Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

[Mordeth]

Hello,

I just recently purchased a 2003 Glastron GX 205 Fish and Ski. The boat came equipped with 3 batteries. One for starting and two deep cycle for accessories, trolling motor etc.

It appears that the two deep cycle are wired in parallel but I am not positive.

In the bow, where I can mount the trolling motor, there is a panel to plug the trolling motor, control the livewell aerator, check battery voltage and trim the engine. There is also an outlet that has four prongs in which to plug the trolling motor into. The generic Glastron manual says that there is a "charging plug" that can be plugged into the four prong outlet to charge the batteries. The manual specifically says this:

"The Factory has equipped your boat with a trolling motor plug and battery charger plug. These plugs are designed to be used with the trolling motor outlet on the bow panel. Glastron recommends that you have your dealer install the trolling motor and battery charger plugs.

To charge the batteries, plug a 12/24 volt battery charger into the charge plug on the panel. When you charge the batteries, do not connect the charger clips directly to the battery posts. Have your Glastron Dealer install the adapter plug directly on the battery charger cables."

I do not have any special "adapter charging plug". It was not supplied to me when I bought the boat. My questions are as follows:

1) Where do I obtain such a charging plug? I checked this site and another and can't seem to locate the item. My local Marine dealer had no clue what I was talking about and said I couldn't charge the batteries from that location.

2) Can I in fact charge the batteries this way? Why would Glastron force me to splice a "plug" onto my battery charger?

3) Can anyone recommend what the best way to charge my two deep cycle batteries is? Should I try to locate this alleged "charging plug" and plug my charger into that in the bow panel? Or should I just go the conventional route and charge the batteries directly? Does charging one charge them both?

I assume my engine charges the starting battery but not the 2 deep cycle.

Thanks for any help!

Anthony

 

[rndn]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

Keeping 2 deep cycle batteries charged is best done with an onboard 3 bank charger. I said a 3 bank charger so you can also maintain your starting battery. If you don't feel that's needed then get a 2 bank charger. Make sure you get one that can charge and maintain them for future use. All you would need to do once it is installed is keep an extension cord plugged into it when not in use and the batteries will always be ready to go.

 

[rndn]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

By the way, Welcome to the forum!!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

You don't need the charging plug. You also need to verify how the two deep cycle batteries are wired. Parallel is when the POS terminal on each battery are connected together, and the NEG terminal on each battery are connected. That is still a 12V system. Series is when POS of battery 1 is connected to NEG of battery 2. POS of battery 2 is 24V and the NEG terminal of Bat 1 is ground. Does the panel at the front of the boat have a 12/24 selector switch or a switch labeled CHARGE/RUN? For connector types, look at the end of the plug on the trolling motor. You may find its a standard industrial plug and it will have numbers like L5-20P. If so, you can get the plug in the electrical department of any home improvement store.

 

[Mordeth]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

rndn and Silvertip,

Thank you for the responses. The boat is at a local marina currently getting a canvas top put on. I also just purchased two new deep cylcle batteries for the boat. I should have it back from the marina this week and will check exactly how the batteries are wired.

I will report back.

Thanks.

Anthony

 

[Mordeth]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

Ok, here is what I have found.

Again, there are 3 batteries. Two are deep cycle and one is cranking. The wiring of the batteries is very difficult to determine as everything comes together in a few big wiring harnesses.

Here is what I know:

The trolling motor is a 12 Volt Minkota. The bow panel seems to be wired for both a 12 volt or a 24 volt trolling motor. There is a switch that lets me check the Voltage of "Battery 1" or "Battery 2". If I unplug Deep Cycle Battery 1, the trolling motor doesn't work and the voltmeter reads 0. If I unplug Deep Cycle Battery 2 the trolling motor still works. If I unplug the cranking battery the trolling motor still works. The Voltmeter only registers Volts when "Battery 1" is selected. Nothing shows up for the battery 2 selection for volts. Battery 1 only has 1 red wire to the positive terminal and 1 black wire to the negative terminal. These wires then disappear into the back, potentially to the bow panel.

The cranking battery controls everything else. If I unplug the cranking battery, NOTHING works except for the Trolling motor. The fish finder, radio, gauges, lights and other accessories all stop working if I unplug it. There are a few red wires and a few black wires connected to this battery, along with a fuse. They disappear into a mess of wires that I cannot distinguish. There is a voltmeter in the dash panel that appears to register for this battery. Also, the engine has an alternator.

