Battery Charger died, Batteries went flat. Are they still OK?

Greg

Greg

Active Member
Mar 27, 2008
1,310
North Jersey
Boat Info
2003 480 Sedan Bridge
Engines
QSM-11's
I went to the boat Saturday and had no voltage on either battery, DVM showed 0.0 volts. They were probably like that for a while (1 week maybe). What are the odds that they are now junk? I just bought them last year.

They are standard 8D, wet cells.

I checked the fluid levels and put a charger on them. I guess I'll see if they hold a charge.

Luckily I still had the old ones that I took out last year, so I was able to put them back in, so we could go out this weekend. I stuck battery chargers on them so we could use the lights and such while anchored.

I removed the broken charger, haven't opened it up yet, but I see charred PCB inside. It is a Progressive Dynamics PD2050.
 
"0" volts sounds odd- how long had they been sitting? Was there a drain on both batteries (accessories) that would have pulled them down to nothing?

You say the charger was broken- perhaps it fried the batteries before it croaked?
 
If they have to have a charger on them full time to stay "up", and they go to 0 volts shortly after the charger stops doing it's job, you have a serious voltage drain somewhere! This may actually be the cause of the charger failure. You need to find that voltage drain and fix it before installing the new charger, or you will have more of the same in your future.
 
You may want to get a bigger converter when you replace this one. The PD2050 is 50A and is barely adequate for the 12v budget on the 480DB... and you'll cycle the batteries even if the converter/charger is on. You may want to look at this one as a replacement:

http://www.defender.com/realproduct.jsp?path=-1|328|985|316472&id=791415

I don't know if your batteries are shot but taking a wet cell down to 0 like that is not good and it'll never be the same... Get some AGMs...
 
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Were your batteries Deep Cycle or just starter batteries? If they were deep cycle they ought to recover OK.
 
They probably sat about a week. I was thinking about getting a bigger charger, I checked around a little bit. I hadn't seen that ProMariner one, I like the remote display also. But, I already have another 2050 on the way.

Maybe if these batteries wind up being shot, I'll get some AGM's and that charger.

I think I should also look into LED lighting, just all the lights alone suck some serious juice.
 
Greg said:
I think I should also look into LED lighting, just all the lights alone suck some serious juice.
Click to expand...

Exactly... a few years ago I was replacing some of the lights and noticed they said "20 watt" in the fixture but there were only 10 watt bulbs in them from Sea Ray. So, being the guy who wants upgrades, I replaced all the halogens in the boat with 20 watt bulbs... only to find that the converter/charger couldn't keep up with the new "lighting budget" and the batteries went dead with the PD2050 turned on. Drawing 1.7 Amps per bulb and having about 20-30 of them running plus all the other 12v stuff didn't work for a 50 Amp converter... So much for getting that sun tan while sitting inside the boat.
 
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Well, the batteries seem to be ok. I charged them with a fancy battery charger that desulfates them. Left them off charge for a day, voltage held. Put them back in the boat with the replacement charger, all seemed good for almost a week. Today I went down to the boat and the charger was dead again. I wondered if there was a short or something that is killing the chargers. I measured the following loads:

Battery switches off:
B1: 30mA
B2: 20mA

Battery switches on:
B1: 1500mA
B2: 370mA

These numbers seem reasonable to me. The radios and such get power all the time. 1.5 amps sounds a little high but not terrible, certainly not enough to kill a 50 amp charger.

The charger was a remanufactured one from the OEM. I wonder if it was just defective?

I now have that 60 amp ProMariner on order. I hope it comes in time for the AC trip.
 
Greg,

Let me know if I can be of any help on the install.

Jim Mitchell
ProMariner
Manager, Technical Services Group
603-766-7603
 
Jim,

Got the charger just in time for the AC trip, so far it is working great. I had to relocate some things on the bulkhead as this charger is quite a bit longer than the original. It seems to be of much much higher quality though. I am thinking now of getting the remote display. By the way, the silk by the connector on the PCB says "Remove Display".

Here's a few questions:

1) Does the polarity on the remote temp sensor matter?

2) Is there a manual for the display that you could send me, I couldn't find one online.

3) What can you do with the remote display? Does it show all 3 voltages/currents?

4) I read a post about you reprogramming the backlight to default on. What is that about?
 
Greg said:
Jim,

Got the charger just in time for the AC trip, so far it is working great. I had to relocate some things on the bulkhead as this charger is quite a bit longer than the original. It seems to be of much much higher quality though. I am thinking now of getting the remote display. By the way, the silk by the connector on the PCB says "Remove Display".

Here's a few questions:

1) Does the polarity on the remote temp sensor matter?

2) Is there a manual for the display that you could send me, I couldn't find one online.

3) What can you do with the remote display? Does it show all 3 voltages/currents?

4) I read a post about you reprogramming the backlight to default on. What is that about?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay
1) No it does not matter.

2) Yes please email me so that I can send it to you.

3) It displays total output from the charger voltage and amperage as well as others things.

4) The default is off and some perfer it on all the time.

As always call me with any questions 603.766.7603 direct line.

Jim
 
Well... I think my OEM PD2050 converter is shot... or just a piece of crap. The thing only outputs about 10v when I'm trying to draw 30A. I guess being a "50A" converter/charger doesn't mean it'll output 12.5+ v over that range (sarcasm). With all my 12v network stuff, I draw the batteries down even with the converter running.

I think I'll order a Pronautic 1260 today.. The prices out there are all over the place for some reason.
 
That Pronautic 1260 is still working great for me. I think you will like it. I had to relocate the circuit breakers, due to the larger size.
You will also want to get big, #6?, ring terminals to attach the wires to the charger. It doesn't have a terminal block like the PD2050.

I still do not have the remote display, but I guess I really don't need it. Just thought it would be nice to have.
 
Just an FYI... the hydraulic pump for the swim platform does not go down at 11volts... but will come up at 11 volts.
 
Oh yeah, I remember that now, that happened to me when my charger died. The warning beeper sounded, but no movement.
 
Yeah... I was about ready to shoot the boat last night thinking I had yet another hydraulic problem... checked the voltage at the hydraulic pump and only had 11 volts... and then my mac mini turned off due to low voltage... so it seems to be a dying/crappy charger. Turned off all the 12v stuff and let the batteries come back up and the platform worked fine.
 
Gary, you'll like the Pronautic. I have the 1240. I also have the remote display. I still have not sent it back to be reprogrammed to be 'backlit' when turned on. I also wish it showed the state of charge for each bank it's charging. I only use two of the three banks currently. I recently installed 2-6V golf carts batteries and it seems to bring them back to full charge pretty quickly.
 
My 60A ProMariner came in this morning... It's from Jim at BOE so he probably spit on it before it shipped out.

I'm going to head down to the boat after work and see if I can do this in 2 hours or less. HA!
 
Got this thing in today. This is one of the best upgrades I've done. I cranked up all the 12v stuff - lights, computers, livewell, etc. and the cabin panel showed 48 Amps being drawn while still showing 12.5v on the meter. I've never been able to do that. If you have a 480 DB and the original PD2050 piece of crap... upgrade to this Promariner charger. I should have done this years ago.
 
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