Terrova - Battery Charger question

Installed the Minn Kota MK 440D battery charger this week. Minn Kota list the "recovery time" as 4-6 hours. Took about 14 hours to charge batteries from absolutely, stone cold, bonefied "dead" condition. Minn Kota Maximizer showed fully charged. Got to lake and Maximixer showed nothing. No light at all. Trolled 6 1/2 hours in hurricane conditions before batteries died. I'm talking 10 on the wind pucker factor scale. Plugged the charger in at 5 PM yesterday, at 7 AM this morning the charger is in absorption mode; which is the last 25% of charging cycle.
Now the questions:
Is 14 hours to charge normal? If it is, that's not gonna work.
What's up with the Maximizer?
Is 6 1/2 hours trolling time normal? I'm gonna estimate 9 hours in normal conditions. But I hoped longer.
If all this is normal I better be researching a trolling plate for a 90 HP Yammy.

I have a MinnKota MK 330D battery charger.....I have two heavy duty commercial Group 31 deep cycle marine batteries ( all group 31's are not alike). I run a Terrova 24 volt 80 lb. thrust TM.......I can pull cranks all day in the wind and still have battery left......My charger brings me back up to full charge over night no problem. You must have someting not right....how old are your batteries etc.? Are they the same size and age?

If your batteries were as dead as you say, you may have a bad cell or too.

G, in all fairness, saying the wind was blowing at Sardis yesterday would be the understatement of the year. It was treacherous. I have three new Group 31 deep cycle marine batteries. It's my understanding the Minn Kota battery chargers will indicate a bad battery.

As far as the Maximizer, they aren't what they wee when they first came out. I have been disappointed in mine not performing the way I think it ought to. Most likely will have to upgrade to an 80 pound thrust before its over. Batts are ticky sometimes and it takes a little to find a prob when they start to go, hate electronics but they are a must in the fishing world now.
good luck, hope you figure something out.

You could still possibly have a problem with one of your new batteries. The deal with your maximizer is what really puzzles me....you should have got lights showing that you were fully charged when you got to the lake. Also....my charger is 10 amps per bank and it charges my batteries overnight so your charger being 15 amps per bank should be charging yours even quicker.

I recall reading on my v2 anyway that the tm should be off when you test the batteries. Correct???? Will it show if it's on? I have never tried with it running.

G, I agree with you on the charging time. I trickle charge mine at 2 amps and completely down they will fully charge in 14 hours. My maximizer never shows over 75%, who knows.

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Originally Posted by rip-a-lip

I recall reading on my v2 anyway that the tm should be off when you test the batteries. Correct???? Will it show if it's on? I have never tried with it running.

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It will show on mine but it is not a terrova, just a 55 thrust.

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Originally Posted by rip-a-lip

I recall reading on my v2 anyway that the tm should be off when you test the batteries. Correct???? Will it show if it's on? I have never tried with it running.

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Yes....you are supposed to turn the TM off to test your batteries.....you are also supposed to unplug the TM before plugging up the onboard charger.

My Minn Kota is only the 12v version but my on board charger will bring both batteries up in about 6-8 hours. I never heard that you hae to unplug the trolling motor , I never have.

i thought the terrova automatically shut off power when stowed ,so u wouldnt think u would have to unplug before charging.the powerdrive with the ipilot never shuts off so i plug mine in when i get to the lake and unplug when i pull the boat out

[QUOTE=satdoc1;1569153]My Minn Kota is only the 12v version but my on board charger will bring both batteries up in about 6-8 hours. I never heard that you hae to unplug the trolling motor , I never have.[/QUOT
My dad left his v2 with ipilot plugged in for a long period of time (months) and it drained his batteries dead.

satdoc i believe has the terrova,it turns off when stowed ,the powerdrive stays on with the ipilot so u have to unplug it
[QUOTE=CRAPPIE 123;1569198]

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Originally Posted by satdoc1

My Minn Kota is only the 12v version but my on board charger will bring both batteries up in about 6-8 hours. I never heard that you hae to unplug the trolling motor , I never have.[/QUOT
My dad left his v2 with ipilot plugged in for a long period of time (months) and it drained his batteries dead.

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Mine does shut down when stowed.

Did you have to run wires to any of them n splice.them at all? Might.be.to ligjt of gauge wire if you did

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Originally Posted by satdoc1

My Minn Kota is only the 12v version but my on board charger will bring both batteries up in about 6-8 hours. I never heard that you hae to unplug the trolling motor , I never have.

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My bad....I knew I had read something about it so I re-read my Terrova User Manual........It does say....If you are using a charger other than a MinnKota charger that you need to unplug the TM. Here is exactly what it says "Unless you are using a power panel or MinnKota battery charger, disconnect the trolling motor when charging the battery."

I knew there was a good reason I bought that MK Charger, just didn't know what it was, now I do,,,thx

There is a chance that if lighting comes in the power source, it will burn up everything. That is why they tell you to unplug your trolling motor. As far as ATM's batteries not charging up to 100% capacity, I would : 1. Make sure all leads are connected correctly. 2. Go buy 3 new batteries. Go to see Torch and get a deal.
The old Ranger boats asked that you unplug your TM.

The MK 440D charges 100% in 8-10 hours.
The MK 460D charges 100% in 5-6 hours.

He has three new batteries holic....possibly something could be wrong with one of them. Just because they are new does not mean there could not be a problem with one of them. Something could also be wrong with the new charger. Are the batteries correctly wired in series and a bank from the charger connected to each one of them? I would check wireing and make sure its correct and that all connections are clean and tight. On mine .....I threw away the wing nuts that came with the batteries and put nuts on them where I could tighten them better with a wrench.....I did this on the advice of the tech at the boat place that I do business with.

My.330 after 6 hours of use charges mine in bout 6 hours

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Like I originally posted, after 14 hours they were in absorption mode. I didn't check again until 20 hours and they were fully charged. I don't know. New batteries, new charger, no splices, no wing nuts, properly wired. Being a 10 amp four bank it should be charging just as fast as G's and DonDon's. G and DonDon are ya'lls charger charging that fast on a dead battery. I mean mine was dead yesterday. I was down to .5 mph on #10 speed.
Holic the Minn Kota says 4-6 hours for the MK 440D and 3-5 hours for the MK 460D.

I can't answer your question ATM....I have never gotten mine down that low....I can pull cranks all day and I still seem to have plenty left. I come home and plug up and next morning at 5:00am they are fully charged and ready.

I just took delivery of a new rig in March. I fished five or six times probably, worked great. The next trip, my TM (Terrova, 80 lb., two new 27's) started taking a higher number for the same speed. I checked the battery meter on it, no lights. I thought maybe I just couldn't see them, sunlight and all. Back home I hooked it up to the charger. Next morning, checked the meter, dim lights on two or three of them-not all was lit. Run it over night on the charger, same thing again. Went bought a new charger, same thing. Took the boat back to the dealer for another issue and a brand new battery checked bad-replaced it, and good to go. I had checked my water when I seen that I had a problem of some sort, and one had low water, so I added some to it and had tried it again. Same thing of course. Well, I figured the battery with the low water was the bad one, nope, the other one was dead as a hammer. The bad one was sucking the juice out of the good one. Maybe you can use some of that to point you in a good direction.