Trolling Motor Batteries Problems

[Ben Andreas]

I have a 2004 521 Ranger with a Ranger 4 Bank battery charger. I have replaced the trolling motor batteries now 3 times in 3 years. Everything seems fine when I first get the batteries, but slowly the batteries start to lose power, and eventually, usually get stuck in a tournament where my batteries are completely gone, and I need new ones. I am checking the water levels, and that is not it. I am wondering if I am charging the batteries wrong. This is what I do. After fishing, I immediately plug the batteries in. The next morning, I make sure I have 4 green lights, and I unplug them. Now I assume that charge should hold before I fish again in a week or two, but I always replug them in the night before I fish again just to make sure I have a full charge. When I plug the batteries in, it always goes to 4 red bars, and takes almost all night to get them to green again. It seems to me that the batteries should have already been charged, and should have almost immediately went to green. Is my battery charger broken? I am wondering if my batteries are being overcharged. When I fish 4 days in a row, I notice it is hard to get a full charge out of the batteries after a couple days fishing. After the 2nd or 3rd day fishing, my battery charger shows that my batteries still need charging. I just replaced my batteries after day 1 in the Havasu TOC tournament, so I dont want to mess these up. Anyone else ever have this problem?

[Kevin]

What kind of batteries are you using? I am impressed by my Optima batteries.

[Ben Andreas]

I just bought MAXX batteries from WALMART....Had Trojans before, and some other brand name....They didnt help....I am pretty sure by now it is not the batteries that are the problem.

[Greg E.]

I think the part about having to charge them again all night the night before you go out (even though you charged them when you got home) is a key. It should only take a short while to get 4 green lights if the batteries have not been draining whiile the boat was sitting.

and fully discharging them while they are on the lake and then while they are sitting in the garage adds up to a lot of charge/discharge cycles and that in the long run determines battery life. I would try and find what is draining them when they are in the garage. Do you have a master switch that disconnects all the bats? I assume you have a 36 volt Trolling motor. Does the connector tie the bats together or are they tied in the battery compartment?

Look into your wiring.

Hope that helps a little

Greg E.

[Kevin]

Ben, I have used Trojan batteries before and they worked fine. I've also used the Wal Mart brand in my last boat and I had to swap them out about every year as well.

[Ben Andreas]

I do have a master breaker that shuts the power down to the trolling motor that I never shut off. My trolling motor is a less than 1 year old 36 volt Minnkota. Same problem occured with my old motorguide. How do I check out the wiring? Should I be shutting off the breaker everytime the boat is sitting?

[tunaman]

Sounds like you don't have a main Perko switch... need to add one if you don't.

Your NEMA bus/GPS antenna (or something similar) is probably draining your battery overnight, so you're not maintaining the charge you think you are.

I manage my batteries the same as you - charge them as soon as you get home from a trip, charge them before you go out, charge them periodically if it's going to sit for more than a couple of weeks, and so far my batteries have lasted a year and a half (and seem to be maintaining full power - 36v system running a 101fp Minn Kota).

Good luck!
Roger

[tunaman]

It's not the power to the trolling motor, as it isn't drawing unless the switch is on... something else (like your network bus if you have one) is drawing power continuously.

Add a Perko directly off your main battery feed and you'll solve that problem.

Roger

[Schneider Fishing]

It sounds like something is draining the batteries while the boat is sitting. If I were you I would turn the master switch off between boat uses.

I have Optimum batteries and a Stealth Charger. I usually leave my boat pluged in 24/7 except when fishing. There have been a few times that I have charged and unpluged the charger for a couple of weeks but the batteries held their charge.

[Ben Andreas]

I have a Perko switch that I always turn off right when I get off the water that shuts down the power to the whole boat except the trolling motor. The trolling motor runs on a seperate breaker that I never shut off. Would it be wize to shut off the breaker leading to my trolling motor too?

[tunaman]

Make sure everything runs through your Perko... no additional taps off the battery chain. Yeah, you could try shutting off the breaker, but you really need to sort out where the drain is and fix it, as it will undoubtedly bite you at the worse possible time. If everything is turned off by switch or breaker, you should have no current flow from your batteries. You should easily be able to maintain most of your charge over a matter of a week or two... get someone real familiar with electrical systems to help walk through your electrical configuration if you can.

Roger

[Pred]

Ben, I have used Trojan batteries before and they worked fine. I've also used the Wal Mart brand in my last boat and I had to swap them out about every year as well.

same here.. with both of my boats. They just dont cut it.

oh walmart will replace them but Sams has optimas, return them then buy the optimas from sams.

[scottsweet]

Ben,

If you get a good voltmeter, it will also have an amp meter on it that you can put in line to the hot line. This will tell you if there is any draw on your batteries when you are so called shut off.

Which batteries are drawing down? All of them or only the trolling motor batteries.

Please give me a call and lets talk through this and perhaps I can help find the problem. It is hard with all the posts.

818-448-3366.

[scottsweet]

Ben,

If you get a good voltmeter, it will also have an amp meter on it that you can put in line to the hot line. This will tell you if there is any draw on your batteries when you are so called shut off.

Which batteries are drawing down? All of them or only the trolling motor batteries.

Please give me a call and lets talk through this and perhaps I can help find the problem. It is hard with all the posts.

818-448-3366.

[John Barron]

Ben:
Call Nick at the Trolling MOtor Doctor and talk the problem through with him. He can most likely help you or at the very least send you in the right direction. 800-944-9446
jb

[onplane]

I do agree with the perko switch, because you antennae may be draining your power. I use Everstarts in my boat and never had a proble. I leave my batteries plugged in 24/7 because the proper charger will monitor them and only juice them when needed.
JUST A SIDE NOTE! Be sure to individually shut off your electronics, because if you just shut off the main power, you are not allowing the capacitors in your GPS, fishfinder, etc. to power down. This is the number one cause of screens burning out on electronics.

OnPlane

[Ron T.]

The only thing I run off the trolling moter batts. is the trolling moter itself . Every thing else comes off the cranking batt. Mainly to insure there is no interferance on the gragh . If you are running a lawrance 111 or 113 you should have a seperate on off switch between the batt. and the unit . The unit will draw power even when it is off . I have had the same Trojians for about two years . Unless Im really burning the banks they are still good for a couple days on one full charge . Good luck.

[Ben Andreas]

Thanks everyone for all the help. It looks like I need to get a voltmeter, and Ill try to find out if something is draining even though my perko switch is turned to off.