ssramage Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 Hey guys, Apologies in advance for the REALLY basic questions. I've owned a few boats over the years, but just recently upgraded to a new to me 2004 Pathfinder that has some systems that I haven't had as much experience with, particularly on the electrical side. Took it out for the first time yesterday and got stranded out in the bay with my 6 year old son due to electrical issues. SeaTow to the rescue! So now I'm going through the primary electrical and have some questions. Back story on issues from yesterday: - boat was plugged into charger overnight before the trip (I'm assuming now this only charges the 3 batteries under the console and not the cranking battery) - put boat in the water without issue, drove 10 minutes to fishing spot and fished maybe 30 minutes using motorguide Xi5 anchor lock - no juice to crank outboard, and trolling motor stopped working - quick check of fuses found no issue - SeaTow came out with jump box and it immediately fired up - Drove back to the ramp, shut it off to get the truck, and it wouldn't crank again. Used jumper cables from center console to cranking battery and it fired up. - Cranking battery was from 2019 so I went ahead and replaced, but it took a charge at home yesterday and cranked up in the driveway without issue and trolling motor tested out fine as well So.... my questions now that I'm going through everything (and a few pictures): - Am I correct that my charger under the console does not also charge the cranking battery? - Why would the trolling motor have not worked if the cranking battery was dead? I would assume that it's tied into the 3 batteries under the console (it's a 36V Xi5). - Is it possible that the trolling motor killed the cranking battery? - Circuit breaker looks like it needs to be replaced? Could that have caused issues? Looks like the reset button is broken off. - What else should I look for or am I being paranoid now due to a 5 year old cranking battery that just needed to be replaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 Where is your Main Switch?? I have the the same basic setup. One battery starboard rear. ( House or cranking #1 ) Three battery's in the console (connected in series) make up the 36 volt trolling motor bank. ( ONE of these acts as House #2 ) My main switch is in the starboard rear. When switch is off only the direct bilge pump is live. When switch is on #1 the rear starboard battery runs the entire boat "Excluding" the Trolling Motor. ( House #1 ) When the switch is on #2 one of the trolling motor battery's runs the entire boat. ( House #2 / Trolling Motor #1 ) When the switch is on BOTH or ALL the House #1 and House #2 (Trolling Motor #1) run the entire boat as a set in parallel. I run my boat on Switch setting #1. If I have a cranking problem I switch to Two Or Both to draw from House #2 or House #1 and Two #2 in parallel. The 36 volt Trolling Motor bank (in the console) is separate and should be using a 50 amp circuit breaker with a release and reset button like in your picture but not broken. Yours needs to be replaced asap for sure but likely not the problem. Start at where is your switch if you have one and how are you using it. Looks like from your pictures that the Console set up if exclusive to your 36 volt trolling motor. At this point I would Charge all your battery's and then have them load tested. If you need more info on how one trolling motor battery is wired to be a backup house ley me know. Send a pic of your Main Switch. Hope this helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 I would say you are correct with your thoughts. The 3 bank charger is only for the trolling motor batteries. If your start battery is running your electronics you could have killed it with the depth finder or radio. Odd that it would not start at the dock but sounds like it was in need of change out anyway. With a battery in the 36 volt as house back up and if you had it combined on the switch it could have drained your start battery. I would keep the selector on 1 while on the trolling motor in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssramage Posted March 4 Author Report Share Posted March 4 Thanks guys. To date, all of my boats have had 1 cranking battery and 1 battery for accessories, so pretty basic. Some of the switches/chargers/etc are new to me so I'm getting familiar with them (even though they're pretty simple). Part of the hard part is trying to figure out what they're supposed to be like and not how the PO set them up... Switch is in the rear starboard compartment as well as the cranking battery. I haven't had a switch like this before and the PO had it set to "BOTH". I'm guessing the cranking battery was dead enough that it had always been running off the trolling motor batteries. That battery was from Feb 2019 so I went ahead and replaced it. Running into a few other gremlins now that I replaced that battery. Pretty sure the main power cable coming from the switch to the cranking battery needs replacing. Motor turns over strong, but won't crank. Never had that problem before switching the battery. I'm getting ~12.5A on the new battery at rest but it's dropping to ~10A when turning the key. The battery cable terminal end has a split in it and is "wallowed" out so I'm thinking it's just not making good contact now that I swapped everything out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 Agree with Honey B and JH141, check all fuses on trolling motor side ( Charger Leads) Clean up corrosion on batt post, sounds like a group of bad batteries, load test or check specific gravity on all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 Looking at the switch it is not set up to combine one of the