we will let you download it first and report back.Originally Posted by scrutcher
we will let you download it first and report back.
I downloaded it and as of right now all 3 batteries are at 99% and in standby so I will keep an eye on them over the next few days and see if it changes and report back
Great let us know..
I hope it works. I really want the Charge to work properly plugged in. It works great on the water.
But my boat is in storage until April so hoping for the best and it to be resolved when I take it out of storage in a couple of months.
I downloaded the 2.05 firmware last night. So far, things are looking good with one oddity observed that I have reported to PowerPole.
Overnight, I left the Charge unplugged to see how this firmware operates in the "on the water" mode. I observed nothing unusual from power-up to when I went to bed, and this morning there is no indication of anything strange overnight.
This morning, I plugged the Charge in to start a charging cycle. Everything started up and ran fine with one oddity. The trollers finished charging well before the cranker. The charging cycle for the trollers ended as expected with voltages going as high as 14.1V but settling at 13.3V to 13.4V and within 60mV of each other. The Cranking cycle ended some time later with voltage at 14.2V and began to fall rapidly as the surface charge began to dissipate; dropping to 13.6V in about 1 hour. According to the Ionic app, battery state of charge is 99% for all three batteries. This is exactly how we want to see the charge cycle happen.
In the post-charge monitoring state, I am hearing the Charge click periodically but am not seeing an operational state change. Mostly likely just a quick measure of battery SOC to see if a new charge or balance cycle needs to start. This is what we want to see; No operational state change until it is needed.
The one oddity that I am seeing does not affect the performance of charging. When the trolling batteries have completed their charge cycle, but the cranking battery is still charging, there is a period of time that I am hearing a rapid, clicking sound from the Charge. Sounds similar to mechanical relay chatter. I observed this phenomenon to start 1-2 minutes after the trollers completed their charging, and the cranking battery is in a state of charging where the charging current is still above 10A (the battery color is amber in the app). The rapid clicking sound ends once the cranker charging drops below 10A and its color in the app changes to green(still charging at 0.1-9.9A rate).
It is only during the one particular state that I have seen the rapid clicking sound. I have asked PowerPole if this is expected behavior. I have my suspicions what this is, but will reserve my opinion until after I hear from PowerPole.
I have yet to see any of the issues observed on previous versions of the firmware.
I believe that the Charge is designed to charge the TM batteries first. If this is the case, that would explain why the starting battery was still charging after the TM batteries were done. I will be downloading the new firmware update later today.
George Brock
2015 920 Pro/XP
2015 Mercury 250 Pro/XS
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
You are correct. It does charge the trolling batteries first. But also, my cranker is 125Ah and my trollers are 50Ah. So, the trollers will complete charging first just due to the large capacity difference.
As of this morning, everything is still looking good. Trollers are at 13.35V and 13.37V, and the cranker is at 13.45V. I am not seeing any battery drain, and I have not seen the Charge turn back on to charge/balance when it doesn't need to. I have not seen voltage on the trollers ramp to 16V either.
The only thing of "concern" at this point is the rapid clicking that happened during the charge cycle at very specific conditions. Waiting on word from PowerPole if the behavior is ok or not.
Do you all leave the charge plugged in between charging/trips? And if not does the system use power “monitoring” the batteries? Ie will it drain your batteries if not left plugged in?
2005 Ranger 520DVX w/ 225 Yamaha SHO
Why do you think you need a power pole charger if you up graded? to lithium batteries for your trolling motor and get the extended run time you can get a stealth charging system for alot less
and you wont get your starting battery used for the trolling motor what am i missing
I have been on version 2.05 for 5 days now with no issues. All batteries are FINALLY balanced and full. So far so good. It will remained plugged in for about another month so we'll see what happens before the ice comes off the lakes.
great news
Hi all. Just wanted to post an update since my last. I reported to PP that I was seeing an oddity with firmware 2.05 in a very specific phase of charging (noted in post above). I heard from PP on Monday that they have been able to replicate the behavior in their lab. They have determined the cause and are working on firmware 2.06.
I did not get a date for release, but based on the the previous firmware release timeline, we can probably expect firmware 2.06 soon.
Outside this one oddity, things are looking really good with the way the Charge is now handling Ionic Lithiums. I have continued to monitor and report back to PP since 2.05 was released. I have not seen anything else of concern in my testing.
That is good to hear! Another month and I will be able to take the boat out of storage (hopefully) and looking forward to having my PP Charge work as it should.
Thanks for all of the time and effort involved in working with PP to get it figured out.
Those of you running a lithium cranking and trolling motor batteries, are you leaving the pp charge plugged in and connected to the batteries 24/7? I've heard you have to or if the pp charge is unplugged from the power source and still attached to the batteries, it will drain the batteries? I just moved to a similar set up, had all 3 batteries charged, unplugged the pp charge, and when I went to plug the charge back in after a few weeks, one of my trolling motor batteries was significantly drained and the app stated they were out of balance. thoughts?
zred,
What you are seeing is the bug that we have all reported to PowerPole over the last several months. Myself and others have been working directly with PowerPole to fix the issue. It is an incompatibility with the BMS of some lithium brands and the Charge's operation. If you have not done so, there is an upgraded firmware you need to install, version 2.05. It will stop the excessive draining of you #2 trolling battery, and the Charge will operate correctly with the balancing of your trolling batteries. There is a firmware 2.06 coming soon to further correct some of the behaviors people have reported.
That is good news! Are you or others leaving the pp charge plugged in 24/7 typically?
I leave mine plugged in 24/7. I’m not seeing issues like others are. I’ve seen a tad of the battery 2 draining issue 1 time and only about 20% drain over 2-3 weeks of sitting. The rest of the time it’s acted normal keeping all my batteries full. Most I usually leave it sitting for is about 4-5 days.
2023 Ford F150 XLT Super Crew 2.7L Ecoboost FX4
2021 Phoenix 721/ Mercury 250 ProXS 4s
HDS16 Pro- Solix15 : Console
HDS16 Pro W/AT - Garmin 126 W/ lvs34 - Solix12/ 360 : Bow
Dual 10' Blades/ Lowrance Ghost/ Bobs Hydraulic Plate
225ah cranking / 100ah trolling. Ionic/Relion lithium
MLF Invitationals Angler
Instagram @brettcarnright
With the 2.05 firmware, I have been leaving the Charge plugged in with no issues.
Last edited by dallasdawg; 02-25-2022 at 05:18 PM.
Another angle on zred’s question, is during normal operation of the PP Charge, is it necessary to leave it plugged in? Right now I run 4 lithium (3 trollers and a crank) and there is no drain when I switch the breakers off. Will the PP charge cause drain now if the newest firmware is functioning correctly?
2005 Ranger 520DVX w/ 225 Yamaha SHO
Probably the wrong forum for this question but I’ll ask. What about walleye boats who use the kicker motor for trolling while using the bow mount (ultrex) for navigation? Or, just simply using the bow mount while main engine is on for whatever reason. Will this harm the bow mount electronics? What’s the voltage for lithium charging on the bow mount side?
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