Cranking Battery draining fast

This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 11 months ago by Cape Fear.

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July 5, 2010 at 4:08 am #302710

Aaron.basscatowners
Participant

Last two days my cranking battery has been draining to where it wont crank the big motor if I am fishing with the master switch on running both graphs for and hour or more.When I plug the boat in to charge them up it shows green on the charger in about an hour. Doesnt flash or anything either.Terminals are clean and tightBoat is 2010 Puma FTD (batteries are new too)Any ideas?Last edited by Aaron.basscatowners on July 5th, 2010, 4:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

July 5, 2010 at 12:35 pm #302711

kramr
Participant

Im certainly no expert but it sounds like the main battery isnt holding a charge. Have you had it tested? How did you get the motor to start?

July 5, 2010 at 12:41 pm #302712

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

How big is your battery? You really need a group 31 with all those graphs and accessories running.

July 5, 2010 at 1:37 pm #302713

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Aaron, Bama96 has asked about hte battery size, and while your batteries are new, they may not be large enough to supply voltage all day long. The issue is a 2010 model, and we do want to help as you should not have issues on a new boat. Though we need voltage after it has sat for 30 minutes, after charging. In dash voltmeters will work fine for this. Then we can start to work our way through assisting you in finding the gremlin. We do suspect a battery, new or not, though have to figure that out. Sorry you are having a problem on a new boat. BCB

July 5, 2010 at 3:12 pm #302714

dblplasabre
Participant

Aaron, which charger are you running in your boat? I am assuming you have on board charger.Not sure if BCB has changed it on the 2010 or not but on some models there is a seperate charger dedicated for just the cranking battery.Follow the leads from the battery to see if you have a seperate charger.Also if you have an onboard charger (smart charger), if your batteries are down below a certain level, they may not charge.Try bouncing the battery with a manual charger and then reconnecting the onboard to see if it functions.

July 5, 2010 at 10:12 pm #302715

Aaron.basscatowners
Participant

I suspect I need a bigger battery.My 3 Trolling motor batteries are 31s per my request to my dealer. I didnt specify I wanted all 4 to be 31s.The Cranking battery I have in there is a 24 i think? its dinky for sure compared to the others.I thought it strange though it hasnt happened before. Heat have anything to do with it?Oh and to answer Kramer I used a trolling motor battery to get it to start. Then I ran the big motor for 30 minutes with the cranker hooked back up to charge it enough to start me back up when needed. I just fished with the master switch off for the last 3 days.Will the voltage readout on my humminbird be sufficient? If I remember right it was 12 something.

July 5, 2010 at 10:25 pm #302716

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Hey Aaron. I always have one of those jump starter chargers on board with me. $35 at Walmart. It saved me one evening and hopefully will never have to use it again, but it sure is a good peace of mind knowing its there. The small weight it adds to the boat is worth it.

July 6, 2010 at 2:10 am #302717

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Cables will do the trick. BCB has been very vocal about not really needing 31 series trollers for most applications and getting the largest battery you can on the cranking battery. The cranking battery takes all the abuse and you actually use more of this power through the day consistently than you realize. Thus they have suggested a large cranking battery. We dont know if it is your 24 series, though we know BCB is not fond of a 24 on the crank and boat harness.

July 6, 2010 at 3:18 am #302718

Aaron.basscatowners
Participant

Thanks for the help guys, I will bring the Cables my next outing for sure.Hope the battery being too small is the issue, thats an easy fix.

July 6, 2010 at 12:23 pm #302719

Cape Fear
Participant

My boat came with 3 27size batteries on the trolling side and they will hold up all day and then some. It also came with a 27 size on the cranking side and along with it problems with low voltage everywhere. After 2 trips on the water I switched it out with a Sears Diehard 31 PM battery. All voltage problems went away.
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