Charging a battery

[FREEDOM!!!]

So I did a dumb thing and forgot to turn off the battery last week and now battery #1 is dead. Battery #2 is fine and starts the engine no problem. How do I charge battery #1 back up? Should I leave the battery switch on #2 when running, 1+2, or switch it back over to #1 once I get the engine started? Wasn't sure if leaving it in the #2 position will charge #1.

 

[Hookup1]

Are you on shore power? Do you have a charger? If not the ProMariner ProSportHD 20 is a good choice.

The engine is capable of charging the battery it is connected to. But it takes hours if you really killed it. One running set 1 to #1 and 2 to #2.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

Are you on shore power? Do you have a charger? If not the ProMariner ProSportHD 20 is a good choice.

The engine is capable of charging the battery it is connected to. But it takes hours if you really killed it. One running set 1 to #1 and 2 to #2.

If I start the engine with #2 and keep the switch on #2 will it charge #1?

 

[Hookup1]

No.

 

[Coastboater]

Perhaps a wives tale, but I’ve always thought to never change the battery switch position while the engine is running. In your scenario, I would go to 1+2 or “both”, start the engine and go boating. You’ll be charging both batteries so half the available current going to each battery, but if the dead battery is still good it should charge enough to start the motor fairly quickly. if you’re running an upper rpm, the alternator can put out ~70 amps, depending on which engine. Once you’ve run for a while, turn engine off, switch to the dead batteries position and see if it’s strong enough to start. If it does, leave it, if not go back to “both”.

 

[seasick]

The rule is to not switch past OFF when operating the selector switch. So 1 to Both is OK, as is BOTH to 2.
I would start on the good battery and assuming you are going for a run, switch to BOTH then to 2 for a while. Running on BOTH with one dead discharged battery can actually drain the 1 battery a bit,
Run on 2 to see if it works and on the trip home, run on BOTH.

 

[SkunkBoat]

If they installed an Aux Charging cable then the motor would always charge both batteries.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

If they installed an Aux Charging cable then the motor would always charge both batteries.

I have no idea. It's a brand new Grady. Is that something Grady does from the factory?

 

[DennisG01]

"Most" battery switches installed nowadays are "make before break" meaning there is a never a dead spot when turning the switch between 1-2-Both. Obviously there's a dead spot when turning to OFF This means it's always OK switch the switch while the engine is running.

Freedom - you can either decipher the cables that are connected to your batteries to figure out if you have dual charging cables from the engine... or ask your dealer...

0r

Buy yourself a little voltmeter for under $20. It's a good tool to have, anyways. Use your voltmeter on #1 and see what the voltage is currently reading (don't worry, you can't hurt anything with it, and it really doesn't even matter if you hook up the leads backwards). Now, start the engine on #2 (and leave the switch on #2) and then use your voltmeter on #1again - if you now see a much higher voltage, that tells that both batteries will be charged regardless of the battery switch.

 

[Coastboater]

As another poster mentioned, If you have ac power where you store your boat invest in an onboard battery charger. It doesn’t have to be a high amperage unit. 5 amps per channel is plenty.
I‘ve had the Noco Genius on a couple boats and they’ve worked fine. Also had a Guest brand that worked well. The Noco has settings for standard, AGM and Lithium batteries, individually selectable for each bank so you can mix battery types if you wanted.
I like to use a Marinco bulkhead fitting for powering the charger and makes for a clean set up.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Unfortunately it seems dealers rarely install Aux cables even though damn near every Grady has Yamaha that offer them. Look for a third wire (red) to the battery 2 coming from motor.
You can get one from Yamaha or you can get an ACR from Blue Seas. Look for "mini Add a Battery kit".

with either of those you’ll always be charging both batteries when the motor is running

Then...
If you use the boat every weekend or two, you won't ever need a shore power charger
Just use switch position 1 when you boat, turn it off when you leave. batt 2 will nevr get used and always be ready for emergency use.
Never use Both.

