Battery problems/charging

[Jeepinvusa]

Here's my issue...
I cant tell if my 86' Johnson 110 charges my batteries when the Selector is switched to "both". I completely ran out of power 3wks ago while anchored fishing with the engine off, fishfinder on, and vhf radio on for about 3hrs (and i forgot to switch the selector from "both" to "1" or "2". The batteries are about 4months old. And I have taken my boat out about 5times now. The only thing I can think of is that the engine never charged the batteries and I have been running them down slowly since I never put them on a trickle charge while back in the garage??? It weirds me out cause i was able to start the engine that morning... head out for about 4miles... troll, then come back and achor at my favorite reef???? Any Ideas?? How can I measure or tell if my engines charging system is up?

 

[Splat]

Re: Battery problems/charging

Sure, you'll need a volt meter. A digital one to be precise.

While at rest the batteries should read some where in the vicinity of 12.5 volts.

Next start the engine with the batterie connaected. With the engine running check the voltage again. It should now be 13+ volts. If not your not charging at all.

Does your engine have a alternator or just a charging stator? Even with a charging system I doubt you engine puts out enough to charge your deeps cycles back up to 100 percent. More than likely you will have to invest in a real battery charger. An onboard one is the easies when dealing with 2 batteries.

Final note. Your deep cycles batteries need to be brought back up to full capacity asap. Thus using a trickle charger may not be the best option, but something with 5-10amps would be better.

Bill

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Battery problems/charging

What Splat said
trickle charging ain't worth spit on deep cycle batteries - charge them hard & fast