trolling batteries. It would have 3 large wires coming out. Get rid of the old black switch to avoid confusion It is for grounds check all cable ends for loose frayed wires. There are numerous links on how to use one of the trolling batteries but the easiest thing to remember is to always look at the tm battery with a common ground 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 9 hours ago, ssramage said: Thanks guys. To date, all of my boats have had 1 cranking battery and 1 battery for accessories, so pretty basic. Some of the switches/chargers/etc are new to me so I'm getting familiar with them (even though they're pretty simple). Part of the hard part is trying to figure out what they're supposed to be like and not how the PO set them up... Switch is in the rear starboard compartment as well as the cranking battery. I haven't had a switch like this before and the PO had it set to "BOTH". I'm guessing the cranking battery was dead enough that it had always been running off the trolling motor batteries. That battery was from Feb 2019 so I went ahead and replaced it. Running into a few other gremlins now that I replaced that battery. Pretty sure the main power cable coming from the switch to the cranking battery needs replacing. Motor turns over strong, but won't crank. Never had that problem before switching the battery. I'm getting ~12.5A on the new battery at rest but it's dropping to ~10A when turning the key. The battery cable terminal end has a split in it and is "wallowed" out so I'm thinking it's just not making good contact now that I swapped everything out. Agree with SmileMaker. This switch looks like on and off for a single battery. I will not even try and guess how this is wired. Very Curious with what I see in the pic how the cranking battery had any effect on the trolling motor battery's. The switch would have three cables not just two. The Noco is only charging the three console battery's I am pretty sure.... Check the fuses on your motor itself for your cranking but not starting. If the switch was not set to Off when you changed battery's it may have blown the motor fuse. Replace any cables or bad ends you find. You have the pieces to build or rebuild a very reliable power system, but you may need to get with a good electrical person. I will just give you a quick How I do it. When the boat is not in use My switch is off. When I get to the ramp I turn my switch to 1 and proceed with my launch process. If I am on the water and running my bait well pumps, electronics, lights, power pole, jack plate etc... and drain my main cranking battery, I simple switch my switch from 1 to 2 or both and crank my motor. Kinda like you did by using jumper cables to connect your main battery to one of your trolling battery's at the ramp. Looks like you just need to sort out what you have and add a cable from one of your console battery's to your switch. THIS IS JUST A GUESS, PLEASE, iF YOU ARE NOT SURE GET SOME QUAILFIED HELP. This image is with a Noco X4 for charging 4 battery's but It may help give you a good visual of how yours setup should be. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssramage Posted March 5 Author Report Share Posted March 5 Thanks guys. Pretty sure the cranking issue was a combination of an older cranking battery and a bad battery cable. I've replaced both and it fires right up now. Going to start working through the trolling motor batteries now when I get some time from kids baseball this week. I have a new circuit breaker on the way as well. From some other feedback and the diagram above, it looks like the circuit breaker is wired into the negative lead, so I'l need to address that when I install. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 Baseball and kids can be a full time job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 17 hours ago, jh141 said: Agree with SmileMaker. This switch looks like on and off for a single battery. I will not even try and guess how this is wired. Very Curious with what I see in the pic how the cranking battery had any effect on the trolling motor battery's. The switch would have three cables not just two. The Noco is only charging the three console battery's I am pretty sure.... Check the fuses on your motor itself for your cranking but not starting. If the switch was not set to Off when you changed battery's it may have blown the motor fuse. Replace any cables or bad ends you find. You have the pieces to build or rebuild a very reliable power system, but you may need to get with a good electrical person. I will just give you a quick How I do it. When the boat is not in use My switch is off. When I get to the ramp I turn my switch to 1 and proceed with my launch process. If I am on the water and running my bait well pumps, electronics, lights, power pole, jack plate etc... and drain my main cranking battery, I simple switch my switch from 1 to 2 or both and crank my motor. Kinda like you did by using jumper cables to connect your main battery to one of your trolling battery's at the ramp. Looks like you just need to sort out what you have and add a cable from one of your console battery's to your switch. THIS IS JUST A GUESS, PLEASE, iF YOU ARE NOT SURE GET SOME QUAILFIED HELP. This image is with a Noco X4 for charging 4 battery's but It may help give you a good visual of how yours setup should be. most excellent information....great graphic dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssramage Posted March 5 Author Report Share Posted March 5 4 hours ago, George Seither said: Baseball and kids can be a full time job! Right! Not sure why I thought I had time to use a boat after buying it LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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