Voltage issues. Units are flickering

[Jimmy Lee]

I recently purchased a 2014 920 Pro XP. I am having an issue with the units flickering when there is more than one thing powered on. Even the lights flicker. What size battery should I be using? The dealer I purchased this from installed a brand new Interstate M-24MS. It has 800 CCA, 1000 MCA and 135 RC. Does anyone have Ny thoughts on this? I know the tray the battery sits in can hold a much larger battery? I also noticed one of the trolling batteries is a cranking battery. Is this correct? Its a 36v trolling motor with 2 deep cycle and 1 cranking batteries. Thanks for any input

[EL Skeeter]

First of all a 24 battery is too small IMO. The dealer installed cranking battery may have been sitting on shelf awhile and could be showing signs
of solidifying thus not retaining proper charge voltage to power all your accessories. A 29 or 31 will solve your issues.
Trolling batteries should all be the same deep cycle size and age.

[fishin couillon]

Thats WAY TO SMALL as said above. Id go back and tell dealer to read the requirements for that motor and put the correct one in....or get your money back for that battery and buy your own......didnt list motor but with that model its a 250 so a AGM 31 would what you need.....

[Hooked247]

A 24 on a 250 = WOW! As fishin couillon said, get it exchanged at no cost to you, or ask for your money back and go purchase the correct one. You want a Group 31 with the highest reserve capacity you can get on the cranking side. Best bang for the buck is a Sam's Duracell AGM (Relabled DEKA) with I believe a 205 minute reserve capacity, could be more, it's been a while. I've run 920's since 2014 and they have always come with a Group 31 cranking battery. Also looks like you have two size trolling batteries? Selling a boat just to sell it is not the right way to have you return as a customer. Just my two cents.

Also not sure if you loosened the cranking battery buckle but I would get that buckle tightened up and away from the post. If it arks on the post you will blow fuses. Good luck.

[TBBasser]

I have the exact same boat with the exact same problem but I have a 31 AGM which is brand new. I was told to try two things. New battery first which didn't help and run wiring directly to the battery
Now have 12 gauge wiring running from the bow and console directly to the battery and will find out tomorrow if that cures the issue. 31 size battery is what i would try first. Graphs and pumps running
draw alot of power if you on the trolling motor a lot like I'm.

[haus9393]

Also you need to run 3 deep cycle for the trolling motor.

[mjlambert23]

If you run dedicated wire, take the time to put in a cutoff switch for that circuit in case your units draw any power when they are turned off. Easy insurance.

[mjlambert23]

I went with the SeaClear 8 gauge harness. Not too expensive but it eliminated any flickering on my HDS units. Then went and added a Garmin and LiveScope. No issues with 3 or 4 full days of fishing.

[920screaming250]

get a x2 from batteries plus...it is awesome

[Hooked247]

I have the exact same boat with the exact same problem but I have a 31 AGM which is brand new. I was told to try two things. New battery first which didn't help and run wiring directly to the battery
Now have 12 gauge wiring running from the bow and console directly to the battery and will find out tomorrow if that cures the issue. 31 size battery is what i would try first. Graphs and pumps running
draw alot of power if you on the trolling motor a lot like I'm.

Depends on what units your running if that will fix your problem. If you still have the problem tomorrow let me know. I lived that pain and rewired my boat three times before getting everything right.

[JR19]

Cold cranking amps is how many amps a battery can produce at 0*. Marine cranking amps is how many amps a battery can produce above 32*. The CCA and MCA on the battery you have is actually sufficient for the particular motor you have. The problem you have is your reserve capacity is way too small. Reserve capacity is what you need to run your accessories when the big motor is off. Reserve capacity is how many minutes a battery can supply (I don't recall the exact number) but X amount of amps for the amount of minutes listed on the battery and still have sufficient amps to crank the motor. You currently have 135 minutes and boats that run a lot of accessories need 200 or more minutes of reserve.

I am going to compare this in an analogy of gas in a gas tank...Think of CCA and MCA as power/gas. Think of reserve capacity as the gas tank. To get more reserve capacity you have to go up in physical size ie: get a bigger gas tank which would be a Group 31 battery. In my analogy the power of the gasoline did not change but the amout you have stored increased....thus allowing you to run accessories longer with the big motor off.

Now I will give a few battery suggestions...

Top of the food chain, both are expensive but excellent battery...

https://www.odysseybatteries.com/pc2150mst.htm

https://www.batteriesplus.com/produc...er/sli31agmdpm


Two good batteries with decent specs that will work for most recreational fishermen. They are actually the same exact battery made buy the same manufacture but sold as two different brands...

https://www.dcbattery.com/deka_8a31dt.html

https://www.samsclub.com/p/duracell-...gm/prod3590232


Now regarding the 36V trolling motor it will not "hurt" to mix a cranking battery with a deep cycle as long as all batteries are good and healthy. However over a period of time the cranking battery will wear out faster because it is designed more for power than reserve. Its a good practice to have all trolling motor batteries as deep cycle. For starting the big motor a cranking battery is suggested but in most cases a dual purpose is okay.

[capt odie]

After batteries are fully charged do you have flickering problems right away??

[Savage]

get a x2 from batteries plus...it is awesome

YEP!

[Jimmy Lee]

Well guys after driving to every store in the county to find a 31M battery I found one and installed it. The units are still flickering when more than 1 electrical component is on. Again, both units do the exact same thing. What should I do now?

[fishon396]

Are the units wired directly to the battery or into the boats wiring system.

[fishin couillon]

Check all power connections....what size wires are connected to them?

[capt odie]

Loose wire connection

[RedFx4]

Check out SonarPros Plug/Play harness! Super easy to install and a true marine grade solution with proper fuse protection etc. Buddy Gross and alot of other Elite Series Pros run their solution as well!

https://sonarproselectronics.com/shop

[TBBasser]

Depends on what units your running if that will fix your problem. If you still have the problem tomorrow let me know. I lived that pain and rewired my boat three times before getting everything right.

Thanks for the offer. Running 16 Live on the console and carbon 12 on the bow. It took care of the problem. Had 12V at the units all day and that was with aerator on all day in the tournament

[bassm1n]

What took care of the problem??