Optima Blue Top D31M dead after 6 mos?

Mystic Dreamer

Mystic Dreamer

Active Member
Oct 10, 2006
392
St. Petersburg, FL
Boat Info
2006 44DA
Engines
Cummins QSC-500
Back in November I replaced all 5 of my wet cell batteries with the Optima D31M blue tops- yesterday I went out to the boat and the starboard bank was dead. I assumed I left something on and the charger off- however, the charger (AC converter) was on. I replaced the charger last summer- it's a ProMariner 1240i plus and it shows that it is charging - it is also pulling some amps when turned on. After all night on the ProMariner, this morning the starboard batteries were at 10 volts. I turned the battery solenoids off and tried charging using a separate 110v charger- after 2 1/2 hours at 10 amps charge, it still shows under 12 volts for both starboard batteries.

Could it actually be that I have a bad Optima or is it a boat side problem?

Brian
 
I would pull them out of the boat and leave them on the external charger overnight to see if they come back. Then, I would have the batteries load tested. If they don't pass they clearly need to be replaced.

In regards to your Promariner charger, it should register 14.4 in absorption mode and 13.3 in float for AGMs. Your external charger will prove whether or not the on board charger may be at fault.

If the batteries pass the load test, move your starboard bank (example Bank 1) to the generator bank terminal (example Bank 3) on the charger and move the generator to Bank 1 to see if problem moves to the generator battery. It could be an internal charger failure.

It could also be a boat wiring issue. For that to occur would mean you have a drain that exceeds 40 amps on the starboard bank which is highly unlikely.

-John
 
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Optima batteries are too finicky for my taste. They have to be charged at a much lower amps and never overcharge them. Once they are fully discharged they are nearly impossible to bring back.

I have owned several blue tops, they perform outstanding but require special "trickle" chargers. I had one fail due to full discharge. The other worked fine once I got a special charger. In my new boat I have all Interstate and they are so much easier and perform well.
 
PlayDate said:
I would pull them out of the boat and leave them on the external charger overnight to see if they come back. Then, I would have the batteries load tested. If they don't pass they clearly need to be replaced.


-John
Click to expand...

I agree with John's approach. You first need to see if the batteries can be fully charged and then how they function under a load test. They are guaranteed for two years so if they are bad they should be replaced free of charge.

DAve
 
They are now under a 2 amp charge from my external charger- the voltage has come up, so I suspect it's my onboard charger. The ProMariner also has a warranty so this may be just an inconvience more than an expense.

Brian
 
Brian
Do you have the monitor with the ProMariner?

Are you using all three bank terminals for your charging? I have the same charger with the monitor and it will show me the status of the charging process.

Good Luck.
 
If you are still having issues with the charging system give me a call I would be happy to help. The ProTech-i has a two year warranty from the purchase date. If the lights are on the AC fuse is good but I would like to troubleshoot further. Jim

Jim Mitchell
ProMariner
Manager, Technical Services Group
603-766-7603
jmitchell@pmariner.com
 
Wow! Talk about great service from Jim at ProMariner! I spoke with Jim this morning and he is sending me a new unit (expedited) with a return label for the old unit. He did this without any questions asked, no need for a deposit, etc. ProMariner will then diagnose and let me know what went wrong with the old charger.

Great to see such a strong backing from a company.
 
Keep in mind that we have a deadicated AGM setting but with most AGM batteries you can use the Flooded selection and it will operate perfectly. A thing to consider is the wire size as well because of voltage drop I recommend that everyone use the ABYC E-11 3% rule rather then 10%. At 10% voltage drop the voltage to the battery could be as low as almost 1.5 volts. Ultimatly I would recommend contacting Optima and ask what they would recommend for the rate of charger. I can tell you that many people I know use the ProTech-i in the standard flooded mode on blue tops.

Jim
 
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Here is an update to my origional problem: My batteries went dead because the charger failed and ProMariner was excellent in sending me a new one right away. Well, after a couple of weeks of working the second charger failed. I then realized that something was causing this so I called both Jim Mitchell at ProMariner as well as my local mechanic that specializes in marine electrical.

Jim explained that ProMariner tested my origional charger and failed it due to providing a low voltage output, which he said is very rare. After my mechanic went through the boat, he found that there is a 4 volt and nearly 4 amp current on the AC ground. Suspecting that the fault may be coming from the shore power or my home dock, today I had a dock electrician out to see if the problem was there- all checked out fine as did the shore power cords. So, the marine electrician is back out tomorrow to hopefully find the source. Also, I spoke with my diver who said my main zinc is now nearly gone (after only about 8 months). A new zinc will go on Wednesday.

Jim has been great in providing yet another charger! However, we will not install it until we know that the problem is solved. If anyone has any thoughts on how a 4 volt, 4 amp current can get to the ground, please let me know!

Brian
 
Mystic Dreamer said:
Also, I spoke with my diver who said my main zinc is now nearly gone (after only about 8 months). A new zinc will go on Wednesday.
Brian
Click to expand...

Isn't that like a world-record long lasting zinc? If so, I would consider checking those connections.
 
I was referring to my transom zinc, which typically I can get about a year out of...now, after only 8 months it is gone- so current must be causing that. The dock electrician checked the water and it was something like 400mv (whcih he said is normal), so the source is not coming from the water- It must be boat side.

I will let the marine electrcian battle this one...
 
I realize that I never updated this post..here is the resolution: The ProMariner charger failed because of stray current on the ground, which we later found out came from the hot water heater. My 7 year old daughter and her friends had run the water out of the boat (without telling me until I found out about this problem) while the heater was still on causing the element to split, which caused the current. After replacing the element, the ground current is gone and all works well!

ProMariner was great in all of this, not only working with me on the solution, but they replaced my charger twice without cost, even though the problem was on my end. Great customer service...
 
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