PowerPole Charge Issues

installed Power Pole Charge by JL Marine. Immediately began having issues with a dead cranking battery even with the charge priority to the cranking battery. I replaced the 6month old AGM Interstate with a brand new one thinking the battery was the issue (props to Interstate for working with me). Immediately had issues w starting engine anytime I fished w trolling motor for more than a few hours without running the engine. It seems as if the Charge is pulling energy from Cranking battery while I am using the trolling motor w a 36v Lithium with has tons of power. I never had an issue until I had the Charge installed. Something doesn't seem right. I spoke with JL Marine and am sending unit back for evaluation. if this is how it is suppose to work, I will not be a fan. I had no issues with my previous set up prior to installing the Charge. I am almost hoping my unit is misfunctioning as I can't imagine a design that caused a draining of your house / cranking battery that you rely on to run Electronics, live well... and OH by the way crank the engine. Anyone else having issues with having to use the emergency jump start after a few hours of fishing?

fyi, I have isolated the issue by removing the Charge and using boat and all works fine.

JT

Sorry to hear about the issue. I have had it work flawlessly since installing it this summer. Definitely get with Power Pole and utilize their services!

Similar story to this on FB in the Ranger 619,620,621 group. Power pole charge on a vexus with 5 lithium’s. Power pole charge ran them dead after 1 day. Even while plugged in over night.

Just watched a YouTube of John Crews explaining powerpole charge. Per that video, while on your trolling motor your cranking battery gets drained first. Yes, cranking first. Once the cranking battery gets drawn down to a certain point power is supposed to be pulled from your trolling motor batteries . It sounds like the charge is drawing it too far or not switching to the trolling motor batteries.

The charge unit is supposed to draw the battery down to a certain degree based on the battery settings that you enter for each battery. I 2 12" solix units and my cranking battery is always around 55% - 65% when done where as my trolling batteries never seem to be less than 80% and I use my ulterra a lot, but I also will do a lot of running the outboard as well

Also when you plug it in at the end of the day it charges the trolling motor batteries FIRST and the cranking battery after that

Unlike standard chargers that charge all batteries at the same time

So it might be that the trolling motor batteries are so low that the charger doesn't have enough time to fully charge the trolling motor batteries and never gets to or only has a short time to charge the cranking battery

If I remember right it only charges at less than 8 amps per bank so it might take a long time to recharge a really low battery

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Originally Posted by Quigon

Just watched a YouTube of John Crews explaining powerpole charge. Per that video, while on your trolling motor your cranking battery gets drained first. Yes, cranking first. Once the cranking battery gets drawn down to a certain point power is supposed to be pulled from your trolling motor batteries . It sounds like the charge is drawing it too far or not switching to the trolling motor batteries.

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Someone explain the thought process behind this design, if accurate, please because it makes no sense to me.

That information was misinterpreted and is not correct.

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Originally Posted by bgibson

That information was misinterpreted and is not correct.

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Actually it is correct maybe a little exaggerated

The system does try to keep the trolling motor batteries at full charge by pulling power from the cranking battery and you can fish long enough that the cranking battery is discharged to the point it won’t start the big motor but that would take like 8 hours (depending on the cranking battery and electronics)

They say you can adjust how much is pulled from the cranking battery but I didn’t hear or see the option to never pull from the cranking battery

Another issue I have is once the cranking battery is discharged you have to turn on the emergency power transfer and hope there is enough in the trolling motor batteries to “charge” the cranking battery

Yes “Charge” not jump start the battery - the video says it can take up to 5 minutes but I would assume it might take longer

I’m all for charging all the batteries off the outboard and think this is a very nice idea I just think it has been poorly executed

The cranking battery should be deemed priority when you consider a trolling motor is not going to get you home most of the time. Yes not having a trolling motor is an inconvenience but no outboard can be life threatening

The charge has 3 settings. Starting/both/trolling. You can set the charge to make either the starting or trolling the priority or you can select both

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Originally Posted by ntslam

The charge has 3 settings. Starting/both/trolling. You can set the charge to make either the starting or trolling the priority or you can select both

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Now that makes more sense
I didn’t see that in the manual
They may want to publicize that a little more

Its not poorly executed if you know how it works. You are in control of were it pulls from etc . You can taylor the priority from cranking to trolling. The emergency start is a feature for just that . Ive never had to use it ever while on the water even 12 to 14 hour days. I did use it once after I drove over to a buddies dock and sat had a few beers (5 hours docked) and left all of my 4 graphs on and livewell pumps running after a 8 hr tournament. Was able to start my outboard in about 3 min. If you know how it works and arent misguided by some that dont really understand it you would realize its the best system currently on the water and is perfectly executed. The CHARGE senses whete the most battery drain is coming from be it the cranking or trolling and floats power over to where it needs it. Best way to explain it is imagine a 4 battery system as 4 glasses of water. The charge will attempt to keep the same level of water in all 4 glasses thru out the day. When you start the outboard it starts refilling the glasses. Irs all about battery balance thru the day with the ability to add power while running. Its the only bidirectional on water battery management system.

