coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 After a one night camping trip, I plugged my boat into the charger. I have 1 Crank and 2 DC Trolling motor batteries and an onboard charger. When I went out later that night to unplug, the charger lights were flashing (not a normal behavior or something in the manual for troubleshooting) and there was a clicking sound coming from the charger. One of my trolling motor batteries was cold to touch, the other was pretty hot, but not too hot to touch. I unplugged everything and came back in the morning to check the water levels. The water was certainly low and a little lower in the hot battery, but did not seem dry. I topped off with water and plugged the charger back in, and everything seems to be charging normal for now. I am going out every now and then to touch the batteries and so far they are not even warm. My plan is to load test the batteries tomorrow if they fully charge as a starting point, and then move on to the charger if needed. Would having a slightly low water level for a few charge cycles cause permanent damage to the batteries? I am a little concerned about the heat, and would hate to have a fire in the middle of the glades. Any other suggestions on troubleshooting? If after load testing the batteries come back fine, should I assume it was just a hiccup or is this a sure sign of a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 How old are the batteries and what make. dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Interstate Marine, just over 2 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 I would bet the hot one is the bad one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Safe bet, I guess I'm wondering if there's a chance for the battery to bounce back after overheating or if its a no brainer to just replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 45 minutes ago, coopaloopa said: Safe bet, I guess I'm wondering if there's a chance for the battery to bounce back after overheating or if its a no brainer to just replace. Is the hot one the house ? To be honest, not worth fooling with IMHO....if you are strapped on cash....just go to Walmart and pick up the correct size....they are very good and you can go wet cell again for a decent price....I just don't fool around with batteries. If the hot battery is the troller, it's recommend to change them both at the same time dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 No bounce back once a battery starts going bad. I bet if you look at it the case is swollen either on the side or the top where the post are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 14 minutes ago, Wanaflatsfish said: Is the hot one the house ? To be honest, not worth fooling with IMHO....if you are strapped on cash....just go to Walmart and pick up the correct size....they are very good and you can go wet cell again for a decent price....I just don't fool around with batteries. If the hot battery is the troller, it's recommend to change them both at the same time dc Yes I agree, I am leaning towards just replacing. This is one of the batteries in my 24V setup, crank is fine and I load tested it last week and it is still in good shape and is a year and a half older then the trollers. I have had them charging most of the day, constantly checking temp and I have not noticed any increase on the batteries. I will see if they end up taking a full charge and check with load tester tomorrow. Part of me wants to know what went wrong, I hope I am not overlooking something that will just cook the new batteries as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 By the way, what type of charger and how old. dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 2 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: By the way, what type of charger and how old. dc Promar1 3 bank charger, same age as trolling motor batteries, just over two years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Batteries go bad , it happens. If your charger is picking up a bad battery it is likely not trying to charge the other ones. Have the trollers checked and replace the bad one. Yeah it’s better to change both now but you may get years of service out of the one good battery. Yes I know! change all batters in the pack is the best for the life of the pack. I’m just saying a good batter that has only been cycled a few times is not going to destroy a new battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 The batteries took a full charge last night, they did not get warm to the touch either. Going to load test them today, if all checks out, should I still swap or wait and see. Potentially stupid question (I am still learning the basics of this stuff), is there anything different about load testing the 24v series? Should I just hook up the load tester to each battery as if they were not in series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Your load tester is likely set up to test 12 volt batteries. Look up the specks on the unit you are using Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polliwog Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 I think the OP was saying his 2- 12v batteries in a series for the trollers. I would say that if the batteries were warm and water levels on one was low,something is wrong with the charger. It should not create heat to the touch. You should get at least 3-4 yrs out of good 12v wet cell batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 when load testing a battery it should be disconnected from everything fully charged and allowed to sit for a couple hours before you get a true reading. So disconnect the trolling motor in series and treat each as an individual battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 5 hours ago, smilemaker said: when load testing a battery it should be disconnected from everything fully charged and allowed to sit for a couple hours before you get a true reading. So disconnect the trolling motor in series and treat each as an individual battery. Interesting, I have been reading conflicting info about this. I know you should have them fully charged and let sit for around 24 hours before load testing. I thought you did not need to disconnect the jumper cable and you could just load test each 12v individually with it all hooked up. Is that also the case for my crank battery? Would I get a different reading with and without leads connected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 my understanding is that all batteries being load tested should be disconnected. If connected to anything you don't know if you have a parasitic drain somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 4 minutes ago, smilemaker said: my understanding is that all batteries being load tested should be disconnected. If connected to anything you don't know if you have a parasitic drain somewhere. Makes sense, and is easy enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 Well finally got the issue resolved. That one battery tested without load at 2v. Swapped to new batteries and everything seems to be back to normal. Do any of you have experience using fully sealed flooded lead acid batteries? Thats what I put in and I have only used FLA batteries that needed maintenance/water added. Any thoughts on the "maintenance free" style? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 9, 2021 Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 When I drove Chevy trucks maintenance free Delco was the only thing under the hood. I loved them in my truck. Never had all that mess around them. I have never used them in deep cycle application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 9 hours ago, coopaloopa said: Well finally got the issue resolved. That one battery tested without load at 2v. Swapped to new batteries and everything seems to be back to normal. Do any of you have experience using fully sealed flooded lead acid batteries? Thats what I put in and I have only used FLA batteries that needed maintenance/water added. Any thoughts on the "maintenance free" style? Good decision...nothing to do. Just charge after every trip and they will last min 3 years. dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 12 hours ago, coopaloopa said: Well finally got the issue resolved. That one battery tested without load at 2v. Swapped to new batteries and everything seems to be back to normal. Do any of you have experience using fully sealed flooded lead acid batteries? Thats what I put in and I have only used FLA batteries that needed maintenance/water added. Any thoughts on the "maintenance free" style? I only run AGM Deka batts made by East Penn (sold thru other places with their label ie Barracuda, Duracel from Sams and Battery Plus store brand) and have for last 10 years maybe. Last set lasted 7 years but I run a Stealth 1 charge which is AC or DC charge on fly so no need to plug in usually which is handy when camping remote etc. I will never run wet cell lead acids again. Don't want the gassing off etc in my console and my troller just flat runs longer under heavy load with AGMs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopaloopa Posted January 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 Would love to setup the stealth 1 soon enough. Any idea on ballpark of cost on the charger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 9 hours ago, triplec said: I will never run wet cell lead acids again. Don't want the gassing off etc in my console and my troller just flat runs longer under heavy load with AGMs. Coopaloopa be sure the charge after every trip....when you back home....this will provide the best life...as well, I'm with @ Trip. gas under the console is not a great thing; however, I have to use a wet cell as my starter / house due to the engine type i have which recommends by Yamaha dog a battery with min reserve capacity - it's a 1995 115 two stroke... I have it in the back hatch. dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 coopaloopa, do a little reading on dc chargers. there are two basic systems with different ways that they work. Stealth (advocated by many here) and yandina (used by many on THT website) I use the yandina for various reasons but read up and see whuch suits your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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