Pro Charging Systems Three Bank Pro

[Zeeter]

I have a three bank pro onboard charger and am wondering about the indicator lights. This does not appear to be covered in the documentation. Either that or I'm reading it wrong. The charger came with the boat and I did not think to ask how old it was. One battery is new as of last August. The other two are 2-3.5 years old. The seller could not remember but knew they were less than 4 years.

 

1. Green - good.

2. Four solid red and a blinking 5th

3. One blinking light - cannot find battery.

 

For #3 I'm guessing the battery is bad as I've switched the lead to the first battery and it then turned green. Should have put lead #1 onto battery #3 but I didn't think about that. In any event, lead #3 appears to be working as both 1 and 3 indicated a good charge.

 

Question is on #2. There's nothing in the manual about a four solids and one blinking. If all are blinking then it means the charger is overheating, yet this occurred immediately after turning the charger on. It was in a cool place (pretty chilly, as a matter of fact) so there is little chance that the charger was already overheated before I turned it on. 

 

If if is the batteries, I've always had a philosophy. I don't mind buying relatively cheap battery every two years. I'd rather know my battery needs to be replaced in two years than hope my really expensive battery lasts four years. Even if it means more money in the long term. Reason for this is I've been stuck on an electric-only lake before with three dead batteries. It was not fun. Not enough cranking amps and just enough juice to move the motor slightly. The batteries were expensive $400 ones that would probably be around $550 today. From then on I used dual purpose everstarts and never again worried about the batteries. Just replaced them every two years and was good to go.

[A-Jay]

Maybe your charger's of the fritz ~

 

A-Jay

[Zeeter]

Wonder where you got that. It's not in any documentation I've seen.

[A-Jay]

20 minutes ago, Zeeter said:

Wonder where you got that. It's not in any documentation I've seen.

 

Hold On I'll post the link in a minute . . .

A-Jay

21 minutes ago, Zeeter said:

Wonder where you got that. It's not in any documentation I've seen.

 

Here you go ~ scroll down to page 5

A-Jay

http://www.dualpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Professional-and-Sportsman-series-Manufacture-date-after-7-1-14-070114-WORD-97-2003.pdf

 

[Zeeter]

Hmm...says failed to load pdf document.

 

Doesn't matter. What you posted is clear enough. Thanks

[A-Jay]

Hmm....loads fine for me.

You're Welcome.

A-Jay

[Puggz]

IF your 3 batteries are wired in series to provide 36 volts they should all be the same size and same age.  Therefore its critical that you ensure that the electrolyte level is topped up and that you keep them all fully charged with not in use. Especially during the off season.

 

IF its a DualPro charger, that's good news as their customer support is fantastic. Also, these chargers will have 3 separate charge modules so you only have to replace the defective one. If its in fact your charger.

 

 

[Zeeter]

They do have great service. On my last boat the charger was something like 8 years old and was defective. I called them and they said they could "only" give me $150 credit on it. I was like, really? That's awesome!

[flechero]

I've had problems with 3 bank chargers over the years...  1 of the banks has failed on both of the 3 bank chargers I have owned.  I've resorted to using a 2 bank for TM batts and mounting a separate 2a trickle charger on board for the starting battery. No more issues in the last 5-6 years. 

 

You should check the bank in question on the known good battery...  It's very conceivable that your 2.5-3 yr old batts are just history... especially if the fluid level dropped.    For TM batts, I always replace them together. 

[slonezp]

4 hours ago, Puggz said:

IF your 3 batteries are wired in parallel to provide 36 volts they should all be the same size and same age.  Therefore its critical that you ensure that the electrolyte level is topped up and that you keep them all fully charged with not in use. Especially during the off season.

 

IF its a DualPro charger, that's good news as their customer support is fantastic. Also, these chargers will have 3 separate charge modules so you only have to replace the defective one. If its in fact your charger.

 

 

Batteries wired in parallel will only put out 12v. They must be wired in series to get 36v

[BassnChris]

I am of the pursuasion that the batteries should be same size and age for batteries wired in series.........it hurts.....but when I bought my used boats.....I replaced all the batteries immediately. That way I felt like I had a better idea of where I stood.

