Starting battery keeps dying...New boat.

[033recon]

I posted this in the boats section earlier by mistake. As the title states, I bought a brand new Crestliner Fish Hawk 1750 this year with a merc 115. I have two helix 9's hooked up to my starting battery as well as an oxygenator. The first time it left me dead I thought ok, maybe I left the master power on or something stupid. Charge the battery back up, fish a couple days later and it leaves me dead again. This time I thought, ok maybe I didnt give it enough time when I charged the battery. I know for sure everything was off this time. The third time it leaves me dead I say ok, its going back to the dealer. I take it in, they test the battery and charging system everything is ok. They tell me that the oxygenator may be killing the battery so maybe pull the fuse on it when you arent using it. Well now it is musky season, and I ran the oxygenator this weekend to keep my suckers happy. We drifted around the lake for 3-4 hours dragging suckers and what do you know? The battery is once again dead. I email the dealer after hours just to let them know hey this is still messed up. They reply after hours to tell me I need to maybe switch to a 24v system with battery selector AND I SHOULD PROBABLY CARRY A BOOSTER PACK SO I CAN START THE MOTOR WHEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN!!!!

Now, this is brand new boat. They sold me on the locators and the oxygenator. Am I wrong to think they should know what kind battery set up is needed to keep everything running? Why should I have to spend more money on this new boat, when they are the ones who rigged it and it is not working out? I havent taken it back to the dealer yet because I am still mad that it was suggested I carry a booster pack. This is a brand new boat, I am not relying on a booster pack!

Any ideas what I can do here? If anyone wants my battery info let me know. I am not too sharp on electrical systems but know the basics of how everything works.

[WallyWarrior]

Do you at least have your fish finder set to alert you when your battery gets below the point needed to start? I read through the posts on your other thread and would agree with all that you need to add another battery, but if you had a warning, at least you could start the motor and recharge your batteries.

Also, is there a need to run the oxygenator constantly, or can it be ran a couple minutes and then shut off for half hour? I don't fish chubs, but minnows easily stay alive when hitting my recirc every now and then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DerHornen]

I'd have to review the power specs on the equipment you're running, but it doesn't seem to me that it should be enough to fully drain a battery in 3-4 hours. On a long day with no runs to recharge sure, but not that quickly.

[GBS]

Somewhere deep in the manuals for your Helix's and the Oxygenator are specs for how many volts and amps (or more likely milliamps) these things draw. From that, and from specs for your battery you can determine how many hours you should get. And, of course, if you run your engine, you should be recharging the battery.
Just to note, I left my HDS on for 8 days under the cover in the driveway this year, and there was still enough juice to start the main motor. Electronics just don't pull much current. Maybe the Oxygenator - but my original model ran off of "AA" batteries for a long time!

I've done the math previously for a variety of similar situations, and it almost always comes back to:
Your battery is shot.

It may be your battery is fine, but it is unable to pass the current to the starter to start the engine (wire, corroded connectors, etc).
But most of the time it is the battery.

Have a firm chat with the dealer, and have him put a loaner battery in it so you can go fishing for a few hours, that will tell the tale.

[AllenW]

Maybe..

Make sure nothing is robbing power that shouldn't be.
I had a bilge pump that would stick on from time to time, poor hearing so I didn't hear it.

Are you charging till the charger says it's at a full charge?
I plug mine in the day before and let charge over night.

Hook an amp meter to the battery and keep an eye on amps drawn.

Like said, run the big motor during the day.

Check all terminal for a good crimp/connection/corrosion.

You may just need a bigger battery, that a lot of stuff to run off what most boats come with stock.

Al

[martinbns]

I am surprised you don't have at least two batteries dedicated to running your electronics etc.

Do you have an electric trolling motor on the boat? If you do and it's run from teh 2 or 3 batteries dedicated, I would have the dealer hook your items up to them.

[yarcraft91]

If you have a good, fully charged starting battery and it is going dead in 3-4 hours, then something is drawing 10-15 amps constantly from that battery. Two sonar/GPS combo units and an oxygenator might draw 3 amps total, so I doubt that is what's killing your battery. You (or the dealer) need to track down the thing that is drawing so much current by disconnecting items one at a time while watching the current drawn from the battery. There is either a faulty electrical component or a wiring mistake.

[033recon]

Thanks for all the replies guys. This post took off in the boats section so a lot of replies are over there. I am going to try a group 31 battery as there is only a 24 installed at this time.

[yarcraft91]

Originally Posted by 033recon

Thanks for all the replies guys. This post took off in the boats section so a lot of replies are over there. I am going to try a group 31 battery as there is only a 24 installed at this time.

My comments were made assuming you had a Group 24 battery. This does not sound like a problem due to an inadequate battery.

[033recon]

Originally Posted by yarcraft91

My comments were made assuming you had a Group 24 battery. This does not sound like a problem due to an inadequate battery.

This first time it was at the dealer the only thing that was drawing from the battery was the oxygenator while the boat was off and it was a small amount of power. They load tested the battery and said it was fine. They suggested installing a second battery and a switch, so short of that I was going to try a group 31 first.