z521 battery problems?

[crazyju]

2010 z521 250 proxs

Sears PM-1

4 bank 40amp ranger on board.

HDS 7, HDS 8, Hds 9

Power pole

Just returned a 1 year old pm-1 to sears. It tested fine at sears but they gave me a replacement. Battery is charging to 12.6-12.7 tested at battery. Fished tournament last sat and 6 hrs into showing 11.5 on hds. It did crank, but barely. Put replacement battery in after tournament. Same results sat during tournament. Never turned on the hds 9. Both tournaments livewells ran for about 4 hours. I have added the 9 hds this winter, and this setup worked fine last year, even night tournaments with blacklights on all night. The boat is plugged in 24/7. I have unhooked all Led on boat to eliminate those. I am guessing a short somewhere, but where to start?

[smith64a]

Does you power pole have a power cut off/switch to disconnect from power when boat is not being used? I had this problem and had to install one. Fixed the problem.

[IRONBLOCK]

Are you running a separate antenna for your Lowrance units like a LGC 4000? If so does it have a separate power disconnect switch? I had this problem with a fully charged Diehard Pt. and on a long trip like two hours to Guntersville or Chickamauga the low voltage alarm would go off the first time I started the boat and almost every time afterwards. Shutting off the main power disconnect on the last trip to Hartwell seemed to help but I still got the low voltage alarm about mid day. It was real annoying but the battery continued to start the Evinrude all day.
Mark

[Hardhead1]

are you turning off the main power switch when not using the boat ?

[crazyju]

Power pole does not have a cut off. I cut the power when i will not be fishing for a few days. Leave it on most of the time, fishing 5-6 days a week. I think i am starting with a fully charged battery 12.6-12.7v, but it is only lasting 4-5 hours. Thanks guys, keep the suggestions coming. What cut off switch did you add to the power pole?

[smith64a]

I originally had it wired directly to the starting battery. Then I added a disconnect similar to what the Rangers have to disconnect the main power. If you are wired directly, that could be your problem. You can just wire it to your main disconnect/breaker and always cut it of when you get off the water. The Power Poles pump draws a little power 1005 of the time unless you use some sort or disconnect.

[Outofsightpdr]

I always flip the breaker once it goes on the trailer. Just a good habit to get into.

[Outofsightpdr]

Have u had the keypad replaced. Ranger did a recall on 10 thru 12 keypads. That solved my issues. Not sure why.

[crazyju]

Not sure on the keypad, bought used in 2012.

[Carlos H]

Sounds like you have a fully charged battery, so that about rules out the charger.

You have something that is drawing LOT of amperage from the battery and that is where you need to look.

From the sounds of things the issue started after the install of the 9, so I would see if you can duplicate the day and NOT run the 9. When you do this ensure that the 9 is totally off the network ensuring that the power pulled and network cable removed.

[crazyju]

Sounds like you have a fully charged battery, so that about rules out the charger.

You have something that is drawing LOT of amperage from the battery and that is where you need to look.

From the sounds of things the issue started after the install of the 9, so I would see if you can duplicate the day and NOT run the 9. When you do this ensure that the 9 is totally off the network ensuring that the power pulled and network cable removed.

Thats what i did sat. I did not even put the 9 on the boat, same problem, I unhooked the power pole last night and will test it Thur.

[joebw]

Had 2 friends that had issue with the sears battery. They were able to replace them under warranty. Not sure if your battery or a drawdown is your issue.

If it were me, change to a different battery for a day( if that is possible). At least you either find the problem or you eliminated a battery problem.

Process of elimination, good luck.

[Illinois Trooper]

Had 2 friends that had issue with the sears battery. They were able to replace them under warranty. Not sure if your battery or a drawdown is your issue.

If it were me, change to a different battery for a day( if that is possible). At least you either find the problem or you eliminated a battery problem.

Process of elimination, good luck.

Went through the same thing with 2 PM-1s. I'm running 2 HDS 10s, 2 HDS 8s, 2 structure scan boxs' and livewells. Many days on the TM all day with out running big motor. Solved problem with an Optima D31M.

[Ranger519VS]

I have had a problem with the voltage readings on my HDS Touch units. They consistently read lower than the readings taken at the battery. Even after I ran dedicated 12 ga stranded wire from the battery to a fuse panel under the dash I still got consistently low voltage readings on the HDS screen. I would try taking readings with a DVM at the HDS power connectors under the dash and compare the reading to what the HDS unit is reading out.

There is a slight power draw from the Powerpoles even when they are not running. There is power to the Bluetooth radio circuit which runs your remotes. It will take about a month to draw a battery down if you do not have a cutoff switch. The biggest reason for the cutoff is so the Poles don't accidentally get deployed while you are trailering. It happens.

Your outboard motor also draws a small amount of power all the time.

[crazyju]

Voltage readings are from the battery. HDS and smartcraft are within .1 of what i get at the battery. Starter is sluggish and once the hds cut off. I def have a low voltage.

[Outofsightpdr]

Have you called Ranger to see if your keypad has been swapped out. I stated above that it solved my problems.

[Lou r Pitcher]

The Sears PM-1 is fully (100%) charged at 12.84 volts measured at 77 degrees F).

At 12.6 volts, the battery is approx. 82% charged. It is different than the typical voltages of a traditional flooded lead acid battery. (12.6 volts is what you stated is the lower range voltage of your battery AFTER it completed charging by your charger).

The PM-1 battery is over discharged whenever the voltage is below 11.85 volts which is 80% discharged) It is then, being permanently damaged and if recoverable, requires a special factory recommended recovery procedure. (You reported your battery to be at only11.5 volts and it was then further used to start a motor).

The manufacturer of the PM-1 states that an approved 'charging profile' model charger with a minimum of 40 amps be used to recharge it. [ You stated that your charger is a 40 amp,4 bank apparently providing a maximum of 10 charging amps to the PM-1. It is apparently only 1/4 the size recommended and as we don't know the model, it may/may not have suitable approved charging profiles (voltages, amperages and time) to successfully maintain the PM-1].

Sears is not the manufacturer of the battery and may be quite unfamiliar with its needs especially in a marine and 'deep cycle' application. The battery is a re-labeled Odyssey PC-2150 and was designed and manufactured by EnerSys Energy Products Inc.

[crazyju]

Thanks for all the help. How many people have an onboard charger that charges one bank @ 40 amps? Seems the sears pm-1 is not a good candidate for the bass boat then. Lou thank you for your post, you always seem to teach me something new.

[Fat Basser]

Thanks for all the help. How many people have an onboard charger that charges one bank @ 40 amps? Seems the sears pm-1 is not a good candidate for the bass boat then. Lou thank you for your post, you always seem to teach me something new.

I had a similar issue on my bass cat. I switched out the PM1 with a Duracell AGM Series 31 (made by deka). Problem went away immediately and never surfaced again. I just bought 4 of them to replace Interstates in my Ranger. The PM1 is an awesome battery, but something isn't right. If you can't find a wiring issue, I would sell the PM1 and try a Duracell AGM.

[crazyju]

Lou, you said measured at 77 degrees, what about at 50 degrees?