Trolling motor battery setup

[thebigdog]

Well, it seems that the big dog has gotten himself into a little jam. I took my 2 deep cycle batteries out of my boat and now I'm having trouble getting things wired correctly. My setup is as follows: I have 2 deep cycle batteries that were hooked uo in series for my trolling motor. I also (obviously) have a starting battery for my outboard. I also have a 3 bank onboard battery charger (this is pretty easy to reconnect correctly). I also have two perko battery switches, one that's an ON/OFF switch and the other is a 4 position switch (1/2/ALL/OFF). I have no idea what these switches do or what the settings mean although I was told that one on the settings was parallel (I guess this means the trolling batteries are in parallel with the starting battery if I have trouble starting, but I'm not sure) - which makes it difficult to logically figure out how to hook things back up by tracing currents with a voltmeter, etc. Anyone who can explain these switches has my appreciation. Second, since I can't trace where the black(negative) and red(positive) leads come from, I'm having trouble figuring out which pos goes to my start battery and which goes to my deep cycle battery and likewise with the two negative cables. I do understand how to hook the 2 deep cycle batteries in series, but I'm still left with four battery terminals and 4 cables to reconnect. (Yes, I am still kicking myself for not labelling them.) Thanks to anyone that can help with these two problems.

 

[bubbakat]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

<br /><br />this ought to be what you are looking for

 

[thebigdog]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

Thanks. Now what do the settings 1/2/all/off mean? Also, I'm having trouble accessing the back of the Perko switch. All I can access are the ends of the cables where they enter the battery compartment. So I don't know which cable goes to which attachment on the switch. Any suggestions?

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

The 1,2,all,off, means if you have it set to "1", then you're using battery 1. Same for 2. If it's set to all, you're using both batteries, and off means off. If you can't reach the back of the switch to see where the wires go, you will need an ohm meter to figure it out. Example, attach one end of ohm meter to a wire on the ignition switch and the other end of the ohm meter to one of the random wires you have to attach to your batteries. When you get little or no resistance, bingo. Unless there's a short. You will have to run through all the battery selector switch positions to figure out what each wire does. An electrition could do this very easy and quickly. It may pay to have someone do it for you. btw, why can't you get to the back of the switch??

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

I was told that one on the settings was parallel (I guess this means the trolling batteries are in parallel with the starting battery if I have trouble starting, but I'm not sure)

STOP !!!<br /><br />DO NOT CONNECT YOUR 24v TROLLING BATTERIES SYSTEM IN PARALLEL WITH YOUR 12v STARTING BATTERY VIA THE 1/2/Both/Off SWITCH !!!

 

[bubbakat]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

The lead wire (hot + ) from your starter solenoid goes to the common post on the perko.<br /> The other two posts you hook your two hot leads from your batteries to them ,one post on each side,. Then you hook both - negative post together .you also hook your ground wire from the motor to the negative post on the battery.<br /><br /> Leave your 24 volt trolling motor and accessories hooked to your battery of choice. The only thing hooked to the perko switch is the three leads that go to you batteries and motor.

 

[thebigdog]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

I'm still a bit confused by some of the relpies. I have a 24V trolling motor and the two 12V deep cycle batteries are connected in series. My understanding is that connected in series, the voltage is additive and the amps remain the same, i.e. the two 12V batteries connected in series essentially makes one 24V battery. If the batteries were connected in parallel, the voltage would still be 12V, but the amps would double. If I need 24V to run the trolling motor, I don't see the logic of the 1 and 2 positions each using only one 12V battery. As to the comment about NOT hooking the trolling motor batteries in parallel with the starting battery, is this because of the increased voltage that the outboard motor would see or what? I was under the impression that you could connect two 12V batteries in parallel (this gives the same voltage but higher amps) to start an outboard engine. Note: I do understand that what I had originally posted was a system where the votage would be higher because it would be a 12V battery and a 24V battery in parallel. The boat manufacturer did tell me that one setting (I'm 99% sure they said "all") was parallel. I'm going out tomorrow to try and get to the back of the Perko switch and I'll try to bring back and post a wiring diagram of everything that I'm looking at. If it is possible to use the Perko in such a way that I can get some extra amps from my deep cycle batteries if I'm having trouble starting outboard that would be great. I heard this could be done some how and I'll try to find the wiring diagram I saw on a post on another site. Thanks for the help so far. PS - If I get everything hooked up right and the trolling motor works OK the post may be a bit late since I'll be fishing.....er catching.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

