Hopefully someone can give me some guidance. I have a 215 Freedom which comes with dual batteries and a selector. I typically alternate banks to keep things charged. I went out the other day and the boat was “dead” on #2. The GPS came on etc but wouldn’t crank the engine. I changed to #1 and all was good. While underway, I switched back to #2 to give it some charge time. After a few minutes my GPS power cycled and while coming back up everything shutdown including the engine. Switching back to #1 worked fine so I questioned how dead my battery was and decided to check when I returned. So here I sit, my battery charge said it was 96% when I initially started charging and my volt meter showed 12.6 with no load. Seems it isnt the battery…. When I select #2, the lights on the throttle come on briefly but there isn’t power to even lower the engine. Not sure where to look next?
Battery/Electrical issue
- Thread starter spc337
- Start date
You didn't say how old the battery is. One possible cause is a 'dead' cell in that battery. If the batteries are not a sealed type you may have low acid level. If so the battery is shot.
Of course the second battery may not be charging. With the battery charger on, the voltage at the battery should at least at first read higher than 12.6
You may have a bad ground cable on the second battery. You could have a bad battery switch
If possible and easy, swap the positive cables making battery 1, number 2 and battery 2 number one.
See if the problems follows the battery or it still occurs on battery 2.
Of course the second battery may not be charging. With the battery charger on, the voltage at the battery should at least at first read higher than 12.6
You may have a bad ground cable on the second battery. You could have a bad battery switch
If possible and easy, swap the positive cables making battery 1, number 2 and battery 2 number one.
See if the problems follows the battery or it still occurs on battery 2.
The corrosion causes a high resistance connection. The voltage drop on a circuit is the current times the resistance Low draw loads cause a much smaller voltage drop than higher currents. So low current demand things may seem to work fine whereas others will basically cause the voltage to drop very low. Same goes for the charging currents.
This condition would have been easy to diagnose if you had a voltage meter connected when you turned things on. The GPS resetting was a clue. It has a minimum voltage that it needs to operate, Your GPS plotter most likely has a voltage meter built in. If you had that display up on the screen, you would have seen the voltage drop as you turned on loads like NAV lights (low load) and ignition or motor tilt (higher current draw).
This condition would have been easy to diagnose if you had a voltage meter connected when you turned things on. The GPS resetting was a clue. It has a minimum voltage that it needs to operate, Your GPS plotter most likely has a voltage meter built in. If you had that display up on the screen, you would have seen the voltage drop as you turned on loads like NAV lights (low load) and ignition or motor tilt (higher current draw).
Yeah, it all seems to fit the problem. I’ve cleaned the terminals but in doing so I removed some of the tin on the main red battery cable. After reconnecting everything, I put some dielectric grease on to protect from further corrosion. I sense some moisture is present as I have some water in the bilge which I will Vac out soon. I wonder if the small drains around the rear hatch covers are clogged allow some water in. The battery isn’t leaking. I’m not sure how to determine if the system is over charging which seems to be a cause of corrosion on a positive terminal.
In a related note, has anyone installed a blueseas ACR to keep both batteries charged? I try to alternate batteries but would rather have a main and backup. Or start/house, but that’s not how this come wired.
thanks
In a related note, has anyone installed a blueseas ACR to keep both batteries charged? I try to alternate batteries but would rather have a main and backup. Or start/house, but that’s not how this come wired.
thanks
There is always going to be some water in the aft and/or mid bilge. It's the nature of the style of hull. Corrosion is more of a problem in salt/brackish waters.
Is part of routine maintenance to clean battery terminals. There may be better corrosion inhibitors to use. Some are made specifically for battery terminals and some like Boeshield T9 are for more general use. T9 is great for fuse panels. Just don't overdo it.
A word of caution. Using a shopvac to vacuum out a bilge can be extremely dangerous if you have an gas fumes or liquids in the bilge the motor in the shop vac can ignite the fumes and cause an explosion
Is part of routine maintenance to clean battery terminals. There may be better corrosion inhibitors to use. Some are made specifically for battery terminals and some like Boeshield T9 are for more general use. T9 is great for fuse panels. Just don't overdo it.
A word of caution. Using a shopvac to vacuum out a bilge can be extremely dangerous if you have an gas fumes or liquids in the bilge the motor in the shop vac can ignite the fumes and cause an explosion
X2 on ACR - I highly recommend installing ACR to keep both batteries healthy. I also keep my batteries on a charger when not running, solar panels.