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Old 07-23-11, 03:48 PM   #1
bamabassman
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Default wiring problem i THOUGHT i had

ok, as ya'll know, da cajun has been down for a week or so form what i ASSUMED (yeah i know what that stands for,lol) was a wiring problem. as it turns out, it's the BATTERY i jsut got a little over a year ago.
let me explain more for you. this is really weird i think. never heard of this happening.
i have 2 batteries for the troller and 1 for the cranking. i also have a 3 bank charger on my rig. jsut plug it up and ready to go in the morning.
well, on the day my troller conked out, the batteries were all charged and ready to go that morning. when i got home it showed ALL 3 batteries were still full. so i thought it had to be the troller. RIGHT? so, mad as all get out and dreading changning out trollers (which i have done now, got the 56# 12/24 on the boat) i called the guy i got the 80# from and asked if there was a warrenty on it. sorry he said, used trollers had no warrenty.so now i am really pissed i paid for a troller that is no good and swear i am a taken sucker. I AM SORRY, I WAS WRONG. wish now i had his number still so i could call him up and tell him in person.
anyway......i take a break form it all cause i really ain't got no money to put in the rig now anyway and it's hotter than hades out there too. got grass to mow, weedeating to do and so on and so forth. (i know, get on with it right?)
so thursday evening i plug in the cord to charge up the batteries. friday morning before i go to work i go to unplug it and check to make sure they charged. cranking batery and 1 troller was charged fully, but other troller battery is not. ow this is AFTER i have taken out all batteries and checked the wiring to make sure there are NO breaks or anything. and remember, BEFORE it took out the batteries, they would ALL CHARGE. weird right?
so i took it this morning to my boat shop and have it tested. 6.7 volts....bad battery. now i am thinking WTH?!? why did this happen? why wouldn't he onbaird charger CHARGE the batteries, then NOT charge them? i have 2 other chargers, they wouldn't charge the battery.
anyway, we hook up the 80# troller to 2 NEW bateries and ...........it works. yes i feel so small and stupid. after the phone call to the guy i bought it from got a really bad talking to from me.

but all this makes me wonder why;

if it charged up all battereis (green lights acorss the board) and troller didn't work. why did the onboard charger SHOW all were good if 1 was not?

shop owner and mechanic said it could do that sometimes.
have any of you folks ever seen or heard of this happening?

at any rate, by next friday i will be ready to hit the water. sweating like a stuck pig......but ready to hit the water with the "new to me" troller. hahaha!
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Old 07-23-11, 04:19 PM   #2
carolina-rig-01
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Honestly the extent of my knowledge on batteries is that they are heavy, expensive, great when they work, and a pain in the butt when they don't. I have no clue why this would happen, I leave that type of stuff up to Bryce. Glad that your problems are a lot smaller than you thought at first so you can get out on the water and fry like the rest of us.

I am sure Bryce will be along soon to handle my light work.
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Old 07-23-11, 05:08 PM   #3
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What kind of batteries? Wet cell - you may have had a cell go low on water. AND you can always get a battery with a bad cell right off the shelf. If you're using wet cell batteries (with caps) you should have a hydrometer to be able to check each cell. Can't do that with a sealed battery or an AGM. A volt meter is also a good thing to have handy, I'm sure you have one of those. Sometime it's the simplest crap that goes overlooked. But it's good you came clean and told us.................... fodder for future get-togethers. Lastly the bad battery may be under warranty.
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Old 07-23-11, 10:25 PM   #4
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bruce, interstate batteries. wet cell i guess although i never did takeoff the caps. i understand you can get a bad one off the shelf and all. my question was if it was charged (which it was) when i left that morning, how can it go out after just a couple of hours on the water? and why didn't it NOT charge up when i plugged it back in when i got home? that is the weird part, it showed that it was charged when i got home. then it showed no charging after a week wheni plugged it in agian. understand?
and it is prorated warrenty. should only have to pay around $25.00 or so next friday. the rep only comes by once a week to the shop i use. so it is there waiting for him.
ihave a volt meter.if i can find the dang thang,lol. shop is still in a mess, hahaha. too hot to do ANYTHING in there. even with the window fans going. another thing i need....INSULATION in the shop.
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Old 07-24-11, 12:41 AM   #5
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I'm no expert, but let me take a stab at it.....
The charger showed it as being fully charged because it thought it was. But it really wasn't. Something about that battery being bad fooled the charger into reading it as fully charged. But in reality, it had almost no charge at all.
That's my SWAG, anyway.
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Old 07-24-11, 08:58 AM   #6
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was the charger still plug in to power when you tested the battery. that will give you a full charge readihg. also you proably had a weak cell that would take a charge but notr hold it. anywho glad you got it going and your trolling motor is ok
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Old 07-24-11, 09:32 AM   #7
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Could be a weak or dead cell in one of the batteries?
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Old 07-24-11, 09:32 AM   #8
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I don't know much of anything when it comes to this stuff, but I DO know your dying to get back out on the water and wet a line! Glad your going to be getting back out there soon.
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Old 07-24-11, 09:40 AM   #9
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I think they nailed it. If you had a bad cell or two, and you were relying on the green lights on the charger, the other cells would "fool" the charger, as they had taken as much charge as they could (which may not be the full 13 volts or so a good battery will have when fully charged). Also wet cell batteries evaporate water during the charging process, if they were low the last charge you made may have cooked the cell(s) dry, effectively killing the battery. If you stick with wet cells, a hydrometer should be on your list and with excessive heat (like we've had this summer) check the water level in you battery before each charge and add distilled water as required. Once the lead plates are exposed, excessive sulfication begins and if a cell goes about 1/3 dry it's very difficult to bring it back to "normal" and that bad cell or cell(s) will put additional load on that battery and also the one(s) connected in series - weaking each much quicker.

Back to the hydormeter - it's used to check the electrolyte levels in each cell of the battery, eventually they will be low due to the evaporation of water. If you catch it early, addition of distilled water will bring the balance back to acceptable levels. If the water gets too low, there are additivies you can add to bring them back, but it's a temporary fix at best . Wet cell battery maintence is something that requires regular (actually constant) attention.

Hope everything works out for you pal and you're back fishing soon!!
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Old 07-24-11, 02:23 PM   #10
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thanks gang, i too think it fooled the charger jsut enough.

bruce, as soon as i can afford it..i'll get one of those whatchamacallits. lol. i understand what oyu are saying bruce for real. thanks gang. jsut a freak thing i guess.
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Old 07-24-11, 03:59 PM   #11
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Or just go with a couple of AGM batteries that you don't have to add water to. Then you throw em in, keep em charged and off you go. The price of the AGM batteries has come down a lot in the last few years
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