Battery issues on my 2021 F285 - dealer replace or West Marine DIY?

[danielwjackson]

My 285 Freedom was brand new in June of 2021, so not quite 2.5 years old. I keep my boat on a lift in the Annapolis, MD area during the season, plugged into shore-power. Boat is winterized, wrapped and sits in a parking lot from late Nov to late April. Lately my batteries show about 11.5volts when I start it, even though they've been on shore-power 100% of the time that the boat is on the lift. Boat still starts, notwithstanding the <12volts of juice. Once running, I'm showing 12.5-14volts. Do I need new batteries? If so, my dealer is quoting me more than $300 per battery, which I assume includes install. West Marine has the equivalent battery for about $200 per battery. Are the West Marine branded batteries good quality? Is replacing the batteries as simple as disconnecting old, dropping in and reconnecting new? I appreciate the input.

 

[Hookup1]

Check the battery voltage with the charger connected and shore power on. You should see something close to 13.1 volts. If not look for a fuse on the charging cable from the battery. Voltage with engine running shows it's charging. Battery with no charging at < 12 volts is not good. A fully charged battery should be 12.8 volts.

I buy Duracell AGM 34M or 27M at Sam's Club. About $140 and $200 with a core exchange.

How are your other batteries? Have you checked electrolyte levels and topped off with distilled water?

 

[danielwjackson]

Check the battery voltage with the charger connected and shore power on. You should see something close to 13.1 volts. If not look for a fuse on the charging cable from the battery. Voltage with engine running shows it's charging. Battery with no charging at < 12 volts is not good. A fully charged battery should be 12.8 volts.

I buy Duracell AGM 34M or 27M at Sam's Club. About $140 and $200 with a code exchange.

How are your other batteries? Have you checked electrolyte levels and topped off with distilled water?

Thanks for the quick input. I'll check and let you know what I find.

 

[PointedRose]

You definitely can find cheaper than $300 per battery. You can (very likely) do the install yourself- just get a couple wire ties to make sure all wires go back on the correct place.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

After buying a incredible amount of flooded batteries between 2008 and 20021 and most died prematurely.
Either because of cheap crap brand or my negligence of charging them at least every month, so I replace all batteries for boats, cars, agriculture machines and my motorcycle with AGM batteries, most of them with Optima Spiral Cells.
They discharge at such a low rate that no recharging for 6 month winter is necessary nor will the suffer from non charging.
Beside the longer life, AGM's rarely produce hydrogen if overloaded and that is bad stuff to have in the bilge.

What I did (6 months Sardinia and six moths Costa Rica) and still do with the last two flooded ones and when I am not here for months is:
Have them all the months connected to a small NOCO battery charger with trickle mode when full, but the charger is connected to a timer what powers him for 2 hours a day.
When I come back the flooded batteries are in perfect shape and I they are from 2015.

All other AGM batteries stay all the months disconnected in the basement where temp is never less than 50°F

Chris

 

[Coastboater]

Are you measuring the 11.5v when you’re actively starting the engine(s)?
If so, the voltage drop when starting may be normal.
Are there any other symptoms of weak batteries, like electronics shutting down?

 

[wspitler]

On many GW boats the installed charger has a switch. I have missed that a few times. That would be something to check initially.

 

[Sauza45]

I just went through this on my boat, battery's measured 12.1 volts fully charged. was also getting gps signal unstable. Replace both battery's with west marine AGM. all go now.

 

[enfish]

Where are you measuring the battery voltage from? Are you putting a volt meter directly on the battery terminals, or are you reading off a gauge? If the latter, it's possible you've got a bad or loose connection somewhere between the gauge and battery and the batteries themselves are fine. Is the 11.5V you're reading while the batteries are resting or when the starter motor is engaged?

 

[DennisG01]

Disregard the "sticker" on a battery. What you need to know is who makes the battery. For wet cell batteries, Deka is (and has been) the best and most reliable (made by East Penn Manufacturing).

As others mentioned, need more info about the voltage you are seeing and how you are measuring to better help.

 

[JJF]

If you go the DYI route, make sure to bundle the wires (as suggested in post #4) and perhaps label them. It is VERY easy to get wires confused, miss a ground, etc. Good luck with it.

I would also suggest taking a few pictures.

