340DA Starboard Battery pack dilema.......

[rgl1100]

I'm a bit confused. Last year I had a nagging problem of my starboard batteries dying after using the boat. There are 4 batteries in the 340(boat is a 2003DA). The starboard batteries control blowers, etc and cranking of starboard engine. I took all 4 batteries out for the winter. They are AGM west Marine Group 27 batteries. Had them tested with load and it turned out one was bad. I subsequently ended up replacing two of the 4 because I got a deal on buying two new ones. I charged them thoroughly and placed them back in the boat. This year I placed 1 new battery and one older battery on each side. When I first went in they were perfect. Everything ran like a clock. Because of the bad weather here in the northeast I had to leave the boat for a week. When I cam back both starboard batteries were essentially dead (less then 8 volts). The port side was perfect and by using the crossover the port side batteries easily started the starboard engine. Obviously, there is something that's draining the batteries. I don't leave anything on when I leave the boat. Oh, BTW, it's important to point out that the boat is on a mooring not on a slip. However, thes are deep cycle, powerful batteries that were fully charged. One week shouldn't be depleting them. Besides the pot batteries were still fine. I'm really at a loss. Where do I start? Help.......

 

[fwebster]

Are you turning your battery switches off or do you need to leave them on for anchor lighting etc.?

The bilge pumps are wired to stay hot all the time, so turning off the battery switches will isolate the 12VDC system so there can be no drain, other than the bilge pumps. Consider adding a bilge pump counter to each pump so you can monitor excessive pump cycling. If you turn off the battery switches and the problem persists, then I would suspect one dead cell in the older battery. Test it by putting the other new battery in place of the older one in the bank that goes down, then try again.

Also, I don't put much faith in the resistance type load testers. If you checked the batteries with an inexpensive load tester or had it done at a discount parts house, you still may have a bad battery since the "toaster" load checker will find a dead battery but most will show one weak cell as good.

 

[Brian Nagel]

Regarding battery life, how long do you folks run your generators to keep your batteries charged? This is our first season with our 340 and a generator and we usually stay on the lake for 10-day intervals.

 

[alkisearay]

Make sure your refrigerator is not on (as described earlier shutting off the battery switch will take care of that) A refer will deplete a battery in a couple days

 

[rgl1100]

I've been looking over threads and looked up "sump pumps." Interestingly my smartcraft system has been giving me a warning of "fwd bilge pump". I've been in the engine compartment and checked both pumps and they seem to function fine. Both floats run as they are supposed to run. When I turn all systems off I certainly don't hear any pump running. However, my wife and I don't use the shower on the boat. I don't know if the previous owner did or not. If the shower pump was broken or had burned out could this be draining the battery? even though the motor was burned out? What if I check it and it runs fine? What does the "fwd bilge pump" alarm refer to? Is it referring to the pumps only in the engine compartment?

 

[MasterFab]

You have another bilge pump, in the aft stateroom, under the access hatch. It is a small de-watering pump, probably an 800 gpm Rule pump - this is your forward bilge pump. Take a peek...

Dale

 

[rgl1100]

I'm amazed. I had no idea there was a bilge pump under the aft stateroom. In fact, I've actually never noticed an access panel there. I have cloth covers over the carpet. Is the access panel directly in the middle of the floor?

 

[rgl1100]

Got to the boat today. My starboard 2 batteries are dead. One, as I wrote, is brand new and the other is only 2 years old. They're quality west marine group 27 batteries and I know they're good. I started the starboard engine with the crossover and took the boat out to charge up the batteries. About 10 minutes into the trip the smartcraft alarm started screaming. At first it was only when I increased the rpms (very low from 650rpm to 1000rpm's) of the starboard engine. EVERYTHING checked out OK on the smartcraft. It stated all systems were fine. A bit later it stated "aft bilge alarm". I immediately headed back to the mooring and opened the hatch. There was no water in the bilge other than the normal small amount. The light on the bilge pump does go on in the cockpit when depressed. I checked the main DC breaker panel and the aft EIM to se if anything had tripped. Still nothing. I decided I needed to check the forward bilge pump and the shower sump. I was relieved to find the forward well, under the main floor carpet dry as a bone and the float switch, when manually activated, caused the pump to activate. Once I removed the 4 screws to the shower sump box I found water in the box. When I manually tried to activate the float it worked intermittently. I'm positive there is a problem with the float. However, when I did get it to work I removed the small 500GPH rule pump and found it seemed to pump fine. However, it didn't seem to pump the water out. It pumped but the water came back. Likely a blocked line. My question is that the alarm is going off constantly now when the engines are on. If I replace the float will they stop? Also, could the low voltage be causing the alarm to go off? I'm extremely frustrated because the engines seem to be running perfectly. Something is draining the starboard batteries. I have to solve this because they control the hatch cover and the bilge blowers. I need juice. Please help........