24 volt battery ???

[msp]

24 volt minn kota power drive. New batteries last April. dual bank BPS charger ( piece of crap )

This system worked great all season last year.Now ths year it wont hold a charge. After 6 hours of fishing its almost dead. It will usually go 2 days. Im wondering if I need to buy more batteries? better charger? any tips and suggestions for propper battery care would be greatly apreciated

[bdox]

How were they stored over the winter? If this is the first charge of the year, it might take a couple drain/charge cycles before they will charge to full capacity.

[Terry]

winter can kill batteries if not stored right

 

but could be just one dead battery or the charger

 

if you have a meter you can tell which battery is weak or most fishfinders have a volt meter on them you can check it that way

[scugpg]

good charger goes a very long way. I cooked a few batteries using a bad charger. I recommend the CTEK line they have been very good.

[Nipfisher]

Have you checked the water levels in the battery?

[Fisherman]

It will usually go 2 days.

Going by your quote above, I'm suspecting that you are failing to completely recharge the batteries at the end of each day. People buy batteries, use them and when they go bad, they blame the battery, the charger, their dog, the wife, etc, when in most cases, it's the operator. Batteries are like expensive girlfriends, you put them away wet(discharged/partially discharged)and they will get angry and moldy(won't work to their full capacity anymore). Even the best brands and quality batteries "don't like" to be discharged much below 50%, some will tolerate down to about 80% discharge but that is the extreme low end. You must recharge them, and keep them on a charger such as the one mentioned above, CTEK or Battery Minder(VDC Electronics). They will maintain your batteries over the storage season. My boat battery is 7 years old, stil holds 90% load rating. Last year my RV battery finally pooched, but, it was 11 years old. Treat them right, they will reciprocate.

[aplumma]

Going by your quote above, I'm suspecting that you are failing to completely recharge the batteries at the end of each day. People buy batteries, use them and when they go bad, they blame the battery, the charger, their dog, the wife, etc, when in most cases, it's the operator. Batteries are like expensive girlfriends, you put them away wet(discharged/partially discharged)and they will get angry and moldy(won't work to their full capacity anymore). Even the best brands and quality batteries "don't like" to be discharged much below 50%, some will tolerate down to about 80% discharge but that is the extreme low end. You must recharge them, and keep them on a charger such as the one mentioned above, CTEK or Battery Minder(VDC Electronics). They will maintain your batteries over the storage season. My boat battery is 7 years old, stil holds 90% load rating. Last year my RV battery finally pooched, but, it was 11 years old. Treat them right, they will reciprocate.

 

 

You are right on keep them fully charged after and between trips is very important. Check the water in the battery and make sure you refill it with distilled water not more acid. The truth of the matter on battery chargers is people will drop $250.00 on batteries and not put the same amount for a decent charger.

 

 

Art

[msp]

Thanks for the repies guys. I used the boat all through December and started using it in early March. All last year I always recharged the batteries as soon as I got home. All winter ( Jan & Feb. ) I charged them every couple of weeks to make sure that they never sat uncharged. I have had already about a dozen trips out this season with no problems. However I have been having problems with the BPS charger. It never read the same thing when it was charging. sometimes it red charging , sometimes it read float and someimes it read go fish. I dont trust that charger any longer. I was checking the batteries and one read 10.2 V and the other read 12.3V. where in the GTA can I find the CTEC chargers?

Edited May 4, 2010 by msp

[Terry]

drain the batteries with the trolling motor, the switch the charger wires to the opposite batteries and chargeif the same one is 10.2 then it's the battery

if the opposite battery is low, then it's the charger that's the problem....

[Fisherman]

The battery that is giving the 10.2 reading has a bad cell, most likely shorted and not much you can do about that one, hopefully there's some warranty left on it.

[fish_fishburn]

If you go to a battery store and ask them for a product that you add to your battery cells to rejuvenate them. I cant think of the name of the product off hand but one small bottle takes care of one battery for about 20.00. I have only seen this product in battery only stores. I use it in my batteries every couple of years and get seven, maybe eight years use out of my batteries. But most important is the charger. Personally if it says Made in China leave it on the shelf. I use a charger made by DUAL PRO out of the states and it is going on fourteen years old and still works like new, life-time warranty and all. They will run you about 300.00 which might seem like alot but, thats the price of a couple of batteries. Also you might want to have your batteries load tested at a garage or go buy a load tester from Princess Auto for about 25.00. A good piece of kit to have around the garage anyway. And of course clean all your battery post and connections yearly even if they look okay and tighten down a big pair of pliers.

[msp]

drain the batteries with the trolling motor, the switch the charger wires to the opposite batteries and chargeif the same one is 10.2 then it's the battery

if the opposite battery is low, then it's the charger that's the problem....

Good call Terry. I did not think of that. I will give that a try tonite. I am going to replace the charger after work tonite. I suppose that you get what you pay for when you buy cheap. Thanks everybody for your help !!

[Garnet]

When you are down at Princess Auto pick up a load tester $40. Every boater should have one.

 

As stated every battery should have 12 volts any thing less and the battery is done. Fully charge battery then un plug note voltage then flip switch for load test, Plug charger back in and test battery for voltage, the voltage should go up, if it didn't it's the charger.

 

You can also check if your alternator is working by starting your main engine same procedure.