 

[Beyond A Wake]

Hmm,
that made me wonder. I would have assumed that both batteries always are charged when running the engines. All motors have alternators I assume so in my case there are three of them.
On AC charger side there are several outputs from charger so essentially one for each battery bank (group) and they are individually monitored. I would assume Freedom also has a factory installed charger. With that one you can be sure of getting them charged.
Also if you have a CL7 Yamaha display you would see each motor and its battery V level. An empty battery would show higher volts being charged than a full one would.
Also if you have flooded batteries (mine came with those) check the water level since a charge of an empty battery heats it up and it would loose some water.
SO ultimate question if you did not turn batteries off, what loads were on the battery that drained it?
In my case I drain a battery over a weekend if left on and I have not yet concluded what other drains there are except Radio as I leave it on so I would not leave boat without turnong batteries off. I had however in this case turned the volume down so I missed it.......

Good luck Getting it all going, I am sure the battery will recover.
H

 

[SkunkBoat]

Hmm,
that made me wonder. I would have assumed that both batteries always are charged when running the engines. All motors have alternators I assume so in my case there are three of them.
On AC charger side there are several outputs from charger so essentially one for each battery bank (group) and they are individually monitored. I would assume Freedom also has a factory installed charger. With that one you can be sure of getting them charged.
Also if you have a CL7 Yamaha display you would see each motor and its battery V level. An empty battery would show higher volts being charged than a full one would.
Also if you have flooded batteries (mine came with those) check the water level since a charge of an empty battery heats it up and it would loose some water.
SO ultimate question if you did not turn batteries off, what loads were on the battery that drained it?
In my case I drain a battery over a weekend if left on and I have not yet concluded what other drains there are except Radio as I leave it on so I would not leave boat without turnong batteries off. I had however in this case turned the volume down so I missed it.......

Good luck Getting it all going, I am sure the battery will recover.
H

he has a single motor, two separate batteries.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Depending on how accessible your batteries are... I'd disconnect the dead battery, remove it and then charge it up outside the boat overnight or however long it takes to charge up again. Or, you could turn off your battery switch and hook up a battery charger to the dead battery while still installed in the boat. My concern though would be the battery itself and if it can be revived as well as what drained the battery in the first place? Sure, the battery switch was left on but that shouldn't drain the battery in a week or even a couple unless you had something in the boat still powered on like accessories.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

Depending on how accessible your batteries are... I'd disconnect the dead battery, remove it and then charge it up outside the boat overnight or however long it takes to charge up again. Or, you could turn off your battery switch and hook up a battery charger to the dead battery while still installed in the boat. My concern though would be the battery itself and if it can be revived as well as what drained the battery in the first place? Sure, the battery switch was left on but that shouldn't drain the battery in a week or even a couple unless you had something in the boat still powered on like accessories.

Unfortunately, it's a real problem getting to the batteries on the Freedom. They really tuck them in behind a small panel on the transom. I hope I never have to pull one out. I think what drained the battery was the stereo. I never turn it off, just turn the battery off.

 

[DennisG01]

Unfortunately, it's a real problem getting to the batteries on the Freedom. They really tuck them in behind a small panel on the transom. I hope I never have to pull one out. I think what drained the battery was the stereo. I never turn it off, just turn the battery off.

When you turn the battery off, that should kill power to the stereo. The battery switch is like a master switch or a "double check" that all things are off. Leaving them switched on doesn't really matter (although it's best practice to always to turn them off).

 

[seasick]

When I am just about finished closing up the boat after a trip, I press the horn switch. If the batteries are off , the horn will not beep.

 

[wspitler]

The only items left powered with switches off are the bilge pump(s) and the stereo memory and possibly, as on my 330, the VHF FM marine radio. I wired the VHF in case of a switch failure and the need to contact USCG or other assistance.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I typically always double check to make sure that I turned the battery switch into the off position when leaving the boat out on the buoy, especially the first couple times doing that for the summer. If I don't double check the battery switch, I'll press the button for the outboard motor tilt to make sure that everything is off. In the past, I've also run through a quick checklist in my head where I check all the switches, GPS and all other accessories to make sure nothing is left on and I've never had an issue before. Though again, the first handful of times out for the summer I tend to be a little rusty and have to remind myself more than once to make sure everything is turned off as I haven't done that all winter.

 

[JJF]

"The only items left powered with switches off are the bilge pump(s) and the stereo memory and possibly, as on my 330, the VHF FM marine radio. I wired the VHF in case of a switch failure and the need to contact USCG or other assistance."


This is the most correct setup; just need to remember to power off/down the VHF.

I like leaving my stereo on and using it as an audio queue to let me know I shut the main battery switches (i.e. no music when leaving the boat means batteries are off).