Yes technically it is correct. The Charge is supposed to keep the Starting battery with a certain level of voltage so it doesn't becoming an issue with starting. When that level is reached the Charge then starts pulling from your trolling motor batteries while pushing power to the cranking battery to Maintain the cranking battery as well. It is bidirectional in design.

UPDATE: I sent in my unit. Power Pole claimed no issues and returned it the same day they received it... I did not reinstall. I used my boat without any charging system for two fishing trips in high winds and used the trolling motor for hours at each place.... each time I cranked the big motor no problems. None of my graphs shut down and the display showed 12.4 v all day. both trolling motor and cranking batteries worked just fine. I re-installed the Charge and fished for several hours using the trolling motor with the C-Monster App slider all the way to Cranking battery (which i had always done) and after just a few hours of fishing, the cranking battery was too weak to turn over the motor. I had to slide to emergency start. it started thanks to my Lithium trolling motor battery. Frustrated with spending $1200 for a charging system, I figured i would out-smart the Charge by installing an in-line battery isolator switch on the positive leads so I can disconnect it from the system when fishing. I now realize that the Charge on the Run is over-rated and likely not needed if your using quality lithium trolling batteries. If I need to charge on the run or use the Emergency Start, I can turn the battery switch on and I have the functionality. Trust me guys the Priority Slider does not work very well ... i was told that even when set to Cranking it will pull from the Cranking Battery while using the trolling motor until the Cranking battery is at 60%... well 60% apparently is not enough juice to crank my Merc (cranking battery is the Interstate AGM 31)... I hope Power Pole figures this out and does not leave folks stranded on the water. If you are looking for new charger that is capable of all battery types, you may want to check out Dual Pro - they have a new small smart unit that works with lithium and is programable from app ... hope this helps. JT

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Originally Posted by jtreeltherapy

UPDATE: I sent in my unit. Power Pole claimed no issues and returned it the same day they received it... I did not reinstall. I used my boat without any charging system for two fishing trips in high winds and used the trolling motor for hours at each place.... each time I cranked the big motor no problems. None of my graphs shut down and the display showed 12.4 v all day. both trolling motor and cranking batteries worked just fine. I re-installed the Charge and fished for several hours using the trolling motor with the C-Monster App slider all the way to Cranking battery (which i had always done) and after just a few hours of fishing, the cranking battery was too weak to turn over the motor. I had to slide to emergency start. it started thanks to my Lithium trolling motor battery. Frustrated with spending $1200 for a charging system, I figured i would out-smart the Charge by installing an in-line battery isolator switch on the positive leads so I can disconnect it from the system when fishing. I now realize that the Charge on the Run is over-rated and likely not needed if your using quality lithium trolling batteries. If I need to charge on the run or use the Emergency Start, I can turn the battery switch on and I have the functionality. Trust me guys the Priority Slider does not work very well ... i was told that even when set to Cranking it will pull from the Cranking Battery while using the trolling motor until the Cranking battery is at 60%... well 60% apparently is not enough juice to crank my Merc (cranking battery is the Interstate AGM 31)... I hope Power Pole figures this out and does not leave folks stranded on the water. If you are looking for new charger that is capable of all battery types, you may want to check out Dual Pro - they have a new small smart unit that works with lithium and is programable from app ... hope this helps. JT

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I have a few questions, and would like to be sure the Power-Pole Charge was configured before and after it was sent in. PM sent.

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Originally Posted by jtreeltherapy

Dual Pro - they have a new small smart unit that works with lithium and is programable from app ... hope this helps. JT

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Comparing the duel pro to the Power Pole charge is apples and oranges. It doesn't compare at all its not a bi directional charger like the Power Pole charge. do you have the charge configured correctly? I have a ton of customers running it with lithium with zero issues like your describing. I run one myself for over a year with zero issues and im currently running a 31 agm cranker ( not interstate) as well. Not sure where you purchased your charge however im here to help if I can

Just installed PP Charge and having issues. Keep getting faults when it tries to charge. It is properly connected to an Interstate AGM 100 Ah and an Amped 36V 60 Ah lithium battery. Settings in CMonster are correct for each battery. I disconnected and reconnected making sure it is connected as per manual. It did start to charge and appears to be working but five hours later the lithium lost voltage and went from 95% to 70%. I disconnected and reconnected charger again and now I’m getting the faults again. I sent diagnostic to Power Pole by email and will call them first thing Monday.

Screw PP. These issues R wholly unacceptable. Then there is the absurd overinflated price. Plenty better, less costly options.

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Originally Posted by LBI

Screw PP. These issues R wholly unacceptable. Then there is the absurd overinflated price. Plenty better, less costly options.

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But known issues with other chargers are okay? Do you also boycot dual pro? Cause I had problems with them. Or are you mostly just a hater??

There is not another charger like power poles on the market so it seems difficult to compare price. It is also new technology so I would expect some hickups. I would buy tons more products from power pole based on their customer service alone.

I’ll wait to speak to them and see what the diagnostics say before making any judgements. I spoke with Ampded Outdoors and they say the battery is compatible with the PP Charge