Low voltage ???

This topic has 9 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 4 months ago by f33730349.

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February 2, 2016 at 7:24 pm #452297

f33730349
Participant

New group 31 agm battery………Im getting low voltage on bow depth finder ( 10.4 / 10.5 volts )….also low voltage on console unit. Battery is 800 cca / 1080 mca and checks good . With engine running , the voltage goes up to 13 + volts. Is it likely that the inline circuit breaker on the accessory wire is a possible culprit here ? BTW , All connections on the block on the transom look clean and are tight . Any insight on this problem is welcome.ThanksDon

February 2, 2016 at 7:30 pm #452299

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Mine does the same. Carry a volt meter with you and check it at the battery. My graphs show .7 volts less than the volt meter does at the battery. My smart guages are usually the same as the volt meter. Sometimes .1 off. I dont know why the graphs show different

February 2, 2016 at 7:57 pm #452300

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

line drop

February 2, 2016 at 8:20 pm #452301

catdude28
Participant

Like Mainliner said, check voltage at the battery with a voltmeter after surface charge has dissipated. Then measure it at each head unit at the socket with no load. If you still get the same differences, you will have to chase the drop somewhere. Even if the connections at the block look clean, if you have not done them, do so. The best option is to rewire the units directly to the battery and fuse them on their own. It often resolves issues like this assuming a good strong battery is present.Last edited by catdude28 on February 2nd, 2016, 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

February 3, 2016 at 3:24 am #452302

grybrd
Participant

A voltage drop test will help you find a bad connection, wire, etc. With the circuit hot,connect a voltmeter across any connection or length of wire. Any voltage reading is a sign of resistance a source of concern. The higher the voltage reading, the greater the resistance.

February 3, 2016 at 4:44 pm #452303

gitzit
Participant

Had similar problem, culprit was at master switch, Some corrosion there, cleaned and reconnected, problem solved.

February 3, 2016 at 10:24 pm #452304

Dwayne
Participant

gitzit wrote:Had similar problem, culprit was at master switch, Some corrosion there, cleaned and reconnected, problem solved.Corrosion is often the culprit.Practice Angling CPRCatchPictureRelease2010 PIV 200SHO

February 3, 2016 at 10:32 pm #452305

Redngoo
Participant

Soldier and heat shrink! Whenever you can. Dielectric grease where u can. Goes a long way for corrosion2013 PANTERA 2MERCURY 200 PRO XSMINNKOTA 80LB FORTREX25 fury

February 3, 2016 at 11:13 pm #452306

BamaCat
Participant

Had the same problem on my last Cat. After much cleaning and tightening of connections I finally ran a new dedicated line to the front unit. Used a 13ga wire, soldering all connections and using heat shrink. Solved the problem.

February 4, 2016 at 12:35 am #452307

f33730349
Participant

Didnt think about the master switch…….I will check that before I do the dedicated wires which I had pretty much decided to do . Many thanks for everyones input. Don
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