarine/support/manuals/power-pole-blade-installation-manual.pdf

wouldn't think it was the LED'S.
they draw milliamps.would take a long time to suck down a fully charged battery.

I run my main power through a Blue Sea battery switch that gets shut off when the boat isn't in use. The only thing that I never shut off is the automatic bilge pump.

I have the same LED lights on my new rig- I am almost positive the guys at HW told me you could turn them off- I could be mistaken as I have not been able to find anything in the manual or had any luck pushin buttons???

Very strange... have never heard of a product's salesman or pro-staffer rep being biased or technically incorrect.

Anyway, if only the LED itself were disconnected, the receiver circuit listening for the remote signal would still likely be powered on and placing a parasitic load on the battery.

Speaking of .............

This is the first Power Pole thread in the history of mankind that Cody Malone has not commented in. Now isn't that a coincidence.

I am not sure what you mean, but I am not accusing them of misleading me- Apparently I misunderstood-

I'm' sure it was just a simple misunderstanding too.....

If the PowerPole with LED or No LED is listening for a remote signal to operate, it has to be drawing battery power.

the cost on the power poles would go through the roof if they had to adapt,because like Lou is saying it has to have some power there due to the fact that it is wireless,to build a controller that would go to sleep and drop the voltage down to less than a .25 milliamp drain would be very costly.the only thing im saying is its a simple fix for those of you who dont want to deal with it,most of you will never see any problem with hooking it up the way im talking about.Either way i dont think any of yall want to pay for the r-d to put that thing to sleep.
its kinda like car remotes,you have a controller that stays awake for 48 hours drawing less then a .25 milliamp draw,this controller just sits there for 48 hours powers up every 4 hours then shuts back down,with our bassboats we spend a lot more time with the engine not running then you do with it running so it would probably not be feasible to go this route.

For what you pay for these things, you would think they would have thought about this or thrown a switch in for you to install with the poles.

And you would also think Lowrance and others could keep water out of electronic head units for the price they cost as well...

As noted simply put the pumps on an existing on/off master or add an on/off and be done with it. JMO

The first time I found out about this problem was in a tournament and my cranking battery wouldnt start. I had fish and weigh in was in 10 minutes. That was a nice panic!

It's the Bluetooth on the C Monster pumps that is draining the battery. Its searching for new devices constantly. They should be able to fix the problem with a firmware update.

Glad I found this. I have 2 PP and the LED lights stay on all the time. My last boat only had 1 PP and the LED light blinked. The boat is brand new and I thought I had a bad cranking battery so I replaced it. Now the new battery is draining down in about 6-7 weeks. Got the boat in Sept and haven't been able to use it much due to hunting season.
Now I know to unhook them or get a cut off switch...

Thanks for the info guys.

I either keep the on board charger hooked up or turn the main power switch off, if you do not have a power switch maybe you can trip a breaker.

My installer did, it came with the install, he said he does it on all installs to keep it from deploying accidentally going down the road etc.

I flip it on when i get to the lake and off when i get off the lake...

I also had main master cut-offs on my old boat, need to put them on this one too...

I just take my fuses out.

My blade is wired to my secondary breaker on my ranger z-21. I have always flipped both this breaker and main breaker off when leaving the lake and they stay off until I return to the lake next time. Never any issues here and can never deploy going down the highway. I guess I don't understand why anyone would not wire it through the main breaker or a breaker of some kind that you always turn off. I love my power pole.

Have Chris put a switch on it Barrett. Like he did on mine. You will like it 10x better.

Sinky do you not have a breaker on that boat.?

I unhooked mine from the battery,,quick fix for now.

Yes, but to have just my poles on 1 switch makes it 10x easier and faster.

Power Pole sent me a service bullitin stating that they recomend putting a shut off

i had an extra perko switch laying around and i used that.

It is the new wireless switches for power poles. After every trip I disconnect from batteries until I can put a new switch in

I believe you can download firmware that puts the C Monster pumps to sleep after 6 hrs of no use. But does anyone have instructions or pics of the shutoff switch and how to install them?

They should have been installed with a switch. Known problem. In my Ranger I flip the switch and turn off all power to the boat when I get off the water.

I had the same problem. I did not read all the responses but I was told to cut off the power to the pumps when not on the water. Mine has a switch for this but I did not know to cut it off until I took it back to the dealer.

The dealer told me what the problem was and after turning off the power to the pump, I have not had a problem since.

I have a breaker installed on mine but I do have another issue, mine deploys really slow like the battery is dead or something. I swapped out batteries and it still is doing it, any ideas?

This is a good switch:

http://www.amazon.com/Marinco-701-Batter...ailpage_o09_s00

Hookem, there's 3 speed settings for deployment, slow/medium /and high. I can't remember how to set it, but I'm sure it's in the manual.

Nothing like bumping a 3 year old post for your intro to the TFF. some of these guys have had 2 boats since this post was first made.