Electrical Question

[Cris Ratzlaff]

Here is my problem... I have a Tracker Targa 2000 and it has 1 starting battery that all my electrical is hooked up to.(fish finder, lights, bilge, etc.) When fishing at night and I turn my nav. lights on and my instrument lights come on my voltage that is showing on my fish finder goes down to around 10 solts. Also the lights are just pretty dim. My starting battery has like 690 cranking amps and it also says RC 185. Is that reserve capacity? What can I do to help this problem? Is my battery bad? I have 2 trolling motor batteries that are not used very much because I don't use my trolling motor very much. Could I hook up 1 of my trolling motor batteries to my fuse panel to help out with my lighting and accessories? Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Lorenzo D]

What size is your motor. Yes I believe Rc is your reserve. How old is the battery? I would fully charge it then test it with a volt meter if your can. If the battery is week or dying the voltage will drop quickly. That is an indication that your battery is going dead. I know larger merc engines require 1000 cranking amps. Your battery is well below that. I would leave your trolling batteries dedicated to the trolling motor. You might need a new battery. Also check the water levels if it's a battery you need to maintain.

 

[Ralph Hayden]

You could hook up your FF to ONE of your trolling motor batteries, even though they're wired in series for a 24 volt system. Note how the diagram states to use the battery that has the negative trolling motor lead coming off of it. This will give you 12 volts only for the FF. Then you can use the on board charger to charge the TM batteries. Use an inline fuse holder on the positive cable with 16 gauge marine wire.
http://forums.iboats.com/electrical...ring-advice-24v-tm-12v-downrigger-328053.html

 

[Ralph Hayden]

I would wire it directly to the TM battery not the fuse panel.

 

[Cris Ratzlaff]

My motor is a 200 hp merc. My battery is a 2011 model. I follow the thought of hooking up FF to TM battery..... what about my nav lights? And do you all think I should get a bigger battery for my motor? Thanks!

 

[Lorenzo D]

The battery should be 1000 CCA. With the larger battery will also come a greater reserve. I run all pumps, 2 sonars, off the starting battery without issues. Nav lights should not be a problem. Unless you fish in the dark I rarely have them on. I guess no harm in trying sonar off trolling batteries. You can always change it back if the motor I'd sluggish after a day of fishing.

 

[Greg Meyer]

There are "isolators" available to manage charging while running the main motor. If you get a kicker (your other thread) you can use a garden tractor battery and run some of your accessories off that. A good marine mechanic who rigs pro walleye boats can help with the setup of four batteries (my setup).