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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 13:33:41 GMT
First day of the vacation and on our way to Dunkirck France we got a Low Battery error on the autopilot. Now in the marina I checked the batteries and 2 out of 4 have a failure indication. So I started to do some measurements and apparantly from both nets (board and motor) one of the batteries is poor. On those batteries I spotted corrosion on the minus pole whilst the positive and the poles from the other batteries are fine.
Now my questions are; why, since the 3 board batteries are connected in parallel, is there only on minus pole bad. And how is it possibile that from those 3 batteries only one is bad. And why do both nets have a bad battery. What also puzzles me is that I haven't noticed any problem with starting the engine. In our marina we are always connected to shore and since the batteries are from 2011 I was not expecting this problem to occur.
Does anyone have an idea what could have caused this problem?
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Post by vasko on Jul 19, 2015 13:41:47 GMT
Can you describe you battery setup ?
E.g do you have 3 house + one engine ? or 3 house + 2 engine ? or another setup ?
exact battery model and type ?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 14:54:37 GMT
I have 3 boardnet batteries and 1 for engine. All bateries are identical and installed at the same date.
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Post by aussieodyssey on Jul 19, 2015 17:20:06 GMT
Marien
The battery with the corroded post is probably not charging correctly and pulling the other batteries down to its level . The post and terminal should be cleaned and reassembled .
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Post by MartyB on Jul 19, 2015 20:40:01 GMT
That battery may also have a short in it too. So just cleaning and reasembling may not solve the problem. It may be time for three new house batteries. Or if it is the starting battery, a new one of those.
I would not surprise me if it is a house battery that is the issue. A number of folks have had starting batteries put in the house bank area. This style does not like draining and recharging. If this is the case, make sure you new house bats are deep cycle styles.
marty
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Post by so36idavid on Jul 19, 2015 23:52:03 GMT
If they're wet cell batteries then you can test the state of the cells using a hydrometer, inexpensive and available at any auto-parts store. If you do have a bad battery then I strongly suggest that you bite the bullet and change all of them.
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Post by sailbleu on Jul 20, 2015 5:45:26 GMT
If they are wet cells , first check the acid level. Maybe there is something wrong with the charger . The acid level can tell. If one battery has a short inside (due to overcharging by a bad charger) you drag the others along in the fall.
Regards
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Post by vasko on Jul 20, 2015 6:40:49 GMT
I have 3 boardnet batteries and 1 for engine. All bateries are identical and installed at the same date. What you mean by failor indication ? - the red/green dot/window on the batteries or something else ? if I assume that this is what you mean then : 1. if the starter battery is red check the alternator of the engine - when engine s running the voltage at the starter battery should be about 14.4v - if too high or low then that - check all fuses etc. around the alternator and check the voltage before and after the battery(engine and house) splitter isolator - to make sure that it works properly too 2. if the house battery is a problem then do the same as (1) 3. in case you find out the alternator and splitter works fine - then do the same checks (1) but for the shore charge 4. if all is fine with the shore charger - if lead-acid batteries check the acid/fluid level in each battery cell - and make sure you have topped up them (with distilled water) - next charge batteries separately(one by one) on shore power ( you can charge two in the same time by using both starter and house battery beds and make note of all maximum voltage after full charge - should be about 13.8v if all full charge voltages are very different let say more then 0.2-0.4v then you need to change the batteries with the very different voltage - or the whole 4 of them (on your place I will go with all of them)- when you buy your new batteries make sure that the house ones are deep-cycle or there is a Varta Professional that can do booth well - model LFDxx - there is 60,75,90,140,180,230 ah models - the bigger the better - choose the biggest that can fit in the space. FYI: and when changing batteries always but some WD40 or grease around the pole/connector to keep the connection in good condition. and if you are up for new batteries - you may decide to change only the house batteries with up-to-date technology - Li-ion too : www.ev-power.eu/
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 8:01:16 GMT
Thank you guys, I could not respond earlier since the wifi in this marina is strong but apparantly jammed by all the wifif channels from the different boats (mine as well).
