Northwest Fishing Reports

Wondering if anybody can recommend somebody skilled at marine electronics? Ideally would like to find somebody who can come to the house as a side job so I can learn as well, but will take it to a shop if I need to.

I'm in Kent, but can drag the boat somewhere close if need be.

What kind of repair?

Initially trouble shooting on my ACR/onboard charging system. House battery is not getting a charge causing my fish finder/Scotty plugs/stereo to draw power down and not function properly. Hoping it's just dirty connections, but it's a new-to-me-boat and I haven't figured out all the wire runs yet.

You might call your local marina and see who they recommend for house calls. Here in Gig Harbor my favorite marine repair shop is Light House marine. They do house calls - as Im sure most shops do also.

However, be prepared to pay full rates plus travel time.

Unless you luck out and find someone willing to moonlight or a shade tree boat repair person, it will be cheaper to take the boat in.

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By the way, Ive learned that the first thing you do with a brand new used boat is take every single plug you can find apart and clean it well and treat it with some anti-corrosion spray before putting it back together. Its cheap and easy to do even for a newbie. Also check battery terminals and water level.

Do you know how to use a multimeter?

Let us know if you own or have access to a volt meter. With that an a little guidance, you can easily do this yourself and I can walk you through the process.

Oh yes, volt meter is on the boat. I had issues while fishing in Neah and bought one to test what the problems were, which is how I have figured out where the problem is. I have time blocked to clean terminal connections and such.

Some more details. I have three batteries: one starter and what appears to be two house batteries that I "think" are wired in parallel (major assumption, I haven't yet isolated the wire paths). The main house battery, a giant one in the bilge area) was only reading 9.2 volts with the motor on. Should have been getting a charge.

Here's my game plan: Clean/check continuity on the circuit boards as well as put the battery on a charger to get it fully charged. Go fish/crab on Saturday. If I run into issues, I'll know I have other issues. If it works, then I'll know it was a corroded connection. If I can't get the big house battery to fully charge, I'll know I have a bad battery.

What I don't know how to do is test the ACR, on-board charger or if it's something else. I'm bringing the boat home tonight, have a fridge full of barley pops if somebody wants to come poke at it ;)

You also might want to get all the batteries load tested. That can tell you if one or more is/are bad. What part of Kent do you live in? East, West, North, or South?

Amx wrote:You also might want to get all the batteries load tested. That can tell you if one or more is/are bad. What part of Kent do you live in? East, West, North, or South?

East Hill/Panther Lake

The one house battery is not coming out of the boat unless I bring an engine hoist out. It's huge.

They can be tested in the boat.

First thing I'd suggest is isolating each battery, fully charge them and then check their voltage after sitting for a day. Any battery that reads below 12.4 volts is past it's prime and should be replaced and ones that read less than 12.0 volts, are basically dead. The reason you need to isolate the batteries from the charging system is that the battery may have shorted cells and will actually pull down the charge voltage.

If the batteries measure ok, check the charging system. The charging system should read something around 14.5 volts and possibly higher if not connected to a battery.

If the batteries and the charging system check out, then it's time to check the connections and wiring.

G-Man wrote:First thing I'd suggest is isolating each battery, fully charge them and then check their voltage after sitting for a day. Any battery that reads below 12.4 volts is past it's prime and should be replaced and ones that read less than 12.0 volts, are basically dead. The reason you need to isolate the batteries from the charging system is that the battery may have shorted cells and will actually pull down the charge voltage.

If the batteries measure ok, check the charging system. The charging system should read something around 14.5 volts and possibly higher if not connected to a battery.

If the batteries and the charging system check out, then it's time to check the connections and wiring.

^^^^This is the best advice. Never assume a battery is fully charged, remove them, charge them, then have them load tested to confirm capacity.

One other thing too, don't rely on "on board" voltmeters or even sonar/chartplotter voltage readings. You have no idea how much wiring, splices, connections, etc. is between the battery and the respective device. You need to use a handheld multimeter and take a voltage reading directly off the battery terminals with the engine running. Your problems could be something as simple as a bad switch or more involved like a failed charging system. Either way, you need to start by isolating the charging system by testing at the battery. If voltage reading at the battery isn't 13+ volts when the engine is running, you need to verify alternator output.

Thanks for all the guidance guys.

Here's where I'm at. Got the charger on the big battery. Figured something out. It was wired directly to the house battery. I figured out how the charger connects as well. The connections are a little dirty, but not horrible. I've got a couple identified to clean etc... But I think the problem might be the onboard charger.

In theory, when the motor is running, it's putting power to the charger, which puts a charge into the batteries. I'm going to charge the other house battery with my new charger as well as it also only showed 9.7 volts on the meter. I'll clean the stuff I can clean and then reconnect everything. I'll then plug in through shore power to make the onboard charger fire up and see what the issue is there.

Any additional thoughts on how to proceed? It looks like the big battery is there as a source of extra juice. But running high-draw things like down riggers pulls the juice pretty fast.

geekgiant wrote: I'm going to charge the other house battery with my new charger as well as it also only showed 9.7 volts on the meter.

Any additional thoughts on how to proceed? It looks like the big battery is there as a source of extra juice. But running high-draw things like down riggers pulls the juice pretty fast.

I suspect your house battery may have a dead cell. A 12V battery is composed of 6 cells, each generating around 2.1 volts for a total of 12.6 to 12.7 volts when fully charged. Remove one of the cells from the equation and you are left with a battery that could only top out at 10.5 volts on its best days.

Your large battery, when fully charged and in good operating condition, should have no issues with supplying the necessary power to run a couple of downriggers. Especially if it is being charged when the motor is running. Why the need for 3 batteries? Are you running an electric trolling motor on your boat? Are you running anything that needs 24 volts?

You know, it would be helpful if we knew specifically what boat/motor combo you're working on. A whole lot of guesswork on our part to help and we don't even know how your boat is powered, inboard or outboard, and that matters when it comes to charging systems.

hewesfisher wrote:You know, it would be helpful if we knew specifically what boat/motor combo you're working on. A whole lot of guesswork on our part to help and we don't even know how your boat is powered, inboard or outboard, and that matters when it comes to charging systems.

Absolutely correct on that small detail missing. It's an ETEC 250 powering a Hydra Sports 2200DC.

Here's my update after charging, cleaning and other assorted trouble shooting. I tested the on-board charger by plugging in through "shore" power at the house. That system performed great. So, I decided to keep the big 8D battery out of the loop. After cleaning some connections and getting everything suitable, I headed out over the weekend. Ran on the main the entire weekend and no voltage drop etc... Not 100% problem solved, but safe and effective.

Next task is to determine if the alternator is putting out enough juice to keep the big battery charged. There's also the possibility it's the cables/terminals on the 8d, so I'll be testing that as well.

Thanks all!