battery?

[bgreen82]

so i got the boat all set up yesterday and charged both the batteries. the one that came with the boat when i got it last year already shows between 1/3 and 1/2 charge after full yesterday according to my minnkota battery tester. the guys said he got it a couple years ago. anything i should check into b4 i start thinking about a new batt. p.s. i did recharge it a couple times over the winter, and it was kept indoors.

[Sandmannd]

No expert, but let it charge up and see how long it takes. Then check it in a day or two and see if it's holding a charge. If you have a trolling battery you have a backup if you use this on the water. Worth looking into. Had that happen before and the battery charged up in a day or longer and then it was fine all year.

[BobT]

Have you checked the fluid levels? Also, if he did buy it just a couple years ago, is there warranty left?

Bob

[Whoaru99]

Seems almost too obvious to ask, but you didn't leave something turned on by accident?

Checking the fluid level should be at the top of the list too - assuming it's not sealed.

[anyfishwilldo]

Charge the battery up to full. Then hook something up to it to drain it to nothing and recharge. You might have to do this a couple times to desulphify the battery. Either that or get a battery charger with that mode built in. The lead plates get crud built up on them that needs to be removed and that is what the desulphify mode does.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Go to Northern Tool & Equipment and get yourself one of these:

VDC Electronics BatteryMINDer Charger, Maintainer, Desulphator — 1.3 Amp, 12 Volt, Model# 12117; $49.95

I used to go through a battery every few years until I started using these.