battery volt issues with consumption

[rtpassini]

I have an optima blue top less than a year old. hardly used. d27m model. This runs all my electronics. Everything is on switches. I fully charged the battery lastnight. My charger said it was at 9%. Took about 45 minutes to charge back up to 100%. This morning when out on the lake, I watched the voltage of my locator. It started out around 12.4. If I turned on the radio, it would drop it .1 or .2 volts. If I turned on my LED strips (for night fishing) it dropped it .3 to .4. So Im already under 12 volts and thats without them being on for hours....

So what Im wondering, is my battery bad, the charger bad (not actually fully charging) or something else?

I would think I could run all my electronics for at least 4-5 hours without issue....otherwise that seems quite pathetic...

these are my led's http://www.ebay.com/itm/261303309406?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[Alumarine]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

Connect a multimeter directly to the battery and compare the voltage between it and your locator.

I find my humminbird reads at least .5 volts lower than a multimeter at the battery.
I actually set the voltage alarm to 11.0 volts because of that.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

A lot of what you are seeing at the helm is the voltage drop caused by the wiring as the current draw goes up.
The battery will always be at a higher voltage than the other end of any wire.

What gauge is the wire from the Battery to the Helm?
What is the Voltage, at the battery, while charging?
What is the Capacity of the charger? 5amps? 30amps? Smart Charger?
Is this battery also charged by the engine?
Where did the Battery spend Winter? Outside? Basement?

So many questions!

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

Battery is NOT charged by motor.
Voltage while charging varies. not sure what it shows, my multimeter broke so i tossed it before doing this...i need to pick up a new one.
Charger - Schumacher 3 Amp Fully Automatic Electronic Battery Charger Maintainer - Walmart.com
Battery spent winter in the garage, outside.
Wiring is 14 gauge.

I also plugged in my trolling motor and used the battery gauge to see what it showed. the meter was at %50 percent....

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

got a new multi meter and did some testing. i charged it to what said was 100%.

I turned everything on and hooked the meter up. the volts were about .5 off. With everything on, it dropped to about 12.16 after 3 hours. Im not thrilled about this especially since I didnt have the trolling motor running at all.

Sound normal? thoughts? How low can I "safely" put the battery. On their site it says it may not charge with a normal charger if under 10.5

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

This is a voltage chart.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

My charger said it was at 9%. Took about 45 minutes to charge back up to 100%.

If the battery was at 9% (almost dead) it should have taken a lot longer than 45 minutes to completely charge it back up, 6-8 hours, or a lot longer if it's a low output charger. (Completely charging a battery that quickly will cause damage.) When my batteries are heavily depleted, they usually take 6+ hours or so to charge off with a Schumacher 20 amp smart charger.

Charger - Schumacher 3 Amp Fully Automatic Electronic Battery Charger Maintainer - Walmart.com

This link shows a 100/20/2 amp charger, so not sure if it's the 3 amp charger you were referring to?


If the battery was only at 12.4V when charged, something is askew as they should be reading around 12.65 when charged. And, the battery dropping to 12.16V after 3 hours of running electronics sounds like it wasn't completely charged, or the battery is bad. I'd haul the battery down and have it load tested to make sure it's OK. Or, charge the battery again, test the voltage off the charger, run everything for 15 minutes to scrub the surface charge, then test the voltage again.

Was the battery completely charged when stored and was it charged during the winter, maintenance charged every month or two?

 

[midcarolina]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

I think your problem is using a 3 amp charger....... check out optima web site they have a lot of info on correctly charging their batteries...

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

i checked out their site, and they said if your charger has a specific agm setting (which mine does) to use that....

 

[midcarolina]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

I think someone else mentioned taking the battery and have it tested.....I think you are going to find the battery in a discharge state,

I suspect your charger is fubar.......I did see where they do not recommend charging using a gel/agm setting.

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

right, if its a setting for BOTH (gel/agm) do not use.

if its strictly agm, then its okay.

ill bring my battery into work and have it load tested. Im not too worried seeing as my neighbors dad is a big wig at johnson controls and thats where i got the battery was through him. So he'll warranty it out no problem. If thats the problem

 

[bruceb58]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

How many times have you completely discharged this battery?

 

[midcarolina]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

How many times have you completely discharged this battery?

He said the battery is less than a year old and hardly used.........I really think it is a charger issue, if he is actually using a 3 amp charger it should take more than 24 hr to charge a discharged battery surely NOT 45 minutes....Could it be the battery sure it's possible but that charger should have indicators on it for battery issue's.

I still would like to know the exact charger the OP has

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

not sure where people thought it was a 3 amp the link just is missing the 0 (30), if you clicked the link it describes what it actually was but this is the one i have. http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SC-10030A-SpeedCharge-Automatic-Maintainer/dp/B001MYWBF0

two output current rates are selectable: 2-amp and 12<>30-amp with 100 amp starting setting

 

[bruceb58]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

He said the battery is less than a year old and hardly used.

Let me say my question again...how many times has the battery been completely discharged?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

Battery is NOT charged by motor.
Voltage while charging varies. not sure what it shows, my multimeter broke so i tossed it before doing this...i need to pick up a new one.
Charger - Schumacher 3 Amp Fully Automatic Electronic Battery Charger Maintainer - Walmart.com
Battery spent winter in the garage, outside.
Wiring is 14 gauge.

I also plugged in my trolling motor and used the battery gauge to see what it showed. the meter was at %50 percent....

not sure where people thought it was a 3 amp the link just is missing the 0 (30), if you clicked the link it describes what it actually was

Well, that's the ambiguity right there, the link reads 3 amp, but when you click on it it's not a 3 amp charger. We needed clarification as to what you actually have. (Wrong like title or wrong link :noidea


I would be curious about Bruce's question also, how often was the battery completely discharged. Also, was it left in a discharged state when stored for the winter?

I've heard many people talk about their "new" battery only lasting 1 year... When what actually happened was they used it a couple of times last summer, left it discharged from their last trip, it sat all winter in a discharged state (kiss of death for a battery), and now it won't charge back up or has problems. (This is why Bruce and I are questioning how often it was completely discharged and how it was stored.)

 

[rtpassini]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

its been dipped into the 11 volt area MAYBE twice. once for sure. It was probably left in a 80-90% charged state over winter

 

[bassman284]

Re: battery volt issues with consumption

its been dipped into the 11 volt area MAYBE twice. once for sure. It was probably left in a 80-90% charged state over winter

OK, then it's junk.