dead battery problem

[larryueckert]

I'm sick of going out listen to the stereo and 30 minutes goes by and stuck in the water i have three battery and still dead i need a 12v charging system please help. thanks Larry 22ve.

[talltigeguy]

You must have a battery that is sucking your juice.

How old are your batteries...How big is your stereo? What type of batteries? Check your water.

I think you are off to Auto Zone with the batteries to have them checked.

Have you put a charger on them to make sure they are fully topped off in the first place.

[buffman]

3 batteries? So they are all connected together? IT should be one/set of batteries for all accessories etc and one just for starting so it will never get drained by stereo etc...

[KonaKing]

check the output of your alternator and definitely check your batteries you may have some dead cells. This would keep them from holding a charge

[larryueckert]

I have three interstates two go to the amps one to start the boat. but when i throw anchor i dont switch the battery's over i run them all and then i have to pull out the jumper. it sucks.

[philwsailz]

TIme for some sort of intervention, switch, combiner, isolator, or something...

[Domsz06]

make sure also you have them wired correctly

I know when I put my 7 batteries in I messed up and didn't do them correct so it would die in an hour.

Turned out I didn't have them all wired in. Just saying but with 3 batteries you should be able to listen to something longer then 30 min. Either a dead cell or incorrect wiring.

[talltigeguy]

A Perko switch is not perfect for that reason.

I have my perko switch so that '2' goes to my 2 batteries. And '1' goes to the single battery. Obviously '1 and 2' goes to all 3 batteries. I usually just leave the switch on '2'. Then I always have the other battery if I run down. I know that will eventually lead to different rates of discharge from the batteries that are used more...but I am willing to accept that for never having to deal with your problem.

I run it on all 3 if I know I am just going for a quick wakeboarding run and there will be no long rest periods.

[chpthril]

Lot of good help here, let me throw my thoughts in.

1st: My gut says you got a bad battery. Need to have them checked by a knowledgeable technician with the correct equipment. Find a shop that uses a tester such as a Midtronics, and not the heater grid "toaster tester". Replace any that fail the test, and fully charge the rest with a charger (alternators do not charge batteries)

2nd: check the alternator out put. Should be 13V + @ idle and close to 14 + @ about 1k RPM. It wouldn't hurt to take a voltage reading at each battery. This would pin point a bad connection or improper wiring.

Lets make sure that everything is up to snuff and working like it should, then we'll figure out how to get you a days worth of tunes without being left hanging.

[larryueckert]

the batteries are one year old but i'm running two sound stream 996x4 and that is alot of juice i'm just looking for a charging system that will charge the batteries fast maybe by driven around the lake or something

[KonaKing]

Lot of good help here, let me throw my thoughts in.

1st: My gut says you got a bad battery. Need to have them checked by a knowledgeable technician with the correct equipment. Find a shop that uses a tester such as a Midtronics, and not the heater grid "toaster tester". Replace any that fail the test, and fully charge the rest with a charger (alternators do not charge batteries)

2nd: check the alternator out put. Should be 13V + @ idle and close to 14 + @ about 1k RPM. It wouldn't hurt to take a voltage reading at each battery. This would pin point a bad connection or improper wiring.
Lets make sure that everything is up to snuff and working like it should, then we'll figure out how to get you a days worth of tunes without being left hanging.

True the alternator is not a battery charger but do not be misled it does charge the battery. Unlike old generators putting out DC alternators put out AC So how do you charge a dc battery with ac current? run it through a rectifier and clip off the lower wave and since it runs a full 360 degrees and has all three phases it is always charging even at an idle. If one of these windings or phases fail the alt will still charge but at a much lower rate. Check all conections and belt tension. I agree that batteries should be tested and the must be fully charged to load test them. If they all pass you have a bad connection or bad alt..
and possibly you are just sucking to many amps while not running or running.You can always step up to a high output alt like 125amp

[chpthril]

Larry,

We know the engine has a 90amp alt, which I believe to be plenty.

Did your boat come with the EIDB duel battery setup from Tige? If you got any options like Ballast, Tower of Power, Docking Lights, Heater, it probably was included.

or

Did the Dealer/stereo shop install the extra batteries when the stereo was installed? Just to confirm, it is a Perko style 1/2/BOTH/OFF switch, not the ON/OFF starter disconnect that comes from the factory?

If your boat has the EIDB, it will have an Isolator that will keep the "starting" battery separated from the "house" battery(s), regardless of the switch position, unless, the charging system was reconfigured when the stereo was done.

larryueckert the batteries are one year old but i'm running two sound stream 996x4 and that is alot of juice i'm just looking for a charging system that will charge the batteries fast maybe by driven around the lake or something

Alternators are only intended to do 2 things; replenish the voltage to the battery that was used when starting, and produce enough current to run the electrical system. They are not really intended to recharge a bank of batteries, run down from 6hrs of play with a 75amp draw, in a 30 minute run back to the dock at the end of a day. Although a high Amp Alternator will help, we are still asking it to do more then what it was intended to.

I also added a 2nd deep cycle to my "house" bank, and have been running it for 2 years now with no problems. I've only had to charge my stereo batts a couple of times at home after a long week end jamming. I have never been left stranded with a dead "starting" battery due to the Isolator config.

I think we need to look into exactly how your hole setup is wired after you test batteries and alt.

[larryueckert]

thanks chpthril i'll go down to les schwab and them check the batteries and alt.

[larryueckert]

i hope this work bought on e bay a phoenix gold isolater should be here today.

[spharis]

Here is some general info on 12v systems.
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/12volt.htm

Your alternator can charge a healthy battery in normal discharge conditions. If the battery is discharged more than normal (things like left lights on all night, battery sat for too long, etc) then it will need to be topped off. The alternator can recharge, but it will take a long time and really taxes the alt.

Batteries love to be charged and discharged, so use them.