Deep cycle Battery 2 is the enigma. It has one red wire to the positive terminal and two black wires to the negative terminal. Again, these wires disappear into the same mess of wires and I cannot distinguish from there. If I unplug this battery everything still works and both voltmeters read the same. I have no idea what this battery is doing or what it is controlling. Is there some way for me to find out other than tracing wires? Is it wired in parallel to the cranking battery?

None of the batteries are blatantly wired together. That is, there are no DIRECT jumpers. They may be tied together somewhere in a harness or mess, but I cannot easily distinguish.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

The cranking battery has nothing to do with the trolling motor and it should be totally separate from the other two. It will be charged by the engine charging system. You have a 12V trolling motor so the batteries are not wired in series, nor are they wired in parallel since disconnecting battery #2 has no apparent function. You mention "unplugging" the batteries. Do these battery connections have plug-in type connections or wing nuts? Not that is makes any difference but the term unplugging batteries is a little confusing. The reason battery #2 is not performing any apparent function is because the red and black wires from EACH battery are wired to the four terminals at the trolling motor connector. That system is designed for either a 12V OR 24V system. Since you are running a 12V motor, the two wires from the trolling motor are using only one battery. Unless there is a 12/24 switch on the panel, there is no way you can get parallel operation of the two batteries. What you can do, is fabricate two jumpers and physically connect the POS terminals of both batteries, and the two NEG terminals. You then have parallel operation.

 

[Mordeth]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

Silvertip,

Thank you for the response. To clarify, they have wire nut connectors, so I am not technically "unplugging" anything. Sorry for the confusion.

It sounds like I probably should be using the two deep cycle in parallel to get longer usage out of my trolling motor (and I use it alot). I will give it a shot this weekend I think.

Everything you said makes perfect sense except I still do not understand why there are two black wires connected to the negative terminal of Deep Cycle Marine Battery #2 (the one that serves no apparent function). This is what threw me off (among other things).

Thanks again.

Anthony

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Glastron Dual Battery Charging - Please help

Are there two red wires on the POS terminal? If not, I would investigate where that second black wire goes to (or have one of your electronics oriented friends help you determine where it goes). I would look carefully for another red wire as sometimes a fish finder or other accessories are powered from one of the troller batteries.

 

[RiverRatLnD5]

I found this thread from a Google Search. I know the thread is old and the boat is probably gone.
But I thought I'd answer the original post, in case somebody else finds the thread, the way I did.

He has a 4 wire - 12V/24V system.
All 4 wires connect to 4 prongs in the receptacle, in the bow of the boat.
In order for this system to function fully, he needs a 12/24 Trolling Plug and a separate Charging Plug.
The "magic" happens in the Plug itself.
Inside the trolling plug is a jump that allows both 12V & 24V to the trolling motor.

In his case, he only has a 12V motor, so his motor is probably connected to the 12V side of the plug (only need 1 battery to get power).
If he had a 24V motor (or bought a bigger motor), he'd run his pos wire from the TM to the 24V side of the plug.
If he had a 12V/24V motor (with a switch) he'd have 3 wires to the plug and he'd connect to both the 12 & 24, along with the neg wire.

The separate charging plug is different. It has 2 jumps built inside. 1 jumps pos to pos and the other jumps neg to neg.
When connected to a portable battery charger (cutting off the clamps & then, wiring the plug), this plug allows him to charge his batteries in parallel.
I'm not sure, but I think if he used this plug on his 12V motor, it would allow him to run his TM in parallel, giving him longer battery life.

This 4 wire system was outdated by the invention of on board chargers, but if he doesn't want to invest in one, he can charge both batteries w/o having to lift the heavy cover to the engine compartment. That's handy, when you're hammered drunk at the campfire.

As far as no current showing on the meter in the dash?
I had the same problem. Turned out my terminals were corroded and somewhat loose. A little wiggle, some WD-40 and perhaps a small amount of dielectric grease might do the trick.
To be sure, pull the panel (8 screws) and carefully remove it to expose the back side of the panel. Follow the wires to the receptacle & switch. Use a voltmeter and check out the receptacle for 12 Volts on both pair of wires (wires will be mated diagonally) and then, check the meter switch.

Google 12V/24V trolling & charging systems and you'll find a replacement/new plug (and receptacle, if need be) of your choice.

 

[GA_Boater]

Old? No, it's retired and collecting Social Security and has a gold watch.

Read our rules about posting in old threads - Read the rest of them too.