Yes, I was refering to the red whit green indicators. Ones they are red I can assume they are beyond repair.
So today I will replace at least 3 of them (the boardnet batteries) for deep cycle one. I'm not sure what they are right now. Perhaps then I will take one of the probably good one and assign it as the new starter battery. The charge voltage is never at the 14,4V level. This is probably due to the rather standard setup. In my previous boat I replaced the splitter for a mosfet type which avoid the 0,6V voltage drop over the diode. So that's much better for charging.
Unfortunately the stores are closed this morning and we leave for Dover tomorrow. So the batteries won't have a full day to get charged. Do you think I should idle the motor during sailing tomorrow?
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Post by hoppy on Jul 20, 2015 10:24:28 GMT
Unfortunately the stores are closed this morning and we leave for Dover tomorrow. So the batteries won't have a full day to get charged. Do you think I should idle the motor during sailing tomorrow? I found that it is better to run at something like 1600rpm to charge up the batteries because there is a huge difference between amps at that compared with at idle.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 13:10:54 GMT
Just bought 3 new batteries. They will be delivered tomorrow morning. So depending on the weather I can charge them on shore or run the motor at 1600 rpm. Apparently one off the batteries that showed the red indication now looks green again. So now I wonder am I going to replace 2 good functioning batteries ( since I will reuse 1 for starting the engine)?
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Post by MartyB on Jul 20, 2015 19:49:50 GMT
You have not mentioned how old the batteries are. If 3-5 yrs or older, probably time depending upon the variety etc. In the ten years I have owned my boat, I've gone thru three house batteries, I have a single house. Then a month ago as i went to take off to the local rendezvous, engine would not start.... I said to myself, screw testing, went and bought a new one, off I went. I do the same with deep corvette house batteries too. If they are older than 3 years, and 12v lead cells. That seems about ave between the different boats and land rv's I've owned. Have fun on trip. Marty
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Post by so36idavid on Jul 20, 2015 22:26:21 GMT
Marty,
Good quality batteries should last a lot longer than 3 years. You might be abusing your batteries in any of several ways (most likely, drawing well below 50% of capacity). If you don't have an Ah meter I strongly suggest you install one. They're not terribly expensive or difficult to install. It really helps to understand how many amps are going into and out of your house bank at any given time.
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Post by MartyB on Jul 21, 2015 4:01:39 GMT
David,
The over doing of amps drawn may be the issue. As none of the vehicles if you will that I have owned have had amp meters on them. BUT, it could also be, that I do use them, get my 200-300 cycles over that time, and they are gone. 6V will last longer, ie 400-600 discharges. The last 6V bats I had on my land RV were over 3 years and going strong. So the 12V may have been abused per say. 7-8 ys seems to be on the long side, 5-7 ave from what I have seen ave, less than this is shorter.
marty
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 21:08:58 GMT
Batteries are from 2011. Today I replaced them. After I charged the old ones over the night they where all 4 showing a green indication. So probably I just disposed 3 good batteries.
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Post by vasko on Jul 22, 2015 6:04:34 GMT
Batteries are from 2011. Today I replaced them. After I charged the old ones over the night they where all 4 showing a green indication. So probably I just disposed 3 good batteries. vheck your charging - shore and engine .... the green/red window just shows the charging state of the battery... e.g you have just charged the batteries and the fact that they haven't been charged before points to charging system issues
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 7:26:17 GMT
Athe charging system is fine but I think that due to the corrosion some batteries were not charging correctly. The more I think about it I wonder if I decided to change the to soon. So i just forget about it.
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Post by sailbleu on Jul 24, 2015 8:49:24 GMT
Marien ,
the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Why not take the batteries to the store where you bought the new ones and have them checked ? That is done in a second. There is stiil a market for 3 year old secondhand batteries.
Regards
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 22:30:22 GMT
Then I have to get back to Dover where I disposed them.
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