[slonezp]

10 minutes ago, BassnChris said:

I am of the pursuasion that the batteries should be same size and age for batteries wired in series.........it hurts.....but when I bought my used boats.....I replaced all the batteries immediately. That way I felt like I had a better idea of where I stood.

I agree wholeheartedly. When I bought my boat it had a 24v TM and (2) 27 series batteries. A year later I upgraded to a 36v motor and added a 3rd battery that was a 29 series. I replaced all 3 this spring with 31 series batteries and better performance is noticeable. She gets up and goes now with no hesitation 

[TK1]

HI,

 

I have the 3 bank model that is 1 yr old. I'm still new to bass boats. When I plug in in to charge I hear a buzzing sound from the one or both of the tm batt's and it sounds like bubbling or boiling coming from the batteries. The charger seems to be charging fine according to the lights on it. Could it be that the water in the batteries is low? They batteries are ever starts and 1 yr old.

 

Thanks!

[slonezp]

10 minutes ago, TK1 said:

HI,

 

I have the 3 bank model that is 1 yr old. I'm still new to bass boats. When I plug in in to charge I hear a buzzing sound from the one or both of the tm batt's and it sounds like bubbling or boiling coming from the batteries. The charger seems to be charging fine according to the lights on it. Could it be that the water in the batteries is low? They batteries are ever starts and 1 yr old.

 

Thanks!

Pop the caps off the batteries. The water should just cover the cells. If its low, you can add distilled water

[TK1]

Thanks!

[TK1]

Checked both batteries and they are full. I'm going to call the manufacture tomorrow and see what they say. It happened one time before but stopped so maybe the unit is going bad.

[Puggz]

On 3/23/2017 at 7:37 PM, slonezp said:

Batteries wired in parallel will only put out 12v. They must be wired in series to get 36v

Thats what I meant...lol

 

Sorry for any confusion :\

[Way2slow]

If the batteries are flooded cells and have caps, one of these are a must have. These take all the guessing out of it.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Otc-4619-Profesional-Battery-Hydrometer/150348085?   wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1330&adid=22222222227051235443&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=146962832356&wl4=pla-262776216665&wl5=9011203&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=100362769&wl11=online&wl12=150348085&wl13=&veh=sem.

Many parts store have them, just make sure it's like this one, the ones with the pointer or floating balls are almost useless.

[Zeeter]

After much deliberation, I recall that when I bought the boat last summer the guy at the dealership said he put a brand new battery in it as he noted it was bad. My suspicion is that all of the batteries were bad, but he only replaced one.

 

I'll check the other batteries by putting them on the known good charger bank, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that the two batteries are bad.

 

We all have our favorites, but I prefer the Everstarts. I'd rather change my battery every two years than try to milk four years out of a more expensive battery. This comes after being stuck on a lake with no juice and having to hand crank my engine to get to shore.

[Zeeter]

Ok, figured some things out. There was a problem that I resolved. I won't mention the problem because everyone will yell at me for doing something dumb and I don't need that kind of negativity in my life.

 

Anyway, banks 1 and 2 are charging at 90% right now and seem normal. Bank 2 seems to keep shifting between 70% and 90%, but it's not flashing. More like it's just on the cusp and can't decide.

 

Bank 3 shows no lights. Either it is a bad bank or the battery is completely dead. It had been flashing 1 light in recent days. This is the starting battery and when I turn the key nothing happens. Per the troubleshooting guide online this could indicate a fully dead battery. Since there is no click or anything when I turn the key I am leaning towards that being the case.

 

I have a deep cell charger that I got for a battery to use on a trolling motor lake with a jon boat. Tomorrow when it's light out I'll try to put a charge into the starter battery and see if that helps. Per the troubleshooting, the 3 bank pro will not charge a dead battery. There has to be a least a bit of juice in it. 

 

If that doesn't do it then I believe it is a bad battery.

