paradis
08-07-2006, 10:48 AM
I have a dual battery setup. One to start the engine, and one for everything else. I recently replaced this second battery with a deep cycle battery. The previous one was a 'dual purpose' style and only lasted a year. Nothing else has been changed that I know of.
My problem is that in about 7 days this battery is dead!? The old battery had no problem that I know of other than the fact that it did not last long. Nothing else has been changed in the electrical system. I have one pair of very large gage wires that go up front to a fuse panel. From there the power is distributed through 4 fuses. When the boat is off and sitting in my driveway, I get 12.5V or so at the input side to this termial block. I put a meter across the 4 fuses and get 0.0 Volts......ie, there is nothing left on or draining the battery.
When I went out the other day this battery was dead. I have the old 'original' charging system and not a belt driven alternator. I turned the isolator switch on to charge it and the meter on the dash showed 12.0 V or so. Concerned, I went back and turned the switch off and the ammeter jumped up to 13.5V or so.....When a battery is deeply discharged shouldn't the ammeter be reading 13.5V or something high? The ammeter slowly climbed to @ 12.5-12.8V after running for over 2 hours.
Any idea why is this battery dying? Do deep cycles discharge and go dead quicker than dual purpose batteries?
My problem is that in about 7 days this battery is dead!? The old battery had no problem that I know of other than the fact that it did not last long. Nothing else has been changed in the electrical system. I have one pair of very large gage wires that go up front to a fuse panel. From there the power is distributed through 4 fuses. When the boat is off and sitting in my driveway, I get 12.5V or so at the input side to this termial block. I put a meter across the 4 fuses and get 0.0 Volts......ie, there is nothing left on or draining the battery.
When I went out the other day this battery was dead. I have the old 'original' charging system and not a belt driven alternator. I turned the isolator switch on to charge it and the meter on the dash showed 12.0 V or so. Concerned, I went back and turned the switch off and the ammeter jumped up to 13.5V or so.....When a battery is deeply discharged shouldn't the ammeter be reading 13.5V or something high? The ammeter slowly climbed to @ 12.5-12.8V after running for over 2 hours.
Any idea why is this battery dying? Do deep cycles discharge and go dead quicker than dual purpose batteries?