Looking for advise on adding a 5th Battery

[my492vs]

I have 3 batteries for the Ultrex & 1 for my starting battery. They are all Group 31 AGM Interstate. The motor is a 250 G2. I am also powering 2 Solix 15’s from the starting battery & 2 talons, along with all the bilge pumps, etc. I have been getting a low voltage alarm on the console Solix every time I start the engine. This has happened since I bought the boat. I have chased loose connections & all are tight. I have #8 wire from the battery switch to the console for accessories power & a 12 gauge wire from the console to the bow. The bow unit never alarms on low voltage. The starting battery always spins the starter on the motor the same, i.e. the battery doesn’t sound discharged while starting the motor. I replaced the starting battery with a batteries plus X2, as recommended in the Mercury boards, but still have the same problem. I have 2 more options to try. First thing I would like to try is to try adding a 5th battery just for the console & accessories, or swapping the bow & console Solix units to see if the problem stays at the console or Solix. The easiest thing to do is add the 5th battery. Does anyone see a problem with this other than the obvious added weight?
Thanks

[MikeTTI]

I'm running a carbon 12 and 16 and was having similar problems with a odyssey pc2150. I didn't want to worry about it anymore so I installed the seaclear harness to get stable voltage to the graphs and a extra 31agm from sams for extra ah. I can now run anything I want including a radio without issue.

[my492vs]

Mike, what size wiring is in the Seaclear harness? Another question, did you parallel the Sams battery to your starting battery?

[MikeTTI]

Mike, what size wiring is in the Seaclear harness? Another question, did you parallel the Sams battery to your starting battery?

I believe it's 6 gauge. Yes batteries are parallel.

[Rip Bass]

My492vs, check the console graph to see what voltage the low power alarm is set at. On most graphs,the low voltage alarm is adjustable,yours may be set too high.

[Paintworx]

Not sure if this will get you what you want but I installed a 50ah hr Lithium in the front corner of my center locker along with the brain for my Panoptix. I was able to run all the wires direct to the battery without adding and extra wires or connectors.... the battery is really small and I made a hold down bracket out of Kydex and I just run a separate charger to it when I charge my other batteries. I can get 8 hrs of run time, probably more if I would put it in standby when not in use. If that battery dies I still have my Lowrance units, but I did not wanna risk a dead cranking battery when I added the Garmin to my setup.

[Mcqtr]

I have a 5 battery setup on a 2020 Z521L. 31 AGM for starting, 31 AGM for electronics, (3) deep cycle TM batteries. I'm running (3) Solix 12s, Garmin 8612, Livescope, and Mega 360. All batteries are charged from the 4 bank charger. I bought the boat this way and just added the Mega 360. Don't ask me how the five batteries are charged on the four bank. The dealership did make the comment that they contacted MinnKota to set it up this way. Included a picture if it helps.

setup.jpg
Agm.jpg

[my492vs]

I have a 5 battery setup on a 2020 Z521L. 31 AGM for starting, 31 AGM for electronics, (3) deep cycle TM batteries. I'm running (3) Solix 12s, Garmin 8612, Livescope, and Mega 360. All batteries are charged from the 4 bank charger. I bought the boat this way and just added the Mega 360. Don't ask me how the five batteries are charged on the four bank. The dealership did make the comment that they contacted MinnKota to set it up this way. Included a picture if it helps.

setup.jpg
Agm.jpg

Thanks for the pics. I was planning on adding my 5th battery in front of the 4 bank charger like yours is. Your 2 AGM’S are hooked up in parallel, so one bank of the charger will charge both batteries.

[RGK456]

Are the low voltage alarms set identical between the Solix and Helix?

[my492vs]

Are the low voltage alarms set identical between the Solix and Helix?

Both of the units are Solix 15’s & the low voltage alarm on both units are set at 10.5 VDC. The 12 gauge wire feeding the bow unit power board comes from the same spade connector as the console unit. I have #6 wire coming tomorrow & will run separate #6 feeds to both units. I am going to install a battery isolator switch for these feeds. I will first try it hooked to my starting battery, so I will know if the larger wire fixed the issue. I will probably add the 5th battery after that test just for my electronics

Thanks for the help

[RGK456]

I have 3 batteries for the Ultrex & 1 for my starting battery. They are all Group 31 AGM Interstate. The motor is a 250 G2. I am also powering 2 Solix 15’s from the starting battery & 2 talons, along with all the bilge pumps, etc. I have been getting a low voltage alarm on the console Solix every time I start the engine. This has happened since I bought the boat. I have chased loose connections & all are tight. I have #8 wire from the battery switch to the console for accessories power & a 12 gauge wire from the console to the bow. The bow unit never alarms on low voltage. The starting battery always spins the starter on the motor the same, i.e. the battery doesn’t sound discharged while starting the motor. I replaced the starting battery with a batteries plus X2, as recommended in the Mercury boards, but still have the same problem. I have 2 more options to try. First thing I would like to try is to try adding a 5th battery just for the console & accessories, or swapping the bow & console Solix units to see if the problem stays at the console or Solix. The easiest thing to do is add the 5th battery. Does anyone see a problem with this other than the obvious added weight?
Thanks

I just purchased this https://www.precisionsonar.com/produ...wiring-harness

[DoctorJJ]

You need a SeaClear harness or other similar product. You aren’t having battery issues, you’re having wiring issues.

[my492vs]

You need a SeaClear harness or other similar product. You aren’t having battery issues, you’re having wiring issues.

i ran separate #6 feeds to each unit, through a separate disconnect. I have not tested it on the water yet, but have powered up the units with the new wiring. The battery voltage at the battery was 12.67 VDC, read with a fluke 87 meter. The voltage was the same at the bow & console with the units on & off checked with the same meter. However, the voltage on the console unit read 12.4 VDC & the bow unit read 12.8VDC. I swapped positions on the units & the voltage readings followed the units, which tells me the voltage sensors on the units are not calibrated the same. I could just turn the voltage alarm off on the console unit if I still have a problem, but this has become a challenge, so if this wiring does not fix the issue, I will add a dedicated battery for the electronics.

[my492vs]

i ran separate #6 feeds to each unit, through a separate disconnect. I have not tested it on the water yet, but have powered up the units with the new wiring. The battery voltage at the battery was 12.67 VDC, read with a fluke 87 meter. The voltage was the same at the bow & console with the units on & off checked with the same meter. However, the voltage on the console unit read 12.4 VDC & the bow unit read 12.8VDC. I swapped positions on the units & the voltage readings followed the units, which tells me the voltage sensors on the units are not calibrated the same. I could just turn the voltage alarm off on the console unit if I still have a problem, but this has become a challenge, so if this wiring does not fix the issue, I will add a dedicated battery for the electronics.

Well, the #6 wiring fixed the issue, no 5th battery needed. Thanks for everyone’s help on this