#3 Battery Dead on R-31CB

C

cavok

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2018
Messages
49
Fluid Motion Model
C-302 SC
We figured out our #3 battery was dead as we pulled away from the dock last night and were unable to turn on our thrusters. Definitely should have checked that before leaving, but it was dark, raining, in a hurry, plenty of excuses. 🙂
The battery can't be more than four years old, but we haven't used the boat for a couple of months. It seems like a battery should last longer than that, and I can't imagine what we could have left on that would drain the #3 battery, aren't just the thrusters connected to that battery?

At this point I'm wondering if since we killed the battery, if we should replace it. Any opinions on this? I'm hoping we didn't manage to kill anything else while we weren't paying attention.
 
Both CO2 detectors and both bilge pumps as well as high water alarm are wired to the thruster battery. I would think the charger would have kept the batteries charged unless you where not connected to shore power.
On our R31 the Solar panel does not charge the thruster battery.
Check that a bilge pumps are not stuck on.
It is possible the battery died and the ACR stopped charging the battery if the voltage got to low. 4 years on a battery is not that unusual.
Hope that helps.
 
Mike&Sarah":3c5hfvyb said:
Both CO2 detectors and both bilge pumps as well as high water alarm are wired to the thruster battery. I would think the charger would have kept the batteries charged unless you where not connected to shore power.
On our R31 the Solar panel does not charge the thruster battery.
Check that a bilge pumps are not stuck on.
It is possible the battery died and the ACR stopped charging the battery if the voltage got to low. 4 years on a battery is not that unusual.
Hope that helps.
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Thank you for that information. I couldn't find anywhere in the operating manual where it specified what else was wired to the thruster battery. We were not connected to shore power, just thought we had shut everything down. Our solar panel does not charge the thruster battery either, so I think after we get this fixed, we're just going to have to start the boat up more often and make sure the batteries aren't getting drained by something.
 
Once you start engine, all 3 batteries should start charging. We had yard run thruster to 6 V before plugging in. Seems OK last 6 months.
 
bill46":2wzm8f3o said:
Once you start engine, all 3 batteries should start charging. We had yard run thruster to 6 V before plugging in. Seems OK last 6 months.
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Unfortunately, that didn't work for us. We ran the boat for about two hours, and the #3 battery was dead the entire time. Sounds like you were luckier than we were.
 
If the battery falls below a specific voltage the relay will not close to charge. That is a safety feature. I have joined the thruster to the house with a battery switch in the circuit. This accomplishes two things. When at anchor you can add the thruster to the house and get more capacity. Or you can then isolate it from the house if you choose. Additionally, in your particular circumstance, once engine is on and you are charging, you could have joined them and gotten charged up on your ride out.
 
Cav, For our 2019 C-28, I just replaced all four (two House, a Thruster and Engine Start) AGM batteries with normal wet-cell InterState G-31's. Deep Cycle for the House and Starting type for the Thruster and Engine Start.

Both of my AGM House batteries would not go past 50% capacity. I suspect that the prior owner left the fridge ON and it drained the batteries when it was up on the trailer, AGM's can't be left dead. Wet-Cells are much more resilient plus you can pop the tops off to check the fluid level. I see no reason at all for "maintenance free" AGM's on these boats. Can't "maintain" them.

Had to change the charger parameters and that meant moving the charger from next to the hot water heater (stupid place for it to be located) to next to the auto-pilot pump. Now you can see the LCD screen and work the buttons to change the parameters, AM to wet-cell. Bob/Bradenton
 
knotflying":3vhxiyya said:
If the battery falls below a specific voltage the relay will not close to charge. That is a safety feature. I have joined the thruster to the house with a battery switch in the circuit. This accomplishes two things. When at anchor you can add the thruster to the house and get more capacity. Or you can then isolate it from the house if you choose. Additionally, in your particular circumstance, once engine is on and you are charging, you could have joined them and gotten charged up on your ride out.
Click to expand...

That sounds very creative and a smart idea! Was that difficult to accomplish or not too much effort?
 
Bob/Bradenton":1spuyjte said:
Cav, For our 2019 C-28, I just replaced all four (two House, a Thruster and Engine Start) AGM batteries with normal wet-cell InterState G-31's. Deep Cycle for the House and Starting type for the Thruster and Engine Start.