 

[Father's Day]

I only have two batteries but I replaced them every year for peace of mind. Maybe stupid but that's what I do.

 

[Father's Day]

By the way, I get my batteries at West Marine

 

[danielwjackson]

Planning to put the boat up on the hard this week. They still measure <12volts. I'm getting the voltage reading on the Yamaha MFD before I start, after having been plugged into shore power. They still start, though I also have been getting the GPS unstable warning through the Yamy MFD. I've not been able to read voltage directly off the battery yet because I don't have a voltage reader. Probably going to just buy two new West Marine batteries in the spring as they will be about 3yrs old at that point. Thanks for all the help!

 

[seasick]

you need a digital voltmeter. You can get a cheap one at Harbor freight. The reading on the MFD is nit a good indication of battery voltage. I wouldn't buy new batteries without having the current ones tested. The big auto parts stores will usually load test batteries for free.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Probably going to just buy two new West Marine batteries in the spring as they will be about 3yrs old at that point.

Even Dino-Technology wet lead-acid batteries should last longer than 3 years if they where not run low or stored wrong during winter.

As above, the voltage on the MFD or wherever far from the battery is not necessarily the voltage of the battery itself, so buying two new batteries may not solve anything.
You should buy a 20$ multimeter and check the batteries on their poles, if that scares you than have that done and/or pull them and bring them to a battery store to have them tested.

The advantage of checking battery voltage and inside console/cabin voltage will reveal if there is a problem between the battery and the power distribution leading to a unhealthy voltage drop to your 12V powered instruments.
That should be corrected immediately and new batteries will not correct that!

Chris

 

[SkunkBoat]

Your MFD is showing the voltage at the MFD, not at the battery. Do your motors tilt up & down normally? Do they start? Your batteries are good.
If you get low volt alarms on your MFD, but your motors work fine, you have a poor connection. Often, starting a motor or raising a motor drops the voltage on your "House" 12V, causing an error or causing an MFD to shut off. If that is happening, and your motor starts fine, you have a connection problem. Look for green corrosion on the power plug pins, the fuse, the switch connections....the red button breaker... .
Does turning on more lights and pumps and things set off your MFD voltage alarm?

Measuring with a volt meter isn't a great way to test if a battery is good. Yes, less than 12 at a battery isn't good but that could be a charging problem, not a battery problem.
You can sometimes read 12v on a battery and run your electronics and it still won't start a motor. You need to load test to truly check a battery.

Boat builders rarely make physically working on batteries easy. Grady is no exception. But its not rocket science, its just awkward.

West Marine batteries are overpriced. Walmart is the place to go for Marine and RV batteries. (and thats coming from someone who hates Walmart.)

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I just replaced the batteries on my 228 Seafarer at the very end of the summer. I was hoping to be able to wait and get new ones in the late spring or early summer of next year so that they didn't just sit all winter, but no dice. Of which, if you're not using the boat over the winter, I'd maybe consider going that route and waiting until next spring to replace them, so they don't just sit all winter. I personally went with two Interstate brand 24M-XHD batteries from my local Interstate shop, they were around $150 a piece before the core charge. I guess time will tell as to how long they last, although one of the old ones I replaced was the exact same battery and it had a "3" punched out on the sticker. Not sure if that's indicating a 2013 purchase date, but if so that's 10 years of use and I'd be very happy with that. Not sure when the previous owner bought the batteries and I was initially looking at Costco for new ones but they only had Deep Cycle batteries and my boat is setup for having two Starting batteries.

 

[DennisG01]

Sick, Chris and Skunk all mentioned excellent info, so no need to repeat any of that. But definitely don't just go out and buy new batteries "blind". While that's good for the economy, you haven't done any testing to find the root of the problem. At this point, you don't even know if your charger is charging the batteries properly.

Get a voltmeter. As noted, it's not the be-all, end-all of testing equipment - but it can be very helpful and is the standard starting spot.

 

[glacierbaze]

Buy your batteries at Walmart, Sam’s, or Costco, and buy a voltage meter from Harbor freight.
This one has been posted here before, and will do everything that you need it to, and you shouldn’t come out of the store with less than three of them. Not because they malfunction, but because it will save you a lot of steps, or driving, when you don’t have one where you need it. One in the boat, one in your truck, one in your garage.

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