And what's wring with the battery???

[Guest]

For me the whole point is ....

The original post was of course misleading - BUT still everyone jumped to conclusions that battery was duff ........ NO-ONE thought to say .... check all connections etc. Which in fact is first thing to do .... doesn't matter if they are tight - they can still have so much resistance through them that they are effectively NOT connected.
Webcraft found after checking better 0 that his earth lead was badly connected - if he had taken the advice of most posts - he would have emptied his wallet needlesly.

My post about my Mercedes Truck Batterys and also my Boat engine at Newport show that there are other ways and means .... it's not always a doom ridden solution.

OK - so Webcraft may be a bit unfair in latter posts - buts till he seved himself a load of dosh .......... good for him.

Sorry to say it - but maybe its a lesson to all to not rush to the cheque book answer >>>>?????

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Stoaty]

Re: But it wasn\'t . . .

What was actually said was this.

[ QUOTE ]
Domestic battery showing no charge, engine battery (1) fine. When we got back on the mooring the domestic battery showed 12 volts, but put anything on and it dropped away rapidly to eight or less. Back up to twelve and a wee bittie when no load on it.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's OK though. I am used to people not understanding me when I talk batteries. I know what I am talking about. My father made them for 40 years.

The big fact is this 95% of battery failures are caused by over discharging and poor maintenance by owners. people do not like being told that they probably knackered their battery.

If you don't use your battery once a week. then you should charge with a smart charger at least once every 10 days.

[ QUOTE ]
1.5. For batteries not in weekly use, people kill more deep cycle and starting batteries with bad charging practices than die of old age. To prevent permanent sulfation and especially in hot weather, in a well ventilated area, keep your battery continuously connected to a "smart" or float charger matched to the battery type or recharge your battery whenever it drops below 80% State-of-Charge (SoC). A cheap, unattended, unregulated "trickle" charger can destroy your battery by overcharging it.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
1.12. For deep cycle batteries, avoid a shallow discharges (less than 10%) or deep discharges (below 20% State-of-Charge or 12.0 VDC). This could prematurely kill them. Using an adjustable low voltage disconnect set at 20% State-of-Charge or approximately 12.0 VDC or more will increase the batteries' service life and help protect the batteries and valuable electronic and electrical appliances.

[/ QUOTE ]

More here http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq1.htm

 

[Joe_Cole]

Re: For me the whole point is ....

Agreed! I'm all for saving cash when I can, and I'm glad he has saved himself a few bob.

I just don't think the replies were very...shall we say....gracious.

 

[webcraft]

Re: Ungraciousness

Deepest apologies if I have been churlish in my replies - this was not intentional. My later posts were intended to indicate that the previous voltage indications were in fact misleading. Voltages I qouted initially were taken from the switch panel voltmeter . When I actually metered the battery terminals directly no such voltage drop occurred, and it became obvious that the story told by the voltmeter was a bunch of porkies.

Just another confusing earth fault really. No-one asked me where/how I had measured the voltage though, did they? And no-one suggested a dodgy earth connection . . . although previous car electric problems suggested this to me as a possibility.

I think this all goes to show that electrical fault diagnosis requires the asking of more questions rather than jumping to conclusions based on evidence from unknown or dubious sources (namely me and the switch panel voltmeter on Fairwinds).

This isn't churlish is it? Neither is being pleased at having got to the bottom of the problem myself in spite of my own ignorance . . . or is it? Expertise is fine, but diagnosis is a skill in itself.

If not having rushed out and bought a new battery on the advice of people who undoubtedly know more than me about electrics is churlish then I apologise unreservedly. I am stil not going to buy a new battery however, as I fully expect both my batteries to last another couple of years at least. The Aerogen plus regulator ensures that the batteries are usually well looked after, and it is going back on tomorrow.

One thing I am curious about - the indicator window which shows green, white or red - how does that work and how reliable is it?

- Nick

 

[Stoaty]

Re: For me the whole point is ....

Your all missing the point. He has only saved a few bob for a short while. that battery WILL fail soon. He has an unreliable battery. Let's hope it fails when he's tied up to the pontoon.

I have seen thousands of batteries that have failed after being deeply discharged. Seeing 8 volts at any time means it is too far discharged, it has gone outside it's service parameters and it will fail soon.

Why dosen't anyone listen to someone who knows.

 

[Stoaty]

Re: Ungraciousness

The indicator window only reflects what is going on in one of your cells not all of them. You can have a battery where the indicator is green but one or more of the other cells are either sulphated or suffering distorted plates. In these circumstances the battery can be in a very very poor condition but the indicator will fool you into thinking otherwise and you'll go off checking starter motors, solenoids etc.....

 

[Joe_Cole]

Re: Ungraciousness

Nick,

I must admit that I was surprised by your replies as you do not normally come across like that. Let's put it down to over-exuberance because you had sorted it out yourself (well done, by the way!)!

I've just had a look back through the thread and, in fact, most people were saying get it charged and tested rather than simply saying get a new battery. Whilst the crisis is over, it may still be worth thinking of getting it tested when you have some spare time. Over the winter I tested my battery which was working fine but 5 years old. It turned out to be working at only a little more than 40% of capacity. I bought a new one; not worth taking the risk at sea.

I do wholeheartedly agree with you about not spending money unnecessarily!

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Re: Ungraciousness

If you take your batteries to a garage to be tested, do they charge you for it? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'm sorry. I'll go back to sleep now.

 

[Joe_Cole]

Re: Ungraciousness

Very good!

At risk of labouring the point though. He needs to do a capacity check to test the battery. I doubt if many garages would know what that is, yet alone know how to do it. It's an easy DIY job which has all been explained in detail on this forum in the past. A search will reveal all.

 

[Guest]

Dear Stoaty ....

Sorry but no-ones really missing the point and no-ones arguing about your knowledge ................... I certainly bow to it - as I only can fit / throw away batterys - know little about them .... except keep 'em charged.

The point about his batterys - he later found that they were NOT discharged to levels indicated - that in fact they were at higher good levels. The whole problem revolved around a poor connection.

Lets say we all jumped in feet first and got wet !!

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[webcraft]

Re: All my fault

. . . for providing an incomplete and confusing account of the event. A case of post in haste, repent at leisure. However, having followed the original post up with more info and further diagnosis I would have thought people might have realised that their initial diagnosis was based on incomplete information.

[As explained and at the risk of sounding repetitive, I later measured the voltage at the battery and while the voltmeter on the switch panel continued to show a huge drop when a load was applied the voltage across the battery did not vary. This is when I checked all the terminals and found a loose earth connection.]

Once again, apologies to anyone who was offended, please don't let it discourage you from offering advice . . . even to me . . . but lectrickery is so complicated that maybe you should have asked me some more questions first, like 'how do you know what the voltage was? Where did you measure it?' etc . . . people asking for advice on subjects they are hazy about may often have failed to give a complete description of the problem. Good doctors know this and ask lots of questions before making a diagnosis.

Also, there are always alternatives to spending money. I would rather have resigned myself to a one-battery system temporarily rather than given up a week of our Summer cruise. Spending money is usually not the only answer to a problem. Just as well, or I wouldn't be sailing!

Hopefully all contributors have learned something from this thread . . . one of the longest I've started, anyone would thing it was a Colregs post . . .

- Nick