No, you’re not confused. You understand the idea…the deep cycle batteries are connected in series to support the 24v’s needed for your trolling motor. Do NOT connect this 24v-system to your 12v-starting battery system. Why in the last paragraph below.<br /><br />The On/Off switch is used to switch the 24v-current on or off to the trolling motor. That is all. It never sees 12v anything.<br /><br />The 1/2/All/Off selects the source of 12v-current used to start the engine and switches the source selection on/off. You connect your 12v-starting battery to position ‘1’ on this switch. To start your engine, turn the selector dial to position ‘1’ and go. Leaving it in position ‘1’ allows your engine’s alternator to charge the starting battery while running.<br /><br />Optionally, you can add a second (backup) 12v-source to position ‘2’ of the 1/2/All/Off switch. Should your starting battery be depleted, you turn the switch dial to position ‘2’ and start the engine. You do not have a backup 12v-source so switch position ‘2’ is useless to you right now. The ‘All’ position bridges 12v-source ‘1’ and 12v-source ‘2’. This position allows the combined amps from both 12v-sources in parallel to be available in the event of a difficult start. There are several reasons why you should not leave the switch in the ‘All’ position after starting the engine but that is beyond the scope of this discussion.<br /><br />For your installation:<br /><br />1- The On/Off switch is used strictly for the 24v-system.<br />2- The 1/2/All/Off switch uses only position ‘1’ for the 12v-starting system.<br />3- Option: in the future, you can add an additional 12v-starting battery to the 1/2/All/Off switch in position ‘2’.<br /><br />When you connect the battery cables, check the studs on the back of the switches. There should be no corrosion whatsoever and the studs should be fully intact. If the cable lugs (the end connector with the hole in it) were ever connected loose, arcing may have occurred and the switch stud would look like it was eaten away. If so, replace the switch.<br /><br />Be sure to tighten the cable lugs against the switch studs very securely. There should be a lock washer that needs to be the last thing added, after the cable lug and before the nut is placed and tightened.<br /><br />If you connect the 24v-trolling system and the 12v-starting system to the 1/2/All/Off switch you have a disaster waiting to happen. Turning the dial to the ‘All’ position would bridge the 24v-system and the 12v-system, doubling the voltage going into the 12v-starting battery. This would cause an instant boiling of the battery soup and arcing between the lead plates inside the 12v-battery case. That part of the battery soup that is water (H2O) is electrically excited and the covalent bonding of the molecules is broken…oxygen and hydrogen gases instantly start forming inside the battery case faster than they can escape. Depending on the condition of the battery, the time it takes for the arcing inside the case to ignite the hydrogen gas can be measured in milliseconds to a few seconds. In a best-case scenario, the battery caps blow off and sulfuric acid is sprayed out the holes. At it’s worst, the battery case ruptures and the acid is blasted everywhere.

 

[thebigdog]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

Thanks for the info. In regards to using one on my existing deep cycle batteries in parallel with my starting battery, does this setup look legitimate? I saw a post where someone had there boat setup this way. It looks like position 1 uses the starting battery only to start. Position 2 uses only one of the deep cycle batteries to start. All uses the starting battery and one of the deep cycle batteries in parallel to start the OB. Your comments are appreciated.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

Any 12vdc source with enough amps to turn the engine over will work for the second (backup) starting source. You can get it from a trolling deep cycle battery or the addition of another starting battery. Personally, I am less inclined to wire anything from the 24v system into the 12v starting system, mostly because the expense tops the likely need, and the hassle of adding the battery cabling. I would toss a pair of quality jumper cables in a locker and spend the saved time on the water. If I needed add’l starting amps it could be jumped from either trolling battery.<br /><br />Good luck with your battery wiring. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[thebigdog]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

Oooops, the picture didn't copy. This link shows a picture of how someone else has set up their batteries and switch. It snowed today, so I didn't make it to the lake.<br /> http://rip.tamu.edu/bbc/ripstips/tr21pwir.gif

 

[thebigdog]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

Well, thanks to all for the words of wisdom. I got everything hooked up last night (the diagram from my last post worked) and a glad to report that (1) everything runs properly, (2) I learned how the Perko switch works and a bit more about batteries than I did previously, (3) my batteries didn't blow up in my face, and (4) while testing out the trolling motor (you didn't think I'd skip that step did you?) I caught a 4 pound large mouth! It's a rough job, but someone's gotta do it.

 

[bubbakat]

Re: Trolling motor battery setup

good work dog.<br /> you can quit bragging about the bass