Dead Battery After Winter

[Bobby P.]

2017 31 CB
Getting the boat ready fir the season and #2 battery (engine) is dead.
I got her started by flipping the switch that mates the other batteries together and she started right up. Ran engine for well over an hour. Shut her down and battery never regained a charge. On shore power now and will go back and check again tomorrow.
Question: What could cause this when I’ve got everything off? Propane solenoid? Other? What all is still extracting juice when all battery switches and inverter are off? Do I need to pull some in line fuses somewhere?
Thanks in advance!
Bobby

 

[Nmontagno]

Not sure of how your batteries are set up. I have two batteries that go to house power, another one for the engine and a separate one for the thruster. Even when I have all power turned off and the switches off, my bilge pumps will still run every two minutes unless I pull two of my fuses. Even when I pull those two fuses, I still have one bilge pump (located in the swim platform) that will continue to run periodically (it must be hot wired). So many different things could be causing a problem for you. Bad battery, loose battery terminal connection, corrosion build up, etc. Hope you find the problem and a simple non expensive solution.

 

[BB marine]

Unfortunately it seems as Fluid Motion wires the 24/7 circuits differently depending on the model, year and maybe day. Look at your Ranger owners manual, go to the battery and fuse wiring schematics confirm it is wired as illustrated. I looked at the version posted on Tugnuts, The 24/7 fuses block for the thruster battery, auto bilge pumps, bilge alarm, CO detector, and voltmeter fuses. The engine battery has volt meter and stove switch/sensor 1amp fuse is illustrated minimal draw but over months it could deplete the battery. The house batteries have the stereo memory fuse, volt meter. These fuses are best removed during winter lay up if you do not occasionally charge the battery banks. All have minimal draw but over time can deplete the batteries. The question is how long did the battery sit at a discharged state? When you ran the engine for an hour what was the battery voltage reading while the engine was running? If the alternator was charging with the engine running you should have seen voltages above 13V. I believe the D4 has a 150 amp alternator so theoretically it has the capacity to bring your battery up to full charge in an hour. Although it was charging all the batteries that had some capacities depleted just from sitting and the minimal draws too. A full charge over night using the onboard charger will tell the story. I would not be surprised if you have a marginal or bad engine battery. And or I would not be surprised if you had a marginal engine battery at the end of last season and it fully discharged over the winter. If it does take a charge I would load test it to confirm its charged to a full capacity.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

In addition to the great advice already given I turn the 2 battery controls to the off position, pull any spade fuse I feel could be hard wired, along with taking out any inline fuses. The best sure safe method to maintain your batteries condition, although more challenging on some boats then others, is to disconnect the battery terminals. When doing this I’ve zip tied each set of cables as well as assign a corresponding number to the zip tied cables and battery post. Let us know what you find out.

Jim F

 

[iggy]

My 2 cents, its not even worth that. But.............

Experience is great. Years ago after uncovering my boat from the winter, my charger was dead. So wasn't one of my batteries. I "think" what happened, the battery internal shorted out and blow out the charger. The in-line fuse never blew.

Since than I bought a $50.00 load tester, the ones that look like a meter. Not the ones from years ago that act like a toaster and put a real load on the battery. The new ones put a small load on them and than do the math. Point is, every spring I load test them to see if there good , bad or on there way out. Without a load test, you don't know.

On "What all is still extracting juice" I would first like at your pumps. Your pumps should be directly wired in some fashion to your batteries. So their always powered just in case your boat takes on water. You might have a float jammed in the up position? Or something else wrong with them...........

 

[Toucan]

We installed a small toggle switch in the wire going to the analog voltmeter in the 12 VDC electrical panel. It no longer draws current 24/7 from the selected battery.

Barry Thompson
TOUCAN, R-27 Classic

 

[Bobby P.]

Thanks so much for the detailed advice.

The meter was nearly at 14 volts while the engine was running, two days ago.

Went to the boat yesterday, now that it has had the charger on for 24 hours. Turned off the charger and turned on the battery switches. All batteries read Nearly 13volts. After about an hours, the engine battery was down to 12 volts. The other batteries remained higher. Another 45 minutes and the engine battery was maybe down another tenth. I had to then leave. I turned all of the batteries off and turned the charger back on. We will see.

Next time out, I will also track all of the wiring and see if it matches the schema in the owners manual.

Thanks again!

Bobby

 

[BB marine]

If all batteries charged to 13V and after hour maintained at 12.7+/-.1 they are good 12.7 is considered 100% charge. If the engine battery dropped to 12 Volts in an hour it is at about 20% charge. I would suspect the battery needs replaced possibly a bad cell and the battery will no longer hold a charge.

 

[iggy]

If you had the charger on for 24hr. and the battery dropped to 12v. There is a problem with that battery. A load test will tell you in a few minutes to seconds depending in the type load tester.

How old is the battery you need to ask yourself. Maybe its time??

 

[barling]

What is the best way to load test a battery? There is talk about a $50.00 load tester. What are the names of load testers and where might they be purchased? Thanks.

 

[Bobby P.]

The boat is a 2017, so the battery is not that old. How long do these AGM batteries last?

 

[Cutwater28GG]

its possible to kill a lead battery even an AGM in 3 years if its treated poorly. I actually plan on replacing every 3-4 years.

 

[iggy]

What is the best way to load test a battery? There is talk about a $50.00 load tester. What are the names of load testers and where might they be purchased? Thanks.

Here are some from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/FOXWELL-FBA_BT10 ... s9dHJ1ZQ==


https://www.amazon.com/TOPDON-BT100-Aut ... 774&sr=8-7

I am not suggesting that these are the best, but a few examples.

Basically, disconnect one cable from the battery so the tester is not seeing the bank of batteries. Connect the load tester and push a button. The tester should give you a read out in a few second. Some load testers may ask for Cold Cranking Amps and Amp Hour Capacity so it knows how to read that battery.

 

[iggy]

its possible to kill a lead battery even an AGM in 3 years if its treated poorly. I actually plan on replacing every 3-4 years.

I have 5 AGMs and there between 7 to 10 years old. Some are older than others. I try not to go past 40% discharge and buy a good name.

 

[iggy]

The boat is a 2017, so the battery is not that old. How long do these AGM batteries last?

I would go to brand that you have web site for warranty info. Some AGMs have a 60 month replacement warranty.

 

[BB marine]

The boat is a 2017, so the battery is not that old. How long do these AGM batteries last?

Who Knows ? Batteries can be bad when manufactured. I'm hoping AGM last 5 to 6 years. I replaced my original batteries maintenance free centennial after three years. One of the batteries had a bad cell, giving me the same experience as you described. I replaced them with Northstar AGM, time will tell if the price was worth it based on how long they last. Your batteries were probably manufactured in late 2016, 3 years. For the engine battery that is not much longevity. Normally the house batteries fail first because of the constant discharge /charge. The normal test procedure for load testing a battery is fully Charge then let it sit for approx. 4 hours. Test the battery voltage, If battery Voltage is 12.7+/- .1 V then load test using a conductance battery load tester (AGM batteries) I ask the marina if I can use their tester, if not an inexpensive one can be punched for $50 to $100, like Iggy posted. If the battery voltage falls to 12V after a full charge there is no reason to load test it. The battery needs to maintain a minimum of 90% charge to even consider it for a viable battery.

 

[Chili Pepper]

Had the same problem. Found that the solenoid valve in propane locker was on. Solenoid valve was extremely hot. Don't know how it got turned on as have never used the gas stove. The XINTEX Fireboy device is wired permanently straight to the engine battery in order for the propane detector to work.