Trolling motor problems

[msp]

Hey guys,

Early this season I had problems with my Minn Kota power drive charging system. With a little help from OFNers I was able to pin point the problem. ( faulty charger. Now...... my father has bought homself a new boat with a new80# thrust Minn Kota Maxim 24 V motor. After charging the batteries for almost 15 hours using a new on board charger, the batteries show a full charge. After an hour or so of using the trolling motor it is completly drianing the batteries.Both batteries are brand new and all conections are clean as a whistle. Im wondering how it can drain the batteries so fast ? is there an in line fuse ? Any help and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks, Mike

[charlesn]

Hmmm, sounds like a battery issue to me more so than a trolling motor issue. I was experiencing something very very similar when my batteries were low on fluid.

 

Are they the kind where you can pop the tops off and check the battery fluid level? If so, check and see that the fluid level is at the right spot. Wear glasses when doing this as my buddy once got a droplet of the fluid in his eye and we ended up in Emergency - they basically just flushed his eye with water and said it would heal on its own - but scary nonetheless. If it is low - remember to use distilled water only to refill to the proper level.

 

I know you said they are new - but are they new as in your dad just bought em or new as in the guy who sold the boat said they are practically new?

 

There probably is a breaker or in-line fuse somewhere in the system as a safeguard.

[Spiel]

I would suspect the batteries, perhaps a dead cell in one of the batteries.

In a 24 volt system your only as good as your weakest battery.

Use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of each cell.

 

http://autorepair.ab...y/aa101604a.htm

 

http://www.ehow.com/...hydrometer.html

[NBR]

Could be that the charger is improperly wired to the batteries and you are only charging one battery.

[John]

Definitely check the batteries. They could be dry, or simply pooched.

[Garnet]

Battery's are most likely to fail when brand new. Little bit of handling and a connection fails.

 

Load tester is your best option. Every battery has 12.3 volt anything less and it has a dead cell.

[msp]

Thanks guys. You help is very much apprieciated.