Electrial problems

Dug22

Dug22

.
Jan 29, 2019
67
Catalina 22 Vincent Alabama, BSC
My volt meter is going crazy! I added two fans and the volt meter with USB ports and a cigarette adapter. When I get in the boat the volt meter shows fully charged but when I turn anything on it drops to 8 volts with in 10 min. Tonight I took my trim down and started cutting wires to see if there is a ground fault but nothing. I checked all my connections on the battery and they are good. Even with everything off except the volt meter it goes crazy. Any ideas ?
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,070
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
What kind of battery do you have, how old is it, and how is it charged?

What size are the fans? And what is this "volt meter with USB ports and a cigarette adapter"?

Sorry for all the questions, but there could be any number of issues that these answers could help us narrow down.
 
Dug22

Dug22

.
Jan 29, 2019
67
Catalina 22 Vincent Alabama, BSC
It is a basic USB and cigarette adapter with a volt meter. The battery is 3 years old. I charge it with a 2.5 watts solar panel. The fans I am not sure how much they pull from the battery. They are 12 volt automotive fans.
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
11,399
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Dug22 said:
It is a basic USB and cigarette adapter with a volt meter. The battery is 3 years old. I charge it with a 2.5 watts solar panel. The fans I am not sure how much they pull from the battery. They are 12 volt automotive fans.
Click to expand
Dead batteries. The 2.5 watts solar is no where near enough to charege the batteries.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

.
May 17, 2004
5,070
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Dlochner is probably right that the battery is probably dead. To confirm I'd start with a digital multimeter to get the actual battery voltage when resting. Then plug some small load on and see how the voltage moves over time. If the load is small the voltage should be at least 12.7 when resting (after the charge source is disconnected), and should stay well in the 12's under the small load.

The only other thing I could think of would be a bad connection between the battery and the combination meter/outlet. Such a bad connection would show a big voltage drop one there's a load on the outlet. Since you say the drop doesn't appear for a few minutes I'm still thinking low battery capacity.
 
Dug22

Dug22

.
Jan 29, 2019
67
Catalina 22 Vincent Alabama, BSC
I think I will go tomorrow and get two Trojan batteries and run them in unison and get a 100 watt solar panel.
 
Dug22

Dug22

.
Jan 29, 2019
67
Catalina 22 Vincent Alabama, BSC
Thanks for the advice guys. I got really frustrated this afternoon. But I think the battery is done. If the upgrade does not work tomorrow then I have a bigger a problem. I have to figure the small stuff out cause me aND my wife are gonna buy a much bigger boat next year and sail around the world.
 
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
11,399
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Dug22 said:
Thanks for the advice guys. I got really frustrated this afternoon. But I think the battery is done. If the upgrade does not work tomorrow then I have a bigger a problem. I have to figure the small stuff out cause me aND my wife are gonna buy a much bigger boat next year and sail around the world.
Click to expand
An ambition plan! Good Luck!

Before you spend more money on this, read the many articles on https://marinehowto.com There is a wealth of information on that site that will help you deal with this issues and on your future adventures.
 
Ron20324

Ron20324

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Did you try operating the radio or lights for results? Did you have this problem before the fans were installed? How much are you expecting the solar to charge... just a maintenance at the dock, or to charge after a day on the water?
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,131
CC 30 South Florida
Nothing kills a battery faster than letting it sit depleted or partially charged. The plates get sulfated and the battery looses its "Capacity" to store charge. A 105Ah battery can turn into a 5Ah battery that gets quickly depleted under a small load. Take the battery to an Auto Parts store and have it tested. A 2.5W solar panel cannot recharge a battery, what it takes during the day probably radiates at night.
 
M

Mike Oldak

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Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
At 12 volts, a 2.5 watt solar panel is putting out .2 amps (Watts= volts times amps or amps = watts/volts). To start a car often takes 200-400 amps at 12 volts or about 2400-4800 watts, which would require your solar panel for a long long long time. Now I know we're not starting a car battery, but non-led lights can each take a few amps or about 24+ watts. Then we talk about watt hours or how many hours at a certain wattage, that amount of power has to go into the battery for storage before it can be taken out and there are also loss factors. The 100 watt solar panel will really help, but you'll need to charge up the what seems to be dead batteries before you shift the load to solar panels for upkeep.
 
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