CaptainB

Tom, when you say make "make sure the onboard charger isn’t over charging" is that as simple as attaching a multimeter to the battery terminals when the charger is charging to check the voltage and amperage then making sure it turns off (I've only used it to check volts)? Unfortunately I've lost my manual and receipt so I'm not sure what the charging profiles of my charger are supposed to be. I think it should still be under warranty if it's not charging correctly. Would a damaged battery cause an automatic charger to appear to be overcharging? It's a 20 amp 3 bank charger and the way I think it's supposed or work is adjust the charge rate as needed so if one battery is damaged I wonder if it would be dumping higher amps into it. Shimano_1, I checked my compartment again today. It's 39 inches wide with my pump hoses on the left side and I just don't see how I could come up with 2 more inches to upgrade to a 27 cranking battery much less a 31. I looked at the specs on the Duracell 31 and that looks perfect for our engine. Mine's aluminum too, a Lowe Stinger 188. I have a 9" screen on the console and 5" on the bow and if I was staying in one spot for a while I had to put the 9" in standby or it would drain mine (not so much the first year but this year the battery became noticeably weaker).

Yep, I checked my charger and it says it works with either lead acid or AGM batteries. I also asked the guy at batteries plus and he thought it would work. I didn't order them yet though as they don't place the factory order until Thur. and then they would be in the following Tuesday. I might go with something different if I can find them sooner.

Thanks for all of the replies. Thanks for the battery recommendations. I thought it seemed early for the batteries to be leaking too. The batteries came with the boat and are Golden Eagle lead acid batteries. I installed a Cabela's 20A 3 bank charger last year so since it's fairly new I don't think it's over charging them. I have used interstate batteries on another boat and never had a problem with them leaking at all so I thought maybe it's the brand of batteries or maybe these have been beat on more. What made me notice was I slammed a 3 foot wake straight on so I was looking a bit more closely when I plugged in the charger that night. I keep meaning to put the jumper cables in for an emergency but haven't yet researched if I attach them to 1 battery that is run in series with another to produce 24v if that would only provide 12v since it's only attached to the 1 battery. I'll check that with my multimeter this week. My trolling batteries are 27s but unfortunately I don't think I can fit a bigger cranking battery. I hadn't thought about building my own lithium battery. I think that's a little beyond me right now. I'd be afraid I'd do something wrong and it would catch on fire like some of the Tesla's used to. The Sam's club near me is out of the Duracells. Batteries plus has these https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/sli27magmd on their website. I'm going to call them to make sure they have them and if so try them for the trolling batteries. I'm going to try this one for the cranking battery https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/sli24agmdpm. Wow, that's a lot for batteries. I hope they will last 3 times longer than my others. If they start having problems in 2 years at least they will be under warranty.

Hello, I have 3 batteries (2 trolling and 1 cranking) that are around 2.5 years old. They are all leaking a little which caused the straps on the trolling motor batteries to break. I don't want to deal with leaking batteries any more so I'm going to replace them with AGM batteries (I looked at lithium batteries but they are out of my price range). My engine calls for 800 CCA or 65 Ah. Most of the group 24 AGM batteries I have looked at have well under 800 CCA but more than 65 Ah. I found a few AGM batteries that have more than 800 CCAs but they are $100 more. My question is are any of you running your Mercury 115 4 stroke on a battery with less than 800 CCA but more than 65 Ah and if so is it starting just as quickly as before or have you had issues? I fish a lot by myself far away from the boat ramp and my cranking battery also runs my sonar, nav lights and pumps so I'm leaning towards spending the extra $100 over the regular AGM batteries to cover both the CCA and Ah requirements. Thanks, Bryan

Thanks Russ! I was able to tighten my positive battery cable just a bit and have had my boat out several times without experiencing the fault. How occasional was your alarm? I'm just wondering if I should still take it to the dealer or wait and see if it happens again. I still have a 8 months of warranty left. Thanks, Bryan

Hi, I got this exact error " yesterday on my 2018 Pro XS at 5900 RPM. I know this post is 3 years old but hoping you will see this and let me know what the issue was. Thanks, Bryan