Onboard recharging problem

[fishtician]

I went out to check the boat today, and 2 of the 3 batts. were dead. The charger says " Check connections" on Batteries 1 and 3, and "Full Charge" on Battery 2. I took all connections off, cleaned them, tightend them and still it says the same. Any thoughts. The boat is a STX 2050 Starcraft. 1 batt. for the verado

[Hawker]

If memory serves me correct (for whatever reason) most onboard chargers will not charge a fully dead battery! In the past (due to stuff being left on combined with loose/corroded connections) I ran into the same problem! Put the batteries on a car battery (portable) charger, brought them up to about 1/2 charge, then let the onboard charger do it's thing!

You might give that a try first and see if it will work for you!

[dkooser]

Originally Posted by fishtician

I went out to check the boat today, and 2 of the 3 batts. were dead. The charger says " Check connections" on Batteries 1 and 3, and "Full Charge" on Battery 2. I took all connections off, cleaned them, tightend them and still it says the same. Any thoughts. The boat is a STX 2050 Starcraft. 1 batt. for the verado

Just a guess but if the batteries have boiled out, the lack of water would present itself to the charger as an open circuit/connection...just a guess.

[we16]

Also if you have not done it already, check the fuses in the charger leads.
But something else must be going on if the batteries are dead.
Something had to be drawing current unless the charger is bad and boiled the batteries.

[boat nut]

Originally Posted by fishtician

I went out to check the boat today, and 2 of the 3 batts. were dead. The charger says " Check connections" on Batteries 1 and 3, and "Full Charge" on Battery 2. I took all connections off, cleaned them, tightend them and still it says the same. Any thoughts. The boat is a STX 2050 Starcraft. 1 batt. for the verado

We need a lot more information to give good advice.
Is the boat in a heated space? If not, what is the average temperature outside this time of year?
Has the charger been plugged in for a long time, or were you just trying to top them up?
What brand of charger?
How old are the batteries/charger?

[fishtician]

Originally Posted by boat nut

We need a lot more information to give good advice.
Is the boat in a heated space? If not, what is the average temperature outside this time of year?
Has the charger been plugged in for a long time, or were you just trying to top them up?
What brand of charger?
How old are the batteries/charger?

The batteries are all 1 year old. I had the charger on for 2 days before I noticed the " Check connection lights". It's a Minkota charger and the temp usually is about 40 degree's in garage. I believe the Verado is the culprit here. I think the pump is constantly drawing and draining.

[Jerryv]

I don't see how the Verado would kill two batteries unless they are hooked in parallel. I think Hawker is right that you will have to get at least some charge back in them before the onboard charger will start charging. They may be goners. It is very bad for a battery to sit completely discharged.

Jerry

[Burr]

Could be any number of things at this point.

Since your batteries are completely dead, I would remove them, try charging as Hawker stated with a car battery charger, see if that picks them up. If not, a trip to your battery dealer may be in line. Some of the AGM's need even more to bring them up, a lot more, and a commercial route is the option you have.

If they are AGM's, and the battery is not bad, they will not suffer from being fully discharged. If they are lead-acid batteries, you may have shortened life.

Then - turn your attention toward the charger. I think you'll save time by focusing on the Battery first, unless you have blade type fuses. If you have blade type fuses, you could check them first, but you will still need to address the batteries apart from the charger if they are fully discharged.

For the charger, I'll suggest hooking a gauge to the wires first to see if there is juice going to the leads. To get a good circuit you may find it easier to hook the lead to a known good battery.

If no charge is getting to the leads, you can check the fuses, if it is the newer blade type fuses, that should go smooth. If it is the older style fuse holder, chances are pretty good corrosion will destroy the fuse holder, and then your off to get the solder gun and new fuse holders. At that point you'll have most of an afternoon into changing out the fuse holders, soldering the junctions and getting everything in sync again. Remeber that you can not crimp the ends, the marine chargers work on resisance and crimping the wires will cause a fault code.

If batteries are only a year old, I'd get at it quick as you may be in free replacement warranty period. Let this drag out a month or two and you may only be pro-rated. Many batteries are full replacement within 12 months, some longer than that.

[fishtician]

Originally Posted by Burr

Could be any number of things at this point.

Since your batteries are completely dead, I would remove them, try charging as Hawker stated with a car battery charger, see if that picks them up. If not, a trip to your battery dealer may be in line. Some of the AGM's need even more to bring them up, a lot more, and a commercial route is the option you have.

If they are AGM's, and the battery is not bad, they will not suffer from being fully discharged. If they are lead-acid batteries, you may have shortened life.

Then - turn your attention toward the charger. I think you'll save time by focusing on the Battery first, unless you have blade type fuses. If you have blade type fuses, you could check them first, but you will still need to address the batteries apart from the charger if they are fully discharged.

For the charger, I'll suggest hooking a gauge to the wires first to see if there is juice going to the leads. To get a good circuit you may find it easier to hook the lead to a known good battery.

If no charge is getting to the leads, you can check the fuses, if it is the newer blade type fuses, that should go smooth. If it is the older style fuse holder, chances are pretty good corrosion will destroy the fuse holder, and then your off to get the solder gun and new fuse holders. At that point you'll have most of an afternoon into changing out the fuse holders, soldering the junctions and getting everything in sync again. Remeber that you can not crimp the ends, the marine chargers work on resisance and crimping the wires will cause a fault code.

If batteries are only a year old, I'd get at it quick as you may be in free replacement warranty period. Let this drag out a month or two and you may only be pro-rated. Many batteries are full replacement within 12 months, some longer than that.

I took the AGM out, that runs the Verado, and took it to a shop. recharging the other 1 myself. I will report the resultsTuesday or wed.

[fishtician]

Just as I thought... The AGM was dead. Charged her up and there all good to go. Thanks for the advice guys.

Scott