fisherman7 Posted June 10, 2017 Report Share Posted June 10, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted June 10, 2017 Report Share Posted June 10, 2017 Take both to Canadian tire, they will do a load test and let you know. It's free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted June 10, 2017 Report Share Posted June 10, 2017 ^ 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark demmery Posted June 12, 2017 Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattletrap2 Posted June 12, 2017 Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted June 12, 2017 Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KraTToR Posted June 12, 2017 Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherman7 Posted June 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherman7 Posted June 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Peterborough Battery on Water st. or Bridgenorth Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Kawartha battery has been my go to battery shop. I didnt find interstates better than any other brand either. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Cosco and wal mart have good return counters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
206 Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Use a volt meter the 4 red lights on my trolling motor aren't accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherman7 Posted June 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linweir Posted June 17, 2017 Report Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_fishburn Posted June 19, 2017 Report Share Posted June 19, 2017 Buy yourself a load tester there cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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