Trolling Motor Batteries Question

[fisherman7]

Hi all, I have a 24v trolling motor battery set up. Once I put my trolling motor on, the battery meter on the TM shows only 2 out of 4 bars. So I'm wondering if one of my batteries are pooched.

 

The charger seems to be working fine.

 

So how do I know which one is pooched. I bought the boat used and it's 4 years old. They are Interstate batteries and are fully topped up.

 

Thanks in advance for answers.

[Fisherman]

Take both to Canadian tire, they will do a load test and let you know. It's free

[Old Ironmaker]

^ beat me too it. A good smart charger will show which battery is pooched too. I just bought one on sale at CTC and it says it can recover a bad battery, I don't know about that.

[mark demmery]

Keep in mind it could be the charger too. I had a Nautilus one go one me two years ago. Wouldn't fully charge, and gave false readings. Exchanged at CT and was good to go. Haven't had a problem since.

[Rattletrap2]

A lot of chargers will charge and show the battery is fully charged. This just means that it has 12.6 volts or greater. Once it is under a load, you will see it drop off drastically. As already stated, a load test is required and CTC can do that for you. A battery can still take a charge but be useless.

[Garnet]

I've wrote this plenty times on here. EVERY BOAT OWNER SHOULD HAVE A LOAD TESTER.

 

$50 at CTC.

 

When your battery needs charging, hook up your load tester.

 

If it's any less than 12.3 your battery is toast. 11 anything junk.

 

Plug in your charger not instantly but over the next minute your load tester should go up to 13+.

 

If it doesn't change your charger is junk.

 

Check both battery's this way.

 

Brand new battery's are most likely to fail.

 

Let battery's fully charge then flip the switch and load test.

 

It will say fail.

 

Check your water level. In my experience if your battery starts losing water they are on the way out the door.

[KraTToR]

Hi all, I have a 24v trolling motor battery set up. Once I put my trolling motor on, the battery meter on the TM shows only 2 out of 4 bars. So I'm wondering if one of my batteries are pooched.

 

The charger seems to be working fine.

 

So how do I know which one is pooched. I bought the boat used and it's 4 years old. They are Interstate batteries and are fully topped up.

 

Thanks in advance for answers.

 

It doesn't matter which one is pooched, if you have to replace one then you have to replace both as you won't get good results with one stronger and one weaker (older). I've used the extreme maxx from walmart and they are awesome. What type of charger are you using?

[fisherman7]

 

It doesn't matter which one is pooched, if you have to replace one then you have to replace both as you won't get good results with one stronger and one weaker (older). I've used the extreme maxx from walmart and they are awesome. What type of charger are you using?

 

It's a Minnkota battery charger.

[fisherman7]

Well I can't find an Interstate dealer/seller in the Peterborough area so I'm going with the Walmart battery 31 series. There were some good reviews so I'll see how they work.

[Garnet]

Peterborough Battery on Water st. or Bridgenorth Sports

[Sinker]

Kawartha battery has been my go to battery shop.

 

I didnt find interstates better than any other brand either.

 

S.

[Garnet]

Cosco and wal mart have good return counters.

[206]

Use a volt meter the 4 red lights on my trolling motor aren't accurate.

[fisherman7]

Picked up two new series 27 Deka batteries from Bridgenorth Sports. Real nice guys. Installed them yesterday and tried them out this morning. Runs just like it used to. Very zippy! Thanks for the help everyone.

[linweir]

I have a Nautilus deep cycle battery. It always shows 12.7 Voltage. However, it can NOT be fully charged (about 70~80 %)

It might be not enough for trolling motor. Wonder if I can use it as starting battery?

Edited June 17, 2017 by linweir

[fish_fishburn]

Buy yourself a load tester there cheap.