Both of my AGM House batteries would not go past 50% capacity. I suspect that the prior owner left the fridge ON and it drained the batteries when it was up on the trailer, AGM's can't be left dead. Wet-Cells are much more resilient plus you can pop the tops off to check the fluid level. I see no reason at all for "maintenance free" AGM's on these boats. Can't "maintain" them.

Had to change the charger parameters and that meant moving the charger from next to the hot water heater (stupid place for it to be located) to next to the auto-pilot pump. Now you can see the LCD screen and work the buttons to change the parameters, AM to wet-cell. Bob/Bradenton
Click to expand...

Bob, that’s really annoying that you had to replace all four batteries in such a new boat! Sounds like with the modifications you made and the quality batteries, you should be good to go for a long time. We will definitely look into those type of batteries, thanks for the info!
 
Well, life happened and we haven't had a chance to replace the battery yet, but I just took a look at it today. Wow, that is going to be challenging accessing the battery, I think I'm going to need a skinny contortionist to get it done.

I noticed some odd things. First, the battery is in a different position than the schematic in the manual. It appears that battery #2 and #3 positions are switched. I don't know if that matters, but it would really stink to take out and replace the wrong battery!

The bilge pump fuses were upside down, don't think it matters which way you put them in, but I noticed that bilge pump #1 doesn't seem to work when you turn it on (though I didn't leave it on very long, maybe it takes awhile). Bilge pump #2 works fine when I turn it on.

I'm wondering why bilge pump #2 works at all, if the #3 battery is dead. The battery was too depleted to charge up when we started the engine, or when we plugged in shore power.

Trying to figure out the least painful option. I'm wondering if people here would:

1) Get a marine battery charger and hook it up to the battery so you don't have to remove it.
2) Try jumpstarting it.
3) Find the skinny contortionist and remove and replace it?

Thank you for any guidance whatsoever!!
 
Battery is 4 years old. If it was mine I would replace it. If it meant finding someone to help me then I would go that route. Young people will typically help you for the cost of a six pack or dinner.
 
S. Todd":369nrxey said:
Battery is 4 years old. If it was mine I would replace it. If it meant finding someone to help me then I would go that route. Young people will typically help you for the cost of a six pack or dinner.
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If I could find a young person who knew what they were doing for that price, I'd jump on it. 🙂

I also noticed that when I run the #2 Bilge pump, the #3 Battery bank jumps up from below 8V to 11.3V....so is it really dead? Think I'm going to ask the big brain, Andrew Custis, this is likely an easy one for him to solve.
 
What I sat here could be totally off base, because it was a while ago and may have been a different model. Is there a refrigerator over the batteries? I seem to remember someone was able to remove the refrigerator and cut an access hole over the batteries and was able to remove the batteries from above.
 
knotflying":lowf2710 said:
What I sat here could be totally off base, because it was a while ago and may have been a different model. Is there a refrigerator over the batteries? I seem to remember someone was able to remove the refrigerator and cut an access hole over the batteries and was able to remove the batteries from above.
Click to expand...

That would sure make easy access, to be able to remove it from above! Unfortunately there isn't a refrigerator over the battery compartment, the only way I can see to do it is to reach way in there, with whomever has the smallest hands possible. But I will definitely think about if there is any other way to get to it, thanks.
 
To add onto our saga, we just replaced the #3 battery (it was showing 1.2Volts from our portable battery charger). Hooked it up, seems to work just fine, but one of the bilge pumps runs constantly and can't be shut off. Makes me think that is why the battery was drained in the first place, but I'm hoping this wasn't running dry for a long time until the battery died. It likely was, so I hope nothing else is damaged. Only way to turn off the bilge pump was to unhook the #3 battery, since it's hotwired to it. Guessing it's a stuck float switch and we either have to clean or replace the bilge pump.
 
The auto bilge pump power source is wired to the 24/7 fuse panel. Pull the 5 or 7 amp fuse to remove the 12V power source from the auto bilge pump switch until you replace the auto switch. If the pump ran dry for extended time I would inspect it for proper operation or be on the safe side replace it at the same time you replace the auto switch.
download/file.php?id=553
 
BB marine":vfx1caiu said:
The auto bilge pump power source is wired to the 24/7 fuse panel. Pull the 5 or 7 amp fuse to remove the 12V power source from the auto bilge pump switch until you replace the auto switch. If the pump ran dry for extended time I would inspect it for proper operation or be on the safe side replace it at the same time you replace the auto switch.
download/file.php?id=553
Click to expand...

Great advice, thanks, Brian!
 
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