private owner

[bob sagmoe]

own a 619 ranger, 2000 year. while fishing last fall my depthfinder quit. turned it back on and went off again. tried to start the engine and the battery was dead. took battery to dealer and it checked ok. 2 years old. put battery back in boat and worked fine. cables were clean and tight. this has happened before. had the alternater checked and was fine. any suggestions?

[PRD1]

That is exactly what you would see with a weak battery. The battery is good but you are over time discharging the battery due to more accessory load than the alternator can put back in the time the engine is running. Is this starting/accessory battery charged fully after each use?

[ffishman]

I had the exact same problem in my boat. It was a weak battery. I replaced the battery, and all is fine.

[rbsangler]

If you have room, I suggst that you make your starting battery designated for starting only...no accessories on it at all. Place a deep cyle battery to run all of your accessories only. Put a charger on the deep cycle for each time you use it. If you really want the ticket...put a 2 bank dual-pro carger on the 2 batteries and plug it in every use. I had the same problem as you, untill I did this. You'll end up sulfiting your battery and ruining it if you keep letting it go low like that. I ruined 2 batteries before I read up on battery maintenance on the internet. Go to your manufacturers web site and find out what they recommend..there are sites all over the web on this subject.

[bob sagmoe]

own a 619 ranger, 2000 year. while fishing last fall my depthfinder quit. turned it back on and went off again. tried to start the engine and the battery was dead. took battery to dealer and it checked ok. 2 years old. put battery back in boat and worked fine. cables were clean and tight. this has happened before. had the alternater checked and was fine. any suggestions?

thanks guys. i think you've given me good advice. i have a ranger 619 with a 3 bank charger thats plugged in everyday after use. the weak battery is the only solution that makes sense. i'm thinking of the cabellas agm battery for starting. i already have 2 of them for my minnkota and love em. any suggestons? thanks.

[rbsangler]

Your first post said that the battery was good...has that changed? If you buy new batteries, make absolutely sure that you are maintaining them acording to the manufacturers directions....EXACTLY. Do this, and you will get years of use from your batteries. I would suspect that you have sulfated the battery by it going low several times. Happened to me TWICE. When I read up on maintenance and followed those instructions...no more problems, going on 5 years now. Good Luck. Also check the cable connections on BOTH ends of each, loose on engine end can cause problem too.

[bob sagmoe]

Your first post said that the battery was good...has that changed? If you buy new batteries, make absolutely sure that you are maintaining them acording to the manufacturers directions....EXACTLY. Do this, and you will get years of use from your batteries. I would suspect that you have sulfated the battery by it going low several times. Happened to me TWICE. When I read up on maintenance and followed those instructions...no more problems, going on 5 years now. Good Luck. Also check the cable connections on BOTH ends of each, loose on engine end can cause problem too.

the good battery thing hasn't changed. last summer i ran 20 miles and the motor just died. hooked it to 1 deep cycle and it started and ran perfect. later had dealer run a test on the computer and all charging and electrical was fine. i have a 200 optimax that is running perfectly. this is why i'm ready to just try a new battery. it's been suggested it could be a ground problem but can't find anything wrong.

[rbsangler]

I guess I'm just confused....why buy new battery to fix problem, if old battery is "good"? Does it seem resonable that there is another problem if the battery is good? Just trying to make sure you get a permanent resolution to this.

[PRD1]

Bob if your sonar gear has the ability to display the source voltage you should turn it on and it will help you monitor for problems and help diagnose a problem should it arise. Often the dealers use a group 24 starting battery in the starter/accessory application and they just can't keep up with a long day of fishing with livewells running etc.. Given the state of discharge they get to each day it shortens their life considerably even if charged nightly.

If and when you replace the battery the AGM is a good choice, they provide the cranking amps needed and the deep cycle recharge lifespan you won't get with a standard starting type battery.

Paul

[bob sagmoe]

thanks to all of you. appreciate your input. the reason i'm thinking of a new battery is i have spent money at a dealer already trying to find the problem with no success. a good dealer, just haven't come up with the right answer. the weak battery or some kind of break happening is the only thing that seems worth trying now. the poor connections at the battery or motor is logical too but if the motor connection was loose why would the depthfinder quit? i do have the capability of reading voltage but didn't think of trying that at the time. the battery warehouse said the terminals looked good and clean and i know they were tight.
bob

[rbsangler]

Didn't think about the finder going off at the same time...Good Point. This is a stumper, sounds like you've got a plan though.

[PRD1]

With a weak battery when you try to start the motor the load the starter places on the battery will cause the voltage to drop dramatically. You might have a no load voltage of 12V and all looks well but when you turn the switch and engage the starter the load voltage would drop immideately. I have seen it drop to 9V or so and the motor still started but just barely. Anything below 11v or so (10.5 on Lowrance) and the electronics will drop out because that voltage level is insufficient to operate the unit, so the electronics are the first thing to go. A loose connection could cause different symptoms depending on how much current a device draws, the motor drawing more current would cause the loose connection to heat up dropping voltage across the connection. The electronics would not have sufficient draw to cause this and would operate normally until you hit the switch.
Paul

[rbsangler]

Makes sense prd1

[ohiojmj]

I had car battery that checked out OK at both Advance Auto Parts and Walmart with their computer check gizmos. However, it would not start my car. I even switched batteries between my two vehicles to prove it was the one battery. Bottomline: a battery that tests OK may not necessarily be OK. I suspect a shorting problem inside the battery. Could happen with a boat battery.