martintheduck Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 About 5 days ago I upgraded and installed to a Humminbird 898cHDSI @ the console. I was running a 365i sonar unit before. I wired the unit to the fuse panel and am using a 3amp square fuse. Everything on my boat is run to the fuse panel, but the only thing that ever sees any use is the trolling motor and livewell. Trolling motor is a 24v 70lb MK. I charged the batteries full and went out to the lake for some all day fishing, but about 3 hours into the day while running the trolling motor on 3, the batteries appeared to REALLY be drained. I turned the trolling motor up to 5 and it still wouldn't run worth a dang. I packed it in, charged the batteries and went out again today. About 1 hour in running the trolling motor on 3 and SAME problem. Batteries I have now are a little over 2 years old and really haven't been used terribly much. Am I looking at replacing the batteries? Or maybe I messed up the install somehow? Can you guys hep me diagnose the problem (why are my batteries draining so quick)? Any input is appreciated! Quote
BKeith Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Your HDSI wouldn't drain the battery down in days. Sounds like it's time to replace the TM batteries. On top of that, the TM should not be connected through the fuse panel, and the livewell and sonar should not be running of the TM battery. Everything on the fuse panel should be running off the cranking battery. ONLY the TM should be running off the TM batteries. Might sound like a dumb question, but if they are not sealed batteries, have you checked the water in them and made sure all the connections were clean. Another thing is having not used them very much tells me, if they are kept on an onboard charger/maintainer 24/7 while not being used, you probably ruined them by not keeping them charged. 2 Quote
martintheduck Posted September 3, 2013 Author Posted September 3, 2013 Your HDSI wouldn't drain the battery down in days. Sounds like it's time to replace the TM batteries. On top of that, the TM should not be connected through the fuse panel, and the livewell and sonar should not be running of the TM battery. Everything on the fuse panel should be running off the cranking battery. ONLY the TM should be running off the TM batteries. Might sound like a dumb question, but if they are not sealed batteries, have you checked the water in them and made sure all the connections were clean. Another thing is having not used them very much tells me, if they are kept on an onboard charger/maintainer 24/7 while not being used, you probably ruined them by not keeping them charged. Bought the boat used. I doubt previous owner had them connected 24/7. I've only owned the boat about 3 months. I merely assume everything is connected to the TM batteries b/c when the TM has started running out of juice, the livewell starts to act up. I'm have to double check what is connected to what. My best idea is to disconnect the cranking battery and see what is still working... if everything is still working I'll know it's all connected to the TM batts. Worst comes to worst I'll be replacing the batteries plus the next $100 it's running me to fix the seals on hydraulic steering. Quote
tritondriver Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 martin is correct check the wiring and rewire if necessary, I just read a thread on the hydraulic steering if trying to fix that steering yourself it can be more to it then seals, he said a friend of his did a self job and ended up on the rocks after a seal replacement...take it to a expert...I am.. Quote
martintheduck Posted September 3, 2013 Author Posted September 3, 2013 martin is correct check the wiring and rewire if necessary, I just read a thread on the hydraulic steering if trying to fix that steering yourself it can be more to it then seals, he said a friend of his did a self job and ended up on the rocks after a seal replacement...take it to a expert...I am.. Yes sir! At first I thought it was just going to be an easy fix, but once I found the leak it was recommended to not mess with it myself. Definitely don't want to go through what happened the other day @ 58 mph - scary as all heck. I just brought it to the shop about 10 minutes ago though... will be back on the water in about a week. As for the battery issue - tested trolling batteries after a full chrage with a multimeter. Each one was only holding about 7. Wanted to check distilled water, but it's too hot outside. Going to deal with this issue when I pick her up from the shop. Quote
Dave P Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 We had an identical issue when we installed an 898 on a TX175. Ours was wired to the starter battery and running it all day and the livewell pumps would kill the battery by mid day. We replaced the starter battery and upgraded to one with more capacity and that solved the problem. Quote
Comfortably Numb Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Make sure the charger is working properly. 1 Quote
martintheduck Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 Make sure the charger is working properly. For some reason that makes too much sense! I didn't even think of that. THIS is why I post on forums. So list of things - check levels in batteries and check charger. Will update once I get her back from the shop (fixing hydraulic steering). Quote
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