a few electrical questions

[tubbed out]

When I used my riggers for the first time I thought they came up a little slow , battery ????

My battery is a few years old and never fails as a starting battery ???

How can I tell if my 65 hp merc 1974 3 cyl will have a charging system ????

I am only running one battery at this time ,( next winters project )

thanks

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[Even-tide]

Do you have a pull cord for your motor.

 

[c.askin]

put a volt meter across your battery terminals check the voltage before starting your engine and after if it increases to 13plus volts approx. its charging

 

[tubbed out]

I have a pull cord , but I have been packing an extra battery and a power pack ,,

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[Kisinana]

Check the size of the wire from your battery to the downrigger plugs and the length of wire. Both will have an effect on your downriggers. You should have the heaviest wire you can get into the plug i.e. I have #12awg on mine they are only 5 feet on the one side. On the opposite side at 11.5 feet I have #10awg.

 

[danthewire]

Lets start at the downrigger plug,is it clean,and making good solid contact,it should have a copper or brass colour to it,if there is any green,its dirty. Next is the wire sized correctly minimum sizes cause problems,especially if it is a long length.Remember we only have 12 volts to work with,does it go to a switch,if so what type of connection,minimum would be a ring lug properly crimped, not flattened,what quality of switch ,cheap plastic,[trouble]or metal with hd contacts.Is it connected to the battery with a clamp and a terminal with a wingnut or is it just jammed under[main problem usally]the clamp.If all that is correct,then it has to be the power source,did it come up slower and slower,that usaualy means weak battery.If that is ok then it leaves the downriggers but they are brand new right?DAN

 

[tubbed out]

Riggers are used , in good working order , bill at outfitters did his thing to them .... plugs are new and clean , wire is very short and the thickest I could get in the connections , I over wired them ...No switches , hooked straight to battery (for now ) under the wingnut .. I know the battery is not brand new so I might just try a new one . the riggers are the older two belt style , I am used to the one belt , are the older ones that much slower ???? I was out for only a short time so I didnt notice if they got slower and slower . I will check soon


Btw I will have an empty seat on I think the 21 st and 22 nd of this month if any landluber want to hit the chuck . I am not a guide . just have a few days of during the week . email me if interested

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[danthewire]

Scotty says 222 feet per minute with 10lb ball,Ihave the older ones they arent that fast.Sounds like a good install on the wiring,so maybe take a newer battery and try that. DAN

 

[tubbed out]

thanks Dan

 

[Whole in the Water]

For what it is worth, I use 2 batteries, one for starting the engine and running the electronics and another dedicated solely to the downriggers. Make sure that your engine is charging both when it is running.

 

[tubbed out]

2 batteries and a perko switch next winters project

maybe Ill have to get on it sooner

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[saltybeaver]

had the same problem with down riggers .....I had the battery switch on one turned it to both and work fine .

 

[Rum Buddies]

you really don't want to run on both batteries as this ruins the whole reason for having a redundant battery. You want to have a fresh battery should one die.

Also if one battery is very low or dead and you run on "both" they will equilize thus severely draining your good battery and you are left with 2 nearly drained batteries and possibly not enough juice to crank over a big engine.

I'm not saying you can't run on both - but it can cause issues.

 

[saltybeaver]

Poppa I thought It would not charge both if you don't have it on both ???? while running

 

[Rum Buddies]

no you're right it won't - so its a trade off.

The thing is, if one battery fails to hold a charge and you have it on both, then it will drain the good battery because they always want to be equal.

I'm no expert but from what I've read - the general consensus is that you should run on one battery or the other.

After all the reason for the switch is to keep the batteries isolated from each other and keep one fresh. Lots of info on the net about this, so don't take my word for it.


ADDED: Here's a good little article that explains some of the issues:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/dualBattery.html

quote:when two batteries are connected in parallel, they will probably tend to behave more like the weakest battery of the two than the strongest.

 

[danthewire]

BE CAREFUL with the 2 battery set up it can create a false sense of security, understand how the switch works, and how the batterys discharge and charge with it.Also make sure you dont seris the batterys,hard on electronics,also on the perko switch, at least the one i had, watch out for corrision on the back side.Speaking from experience.......A Very red faced electrician. DAN

 

[Mongoose]

14v is what the charging system should produce to charge your 12v battery