You dont say how old the batteries are, but if more than 2 years or so, water loss is a symptom of aging batteries as the charger has to work longer and harder to put a charge on them! C.
Dbasketman -Thx for the link to the trouble-shooting guide – that does explain why the lights go “green” so quickly, HOWEVER it does not explain why the battery cell specific gravity readings are so low after an overnight charging. I do have a meter and am familiar with checking battery terminal voltages, but Ive always understood that specific gravity readings of battery cells is the best determinant of a batterys state of charge and this one appears to be coming up short, even after an overnight charging period. My previous boat, which had a Dual Pro Charger, would give battery specific battery readings after charging which were much closer to the 1.300 value which represents a fully charged cell. Also thanks for the AFT information — I may well have to make use of that.C.
I talked with Rick at AFT this morning about this issue. He explained that since the batteries are new, they probably dont need for the charger to go into the “Bulk Charge” state (red LEDs), that the “float” state (green LEDs) is adequate to bring them up. He also said that as the batteries age and have more useage hours to expect the charger to have to spend a longer time in the “Bulk” (red) stage. When we discussed the specific gravity readings, he said that the specific gravity value representative of a full charge varies considerably from battery type to battery type and from manufacturer to manufacturer (first time I ever heard that) and the readings I have seen does not necessarily indicate an under-charged battery. He said that based on what I had told him that it sounded like the batteries were in good shape and the charger would reacting normally to their charging need. Based on what he said, I guess theres not an issue for me to be concerned with — guess I just need to get used to how this charger operates and not be influenced by how my previous chargers have performed. Posted as a FYI to anyone else that may have an interest. C.
bundy150 wrote: Have you taken any voltage readings before, after and during charging? This doesnt sound right. After my fishing trip this past Monday, I did take voltage readings – 12.59 volts before hooking up the charger, 13 + (dont remember exact number) with charger plugged in and after it turned to “green”, 12.89 volts the next morning after disconnecting charger and letting it set for about an hour. These were the same on all 3 TM batteries. The batteries did seem just as strong at the end of the day as they did at the beginning. On the 24V system on my previous boat, there was always a distinct difference in thrust evident later in the day after moderate to heavy usage. I am still a little doubtful about those specific gravity comments I received, but at this point have opted to leave that alone, watch for a while and see what develops. The charger has a 3 year warranty, so theres some time to see what longer term results are. C.
If the straps are left loose, the cover sags a bit and water then “puddles” on the cover when it rains (boat is stored outside; no other space available). The Deans cover did not originally have these two straps — they installed them only after I experienced the “puddling” problem. How to obtain new decals/cost? C.
Thanks a bunch for all of the inputs! C.
As others have said, you have a voltage issue! The cause of that may be as simple as your battery getting weak. Id take a digital voltmeter along next time and when it turns off, check the battery terminal voltage. The Lowrance unit turns itself off when the voltage gets too low (look at your sonar manual). Low battery voltage can be caused by: 1. Battery going bad. 2. Excessive current drain from other devices 3. Bad charging system You mentioned that it goes off after you have been running the TM for a while — surely you DONT have you sonar power being provided by a TM battery! If so, bad idea! C.
Do you still have your manual? It will tell you the required cranking battery size. The Optimax engines require a pretty hefty battery for cranking. My 250 Pro XS manual specifies a minimum of 1000MCA/800CCA/105AH. C.
For the TM batteries, I get the highest Reserve Capacity (RC) I can fit in the trays/available boat space. In many cases that will be a group 27 battery, however different manufacturers have different RC ratings for the same physical size so their spec. sheets need to be consulted. Trojan makes an excellent high-RC battery, but they raised their prices to a ridiculous extent last year! Many boat dealers around here use Interestates these days. In the past Ive looked at Optima and Voyager batteries (which have a lot of fan support and are purported to be long-life) but passed on them because they are lacking RC capacity.Just for what it is worth, Ive owned boats for more than 40 years and my average battery life too is probably 24 – 30 months and that includes a couple of sets of the high $$ AGM batteries. For the cranking battery, I use a battery specifically designed for engine cranking, usually this will be a dual-purpose battery, not a straight deep-cycle. You should consult your engine manual to get the minimum battery requirements for cranking your specific engine. C.
A while back, I had a similar problem; lots of interference and a very thin bottom reading. I also noticed the unit would not show trees and brush I knew to be there. A bad (weak) transducer can cause the the unit to max out the sensivity trying to get a usable display making interference more likely. In my case it turned out to be a defective transducer. I replaced it and the problems, including the interference, went away. C.
Basschaser & DPT2005 – thanks a bunch! Good inputs!Looking forward to a great time!C.
The brochure that BassCat sent out says 8:00Am to 4:00PM on Tuesday. C.
In addition to Mercurys information that their engines will accommodate the Ethanol blend, my recomendation would be to religiously use a fuel additive designed to absorb moisture. I use SeaFoam – I have information they sent to me that confirms it will do that. In addition to SeaFoam, Stabil has recently come out with a product designed for that purpose and Ive seen BFHP references to other products (dont recall product names) now available for that purpose. C.
I have a friend that was having problems with his Lowrance GPS unit. When he first started it up in the morning, it worked fine, then an hour or so later it would lose position. After changing units and antennas a couple of times Lowrance finally suggested that he move the antenna at least 3 away from the display unit (it was about 15″ away). Bingo, that did the trick; no problems since! Evidently this doesnt occur in all cases, but be aware that it CAN occur. C.
I suspected that the blinking light meant that the alarm had been triggered. Question is, why would trailering with the alarm on cause it to trigger? All of the lids were still locked. C.
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