Helix Mega units, can't keep them on

[sfw1960]

That battery you listed is a Deep Cycle and shouldn't be used for a cranking battery alone, especially with a big block engine IMO.

Please do yourself a favor & PM CatFan here or post in his forum section even.

http://www.bbcboards.net/member.php?u=394


The guy knows his stuff, and will likely be able to give you advice in how to solve what you're experiencing.

I was running 2 of the discontinued "Dual Purpose" JCI batteries and 1 H12 Mega, 2- G1 H12 & and 859 can put a hurt on those after a full day with other things running.

I have to change the battery setup myself (don't ask), and will be going to a 1000 MCA starter and probably 29 Maxx for the electronics.

Something else I don't do is crimp wires (just the solder holds the connection) and I WILL NOT use lead-free solder, that crud is brittle and it's a cold solder joint in the making no matter how good your soldering skills.



G'Luck & let us know~
RAS

[shallowhal]

another trick i do is turn my brightness down one or two clicks on each unit when i fire them up. that tiny step down in backlight makes a big difference in power consumption.

[bamaman84]

I set my voltage alarm at 11v on my units. The acceptable power input voltage on the helix 10 is 10.8v-20v. Which would explain why they are shutting off while you are fishing with lots of things running. When you start your motor the voltage may be below or close to the acceptable 10.8v. Most of my friends are using a tractor battery to run their electronics separately from the starting battery. Or you could swap to an AGM battery. They seem to be a better all around battery.

[StrikeBack]

another trick i do is turn my brightness down one or two clicks on each unit when i fire them up. that tiny step down in backlight makes a big difference in power consumption.

Correct, most of the power required for these units is taken up but the bright screen. Th Helix had a plus because it had such a bright screen 1400 Nit? needed to be comfortably seen in bright daylight. When my battery is a bit low and running the motor a bit more to charge it I often dim the screen and see the voltage increase at it dims.

[TroyBoy30]

my voltage never drops with my relion 100ah lithium. thats with 2 solix 15's at full brightness, lights, radio, nmea, bilge, motor, live wells and all

[bamaman84]

my voltage never drops with my relion 100ah lithium. thats with 2 solix 15's at full brightness, lights, radio, nmea, bilge, motor, live wells and all

Nice and expensive batteries too. Lol, your voltage will drop and when it does they are completely dead. I would probably have lithium myself, just cant justify the cost.

[hookbender]

Agreed.

It does sound like your wiring is too light, I have seen this many times, including a good friend that refused to do anything about it - until I installed his new H9 with #10 GA. straight to the battery....

No fuse?

[NOTGSXR]

If you have a merc 250xs i would suggest a better battery. The merc requires a big chunk to start 800cca minimum battery requirement... So with that logic you cant run your pumps or graphs and not expect to have power issues..

I have a Solix 15 and 12... i got a Northstar group 31agm... works great!

This is the batter i got.
https://www.northstarbattery.com/pro...5-8673cea3275a

[TroyBoy30]

Nice and expensive batteries too. Lol, your voltage will drop and when it does they are completely dead. I would probably have lithium myself, just cant justify the cost.

I lose 15-20% battery power in a 12 hour fishing day to run my entire boat. They will never be completely dead unless I forget the master power switch or leave something on after a trip. If you know who to call you can get some pretty good deals. I was paying $300 each for 31 series agm’s, so if I get 10 years out of these I’ll be very happy. I’d never go smaller than a 31 series agm in a tourney bass boat.

[Bob B]

Do you have one of the data boxes set to display the voltage? What does the voltage show with the units running and the main motor not running?

[sfw1960]

No fuse?

UUMMMMMmmmm...

That goes without saying.

There's a 3 Amp (it's a G1) a few inches off the terminal connection as per installation instructions.

My bow H12's are on a shared 5 amp, the H12MSI has a 5 amp and the '5PXG only draws about 165mA with it.