avoid electrical BS

spetro · August 03, 2009, 09:08:28 PM

After three years change you batteries! Be it truck/boat. airplane, whatever. I'll get a ton of folk that will tell ya stories of batteries that lasted 7 years. May be true...but weak batteries will raise hell on you electrical system that wont show up months after you finally ditch the old battery.

Just be done with them after three years. Its like tires...can you still drive after the warebars are exposed? Answer is yes... Is it smart? Answer is no!.

Why strain your electrical system...be it regulators, alternators, computer boards, trolling motors, or control boards and brushes in a motor/system that is straining for power.

Bassinkorea · August 04, 2009, 08:34:58 AM

Good tip Spetro

I had my car battery changed 2 years ago, so I'm still good for now

Mike Cork · August 04, 2009, 08:42:46 AM

Good tip and something we just don't think about!!

fishinfranklin · August 04, 2009, 08:58:51 AM

Spetro great advise!! I can tell you from frist hand experance just a week ago, my trolling baterry is about 31/2 years old and had never even gave a sign it was going bad until we was out fishing and i looked down in front of me and seen SMOKE coming out the front bow compartment, i opened it up and seen both the postive and negtive wires melting togather!!! It was all from a OLD BATTERRY that shouild have done been replaced, Installed a NEW battery an I also ran new 2/0 wires up to the front and got rid of the factory 10gauge wire, which i thought was too small to carry the load 15ft to the front of the boat.

kickinbass · August 04, 2009, 02:30:21 PM

I am scratching my head on this one. I agree with the replacement of the battery after a certain period but trolling motors are designed to run on lower voltage. Can you explain how running a trolling motor on a battery that's being run down( while using it) can hurt it? Would that not be the same as running it on a battery that"s not fully charged? I have never had an electrical problem with the motor because the battery was low or bad. I didn't get the thrust id like but it has never hurt any of the electrical parts of the trolling motor. Could you explain further how this hurts the trolling motor?

fishinfranklin · August 04, 2009, 09:11:48 PM

I understand what youre saying about the trolling motor,but i think his point is that it puts a lot of strain on other components that might be on the same battery and i think the biggest trouble with mine was wire size and a not so good connection and when it got low it increased the draw which got the wires hot enough to start melting,

kickinbass · August 04, 2009, 09:36:42 PM

Quote from: fishinwithfranklin on August 04, 2009, 09:11:48 PM
I understand what youre saying about the trolling motor,but i think his point is that it puts a lot of strain on other components that might be on the same battery and i think the biggest trouble with mine was wire size and a not so good connection and when it got low it increased the draw which got the wires hot enough to start melting,

I have seen that happen with brand new battery installed in a boat. Because the guy installed the wrong gauge wire and was running through some heavy weeds. It did cause an electrical fire but had nothing to do with the battery. If a systems is wired correctly a low battery should not cause an electrical components to go bad. I agree it can be a headache if battery goes low while fishing but correct me if I am wrong are not most of these components protected by fuses?

spetro · August 06, 2009, 06:21:41 AM

My issue is more with cranking batteries in cars and main engine on boats. Those components are designed with fully charged batteries. When the batts get old and provide less voltage, the system has to strain to maintain performance. Even with that said...I still change out trolling motor batts every three years due to the fact that they have been run down and charged hundred times by three years. Based on your charging system does anyone feel warmth on the side of the battery when charging? If so the battery is cooking! Heat is a major enemy to batteries. So I was expecting discussion on this topic. With that said..I'd rather spend money on battery replacement other then hundreds on repair bills and down time!

coldfront · August 09, 2009, 01:28:35 PM

Quote from: spetro on August 06, 2009, 06:21:41 AM
My issue is more with cranking batteries in cars and main engine on boats. Those components are designed with fully charged batteries. When the batts get old and provide less voltage, the system has to strain to maintain performance. Even with that said...I still change out trolling motor batts every three years due to the fact that they have been run down and charged hundred times by three years. Based on your charging system does anyone feel warmth on the side of the battery when charging? If so the battery is cooking! Heat is a major enemy to batteries. So I was expecting discussion on this topic. With that said..I'd rather spend money on battery replacement other then hundreds on repair bills and down time!

spetro, you coast guard guys are pretty sharp on equipment maintenance... Thanks for the valuable advice sir!

-Shawn- · August 09, 2009, 01:46:06 PM

Yep replacing your batteries every 3 years will save a lot of aggrevation on the water. The same is true for buying quality batteries. You get what you pay for.

bobalou · August 14, 2009, 05:28:58 PM

thanks for the tip spetro. on year 2 with my batteries so i'll start saving the change to get new ones by next summer.

Glasstream15 · August 16, 2009, 04:02:09 AM

Syeve, not only should the batteries be replaced but EVERY, repeat, EVERY connection should be removed, carefully cleaned and coated with your choice of corrosion preventive spray. I prefer Boeshield but there are lots of good products out there. Fogging oil works great. Especially check gound connections. I know that a large percentage of electrical issues are ground related. Many systems use a "Buss Bar" system with many grounds all together and the + leads all separate. A recipe for problems. Make sure those grounds are clean and tight. And trailer light problems are very often ground related.