[fishnkamp]

Hello Zeeter welcome back, I have not seen you around for a while. Make it easy on your mind (not necessarily on your wallet).   Replace all of the other batteries except for the new one, since it is less than a year old.

 

 

 

[Way2slow]

Actually, batteries in series need to be matching.  After a battery has gone through a number of cycles, (most experts put this number at 25) or several months difference in shelf life, due do plate degradation changing the internal resistance, they are no longer considered to be identical to a newer battery of the same make and type.  So, all batteries in a series configuration need to be changed to prevent damaging the batteries.  

If they are not matching batteries, you can find yourself playing battery yo-yo every several months 

 

An example of how critical matching batteries are in series.  A man was wanting to try setting a world 1/4 mile et record for an electric car.  Excide shipped them two full pallets of batteries for their expert to go through to select about a dozen matching batteries to use.  At the loads they were going to be pulling for that few seconds could cause a mismatching battery to explode. 

 

Actually, even in parallel they should be matching batteries but it's not as critical as in series batteries, because in series the load is equal through all batteries.  This is not the case in parallel batteries. 

[Zeeter]

Trouble is that I don't know which of the batteries is the new one. They're all the same brand. 

 

Ok, no negativity here, please, as I've learned my lesson and don't need to be told how dumb I was. In the late fall I was diligently plugging in the charger every week. Then it became every two weeks. Then every month if I could remember. Then I didn't at all. On top of this, I left the plug in the boat all winter long. So when I went to see why the batteries weren't charging I found that #s 1 and 2 were literally underwater. #3 sits a little higher in the back. 

 

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing the deep cells are no good any longer. I put my external charger on the starter and it gave it a good jump. The bilge pump started working, as did the trim and other electronics.

 

Now I have the external charger connected to battery #1. It's no longer blinking but I need to keep it on 2 amps so it will be a while before it gets a charge strong enough for the onboard charger to kick in.  

 

Starter (#3) is charging now via the onboard charger and appears to be charging properly. I did turn the key for a moment to see if it would try to crank and it just about did, but I didn't want to press the matter until I get a hose connector. It wasn't a strong crank so we'll see tomorrow how it goes.

 

Best case is that the onboard charger kicks in on #1 after a while and it charges tonight. Then I'll try the same with #2 tomorrow. Could be that I'm fine.

 

If #1 doesn't charge overnight via both the external and onboard charger then I know that battery is bad. Will try on #2, as well, but it will likely be in the same condition. If #1 is fully charged tomorrow then I'll be pretty sure that the charger is working properly, which is another fear.

18 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

Hello Zeeter welcome back, I have not seen you around for a while. Make it easy on your mind (not necessarily on your wallet).   Replace all of the other batteries except for the new one, since it is less than a year old.

 

 

 

 

I've been around - posting a lot lately. See latest post - I may be fine.

[Puggz]

On 3/23/2017 at 7:37 PM, slonezp said:

Batteries wired in parallel will only put out 12v. They must be wired in series to get 36v

Correct! Post edited

[Zeeter]

This morning's update. Battery #3 (starter) is green on the charger. I turned the key for a second to see if it would turn over and it did, so I frantically turned it off. It was on for no longer than a second so I don't think any harm was done.

 

Batteries 1 and 2 are bad. After charging all night - 16 hours - I'm still not getting any juice from them. Plus since they were under water all winter, even if I did get a charge in them I don't trust them, which is half the battle. The trolling motor does not do a thing. There is a battery gauge up front that has five lights. Battery one gives me one light, two gives me no lights, and three gives me five lights. This about jives with what I am seeing from the charger and emphasizes the point that the batteries are bad. 

 

So...lesson learned. Now I am considering what type of battery to buy. I could go cheap with an Exide at 105 Ah and 185 RC or an Everstart with a 65 RC and they don't tell you the Ah. That 65 RC doesn't sound right to me. The Exide seems promising. These are both in the $90 range with a core exchange.

 

I could get something in the $250 range each, however with my record on batteries I think I'm more inclined to pay less for inferior batteries until I get a handle on better maintenance.