Terrova or battery issues?

[talltimber]

I have a 80# Terrova w/Ipilot. Battery charge tester on the unit is not working (batteries were not COMPLETELY dead), no lights at all. Today I was trolling around and noticed the mph on the remote would disappear, apparently during low voltage to the trolling motor.
I have a Schumacher charger that if it shows a 100% charge, sometimes you can unhook it, and reconnect, and it shows something else. (Today is was 65%)
Anyone have any problems like any of this before, particularly with the TM?

[slabkeeper]

i have the same setup except different charger.my remote does same thing.sounds like weak batteries or not charged all the way.try a different charger, maybe a trickle charger and see how it performs then.

[blueball]

my power drive does same thing when batteries are low

[talltimber]

Ok, good. I got another charger last night. Checked it this morning and at least the battery test LED's are coming on now, but are very dim. Charger has been on since 9:00 last night. I guess we'll see what happens. What I don't get is that the percent charge on the charger will say 100%, unplug it and reconnect, says 97% and starts charging again. I guess it's better than the sixty some-odd that the old one would indicate. Aggravating, but at least it's not the tm.

[rockmike]

You may need to load test your batteries.

[CatFan]

Ok, good. I got another charger last night. Checked it this morning and at least the battery test LED's are coming on now, but are very dim. Charger has been on since 9:00 last night. I guess we'll see what happens. What I don't get is that the percent charge on the charger will say 100%, unplug it and reconnect, says 97% and starts charging again. I guess it's better than the sixty some-odd that the old one would indicate. Aggravating, but at least it's not the tm.

Chargers determine state of charge by measuring the current the battery draws. When the charger first powers up, it has to apply enough voltage to see how much current the battery will draw, so it starts at a higher charger rate and then steps down as it sees the battery charge. When the charger sees the battery draw go down, it lowers its voltage and goes to maintenance.

A charger is like the thermostat in a house. There is a difference in the current where it starts charging and stops charging so it doesn't constantly cycle back and forth. Disconnecting disrupts it.

Get a voltmeter and measure the batteries. You should see at least 12.65V after they've been off the charger overnight.

[Fisherman_Wantabe]

Ok, good. I got another charger last night. Checked it this morning and at least the battery test LED's are coming on now, but are very dim. Charger has been on since 9:00 last night. I guess we'll see what happens. What I don't get is that the percent charge on the charger will say 100%, unplug it and reconnect, says 97% and starts charging again. I guess it's better than the sixty some-odd that the old one would indicate. Aggravating, but at least it's not the tm.

Don't for sure if it's true or not but I've told to disconnect MK TM from battery when charging, the TM stays on all the time when it's connected to battery. So it will be pulling some current all the time. Doing this I have had no problems getting the battery fully charged, and when I reconnect to TM battery test lights always lights up full charge. Just my 2 cents, it may not make any difference.

[blueball]

i heard just the power drive still draws current when stowed but the terrova will shutoff when stowed

[gabowman]

Is your trolling motor wired with 6 ga. wire and I'm assuming you do have it connected to 24 volt? It sounds like the battery power (or lack of) to me. I have the V2 and MinnKota says with the I-pilot installed it still draws power. I didnt read up on the terrova though.

["G"]

i heard just the power drive still draws current when stowed but the terrova will shutoff when stowed

You are exactly right!