How To Tell If A Marine Battery Is Bad

With the sunday shining brightly and a breeze blowing gently, you are looking forwards to a successful twenty-four hour period of fishing.

Now yous want to exist sure your marine battery volition become you and your gunkhole back abode. But how tin you exam your battery to determine if it is a good or a bad battery?

Showtime, you need to determine the appropriate type of test to use. You take heard of the remarkable accuracy of multimeters in determining if a battery is practiced or bad.

You have also heard virtually load tests and their success with automobile batteries. Now you want to know if a load test volition work with a marine battery, also.

The fish are waiting, so, let'south get started.

Signs That a Battery Is Bad

You don't want to wait to discover if your boat marine battery is bad until you have left the dock. So exist sure to bank check your battery out before you lot go.

In that location are some critical signs to look for when deciding if your battery is bad. If the bombardment has whatever of these signs, information technology is time to go a new one.

First, is the bombardment keeping the electronics onboard your boat powered?

Are you having whatever problems with your fishfinder? Is your GPS not working? Is your bilge pump malfunctioning? Is your nautical chart plotter inaccurate?

Are yous having bug with your depth finder? If any of these instruments are not working, it is an indication that your battery may be bad and perhaps the root cause.

Next, is your engine turning over quickly?

It is the job of the bombardment to transport power to the starter. Any hesitation, engine stalling, or lack of response is a sign that your battery should exist checked.

If your battery is going bad, yous could exist straining your starter and compounding your problem.

Even when your battery supplies sufficient power, there is still a take chances that it might exist bad. Audit the bombardment for bulging, cracks, leakage, and cleaved or lose cables.

Battery bulges are a sign that the bombardment may have been charged besides many times. Cracks and leakage are signs of a worn-downward battery.

Be sure to replace broken or loose cables or terminals. This will help forestall your battery from working too hard and requiring early replacement. Even new cables should be replaced if they do not provide a firm connexion.

Experience your battery to decide if information technology is hot. Hot batteries can atomic number 82 to a burning smell, which can atomic number 82 to an explosion.

Check your battery with a multimeter presently after a accuse. If the voltage drops significantly, your battery is going bad.

Finally, a load test will verify your suspicion that the bombardment is bad. If your battery fails a load test, supervene upon it immediately.

Testing A Battery With A Multimeter

A multimeter is an excellent device to test a battery.

Before you brainstorm your examination, be certain you are protected. You will want to exist protected in the consequence of bombardment leakage or even an explosion. While these are rare occurrences, they are nevertheless possible.

Habiliment goggles to protect your eyes and cover your skin. Endeavour to acquit your examination in a absurd area, specially if your battery feels warm or hot.

Before you begin your examination, remove any battery cover. Let the bombardment set for at least an hour before start your test.

With your precautions prepare, the first stride is to configure your multimeter. You will notice setting selections on the face of the device.

Select the "DC voltage" choice with at to the lowest degree xv volts or more than. Twenty volts is the ideal pick.

Next, connect the blood-red and black multimeter wires to the battery. Connect the red wire to the positive battery last. So, connect the black multimeter wire to the negative battery terminal.

Some multimeters work automatically. If your multimeter is non automatic, merely press the "min/max" button to begin recording the battery voltage.

You can get multiple readings. The multimeter will take a scrolling function to allow yous to view the different readings. Your reading should be a minimum of 12.half-dozen to 12.8 volts.

If you are testing the battery at engine cruise speed, you tin can expect a college voltage reading. In this case, expect for a reading between thirteen.2 and 13.four, as this indicates a practiced marine battery.

A reading of 12.2 is a concern. At this voltage level, the electronics on your boat may not stay powered. At a 12 volt level, your electronics may not turn on at all.

This would result in an unpleasant outing at minimum, with your GPS, radio, fish finder, and other devices non working. At the extreme, yous may find yourself being towed back to the dock.

When you have proper precautions, and you employ your multimeter correctly, you can exist confident that your electronics will work correctly, and you will make it domicile safely.

Take a expect at this video from Dan Richard Fishing to become a visual clarification:

Testing A Battery With A Load Tester

Load testers are inexpensive. A recommended unit of measurement is the Steelman Load Tester. This model has a microprocessor, so y'all can count on an accurate reading. It is durable and includes a convenient digital display.

The purpose of a load exam is to decide the ability of the battery to maintain its effectiveness, not to but determine its charge level. Information technology determines the amps that are produced by a battery that is charged.

When doing a load test, first be sure that your bombardment is charged to 100 percent. Uninstall the battery earlier the exam. Allow the battery remain idle for an entire night.

Once this idle period is complete, connect the load tester to the bombardment. Connect the black wire on the load tester to the negative bombardment concluding. And then, connect the positive wire to the positive battery final.

Click the image for more info

You volition notice a selector on the load tester with cranking amp selections. Cull the setting that is half of the cranking amps of the battery.

Then if your battery has 800 cranking amps, for case, cull 400 on the load tester selector.

Push the kickoff button on the load tester. Run the load test for xv seconds. Record the voltage value and the cold cranking amp reading.

Await two or three minutes, then do the test again. You should strive for 3 to iv tests. This will give y'all an adequate sample.

You are looking to see if the cold cranking amp value on the load tester decreases to 80 percentage of half of the total cold cranking amps of the battery.

For example, if your battery has 800 cranking amps, one one-half would be 400. Eighty percent of 400 would be 320 cranking amps.

So if your load tester reading is 320 or less cranking amps, you take a bad battery.

The other critical reading is the voltage reading. If the voltage reading on the load tester goes below 12.4 volts, this likewise indicates that you accept a bad battery.

Of course, some load testers make the results even easier for y'all. These have a display that but tells y'all if the bombardment is proficient or bad.

Conclusion

So we have looked at three ways to tell if a marine bombardment is skilful.

Earlier testing the battery, be sure to wear protective wearable. Use goggles to protect your optics and a shirt with sleeves to protect your skin.

Start by observing your battery. Look for bulges and cracks. Cracks can lead to the battery leaking. Bulges indicate the possibility of the battery exploding.

A multimeter volition measure amperage and the electric current power of the battery. A load test volition reveal if the bombardment is property its power.

Consider performing the load test 3 to 4 times to get an adequate sample of the ability of the battery.

Once you know your battery is good, y'all tin concentrate on your ultimate goal: reeling in those succulent fish in the deep blue sea!

I created this site to help people – to help yous – with your gunkhole problems. Instead of helping one person at a time, I want this website to exist the "one-finish-shop" for everyone's canoeing concerns. Read more than.

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