House (Leisure) Battery Failure

[Cbjroms]

Purchased my boat from a dealer in September last year. The boat was new in December 2014 and so was less than one year old.

When I got the boat home (sat on the drive waiting for Spring) I noticed that the House battery was flat and plugged the boat into shore power and have left it connected since then.

The boat is fitted with a CTEK M200 charger which, as I understand, can be safely left running continuously.

Today, being a lovely day here on the South coast, I went out to the boat and disconnected the shore power. But having turned-on the main switches there is no House battery power at all. A voltmeter across the battery shows that it was only holding about 2volts! Re-connecting the shore power I can see that the voltage across the battery is starting to climb again.

My question is whether a battery usually fails like this? Also would it be reasonable for me to expect the dealer from whom I purchased the boat to cover the cost of a new battery?

 

[RAI]

Sounds like the battery was already dead when you first found it flat.
Talk to the dealer nicely, maybe he has a soft heart.

 

[CX54WEK]

Or just buy a new battery. They are not that expensive!

 

[BruceK]

You will most likely find that the warranty covers manufacturers defects, but not if you allowed it to discharge below recommended levels. Given the age of the battery you'd also probably find that the warranty is no longer a swapout replacement but pro rata use. Given the cost of the battery is it worth the agro? Just replace it and check your battery isolater etc is functional and bypass items like bilge pumps (especially the auto scavenge type) havent contributed to the failure.

 

[Cbjroms]

Just spoken to Exide (battery is an Exide EG1102) who were really helpful. At 2 volts the battery is dead and cannot be revived. Batteries, apparently, usually fail mechanically and then show something like 10.5 volts. My battery has either been allowed to over discharge (as advised above - thank you) or has been overcharged. How can I test for the latter in order to avoid damaging the replacement?

 

[CX54WEK]

Voltmeter.

 

[Anders_P42]

If the house battery has been flat for a long period, it will be next to useless. Was it charged through winter at all?

 

[BruceK]

Difficult to do with the charger you have. Usually easier when there is a built in Amp meter. Without getting into technical jargon I usually watch the amp meter. If the charger is holding the battery to ~14.5 volts as the battery charges the required amps to hold it at 14.5V drops in proportion until it's about 2 - 300 milliamps and a visual check to see the battery isn't boiling (i.e. too many amps been fed) early in the process (if opaque) This is extremely simplistic, but is good enough for a casual inspection. From there it gets way over my head, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who can give you the real low down.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Sounds like the battery was already dead when you first found it flat.
Talk to the dealer nicely, maybe he has a soft heart.

+1 .. if you don't ask, you don't get, but I wouldn't expect a positive response...