deep cycle batterie problems

josephsiracusa

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
49
hi, i have 2 batteries deep cycle both being group 27.... 1 year old running in parallel........just recentley batteries are failing even after a complete charge.....the only way to get the batteries to work ,,,,is to turn on the battery charger at the dock through the a c system on the boat. once battery charger is turned on all electronics do work...the moment we turn off the a c breaker which turns the battery chager on and off .....all the electronics dont work,,,,,,when we are cruising and engine is running all electronics work....when we anchor after about 5 mins all electronics die out.....i took out batteries and noticed the cells all have different colour fluid,,,,,one cell has a transparent colour liquid.....the other a brown orange colour (looks like rust or corrosion) and the other cell a milky colour.......the levels of liquid are where the should be covering the plates....>>>>i just finished fully charging batteries i will take them in to where i bought them for a load test and inspection of the different colour fluids......does anyone know what went wrong....what happened ? why...please post replies thank you
 

UncleWillie

Captain
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
3,995
The Acid in the cells should be as clear as water and filled just the the bottom of the slots in the sides of the holes in the battery.
It sound like they are contaminated. Seawater?

Remove the batteries from the boat and test them separately.
They should measure ~12.6 volts at rest. If either one is below 10v, it is gone.
While charging, expect to measure >14 volts.
Immediately after charging you should see the voltage pass through the 13 volt range over the next few hours until it levels out around 12.6 volts.
A day later it may drop to 12.5, but certainly not less than 12.4 within a week.

If the batteries measure up, the problem is with something in the boat discharging them.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
hi, i have 2 batteries deep cycle both being group 27.... 1 year old running in parallel........just recentley batteries are failing even after a complete charge.....the only way to get the batteries to work ,,,,is to turn on the battery charger at the dock through the a c system on the boat. once battery charger is turned on all electronics do work...the moment we turn off the a c breaker which turns the battery chager on and off .....all the electronics dont work,,,,,,when we are cruising and engine is running all electronics work....when we anchor after about 5 mins all electronics die out.....i took out batteries and noticed the cells all have different colour fluid,,,,,one cell has a transparent colour liquid.....the other a brown orange colour (looks like rust or corrosion) and the other cell a milky colour.......the levels of liquid are where the should be covering the plates....>>>>i just finished fully charging batteries i will take them in to where i bought them for a load test and inspection of the different colour fluids......does anyone know what went wrong....what happened ? why...please post replies thank you

How old are the batteries?
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
Is the charger a modern smart charger or the old school buzz box? The buzz box will cook the batteries in short order if left plugged in all the time.
 
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