We've purchased a used B323 earlier in the year. The house battery is a 6 year hold deep charge wet cell while the starter battery is a deep cycle wet cell unit which is 1.5 years old. The older battery is no doubt on its last legs and recent charging efforts suggest it should be replaced. The battery arrangement is standard (I presume) for the B323 and includes a battery charger. I was thinking about removing the older battery, using the 1.5 year old deep cycle battery as the house battery and getting a new starter battery specifically for that purpose. Any thoughts? Also, we had problems with our depth sounder (Raymarine ST40 Bidata) which gave "----" most of the summer although all other instruments worked fine including the knot meter on the ST40. Is it possible that the poor condition of the house battery could have affected the operation of the depth sounder (i.e. insufficient power)? Thanks in advance for your comments and advice.
Battery Recommendation / Depth Sounder
- Thread starter Orion323
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One way to look at it is - if you are buying a new battery, do you want an old battery as your house battery?
I would use the new one as a house batt and keep the start battery where it was as it gets little use, should last a few more years and if it does die, you can use the house battery to start the engine.
I would use the new one as a house batt and keep the start battery where it was as it gets little use, should last a few more years and if it does die, you can use the house battery to start the engine.
I would definitely replace the six year old battery. I replaced both of my batteries last spring withthe largest case sizes that would fit in the battery boxes. I had to shim the floorboards in the aft berth about a half inch to clear the tops of the battery posts.
My batteries were both the same age and with the wiring setup in the 323 it doesn't seem to matter which is which when designating one as the house battery and which is the starting battery (essentially wired in parallel). Logic would dictate that the starting battery would be the one in the engine compartment, but it seems to be designated as the house battery on my boat. They aren't totally isolated from one another as far as function. It appears that if a battery switch is "on" that battery is on line, so I have been alternating between batteries.
Whether reasonable or not, I've been replacing both batteries at the same time based on the theory that the weaker battery would suck the life out of the stronger one if they were both on line (which seems to be the case when you stick and old flashlight battery and a new one together in the device).I would think that the battery would have to be fairly low to give you funky readings on the ST40. I would check the electrical connections to be sure they are tight and clean.
If your speed readings are off or nonexistent I would suggest pulling the transducer and cleaning the paddlewheel. The dummy plug should be hanging from the cable and to pull and switch results in very little incoming water if you're quick. ( I have to pull mine a couple of times a season because baby Zebra Mussels get into it and clog it)
My batteries were both the same age and with the wiring setup in the 323 it doesn't seem to matter which is which when designating one as the house battery and which is the starting battery (essentially wired in parallel). Logic would dictate that the starting battery would be the one in the engine compartment, but it seems to be designated as the house battery on my boat. They aren't totally isolated from one another as far as function. It appears that if a battery switch is "on" that battery is on line, so I have been alternating between batteries.
Whether reasonable or not, I've been replacing both batteries at the same time based on the theory that the weaker battery would suck the life out of the stronger one if they were both on line (which seems to be the case when you stick and old flashlight battery and a new one together in the device).I would think that the battery would have to be fairly low to give you funky readings on the ST40. I would check the electrical connections to be sure they are tight and clean.
If your speed readings are off or nonexistent I would suggest pulling the transducer and cleaning the paddlewheel. The dummy plug should be hanging from the cable and to pull and switch results in very little incoming water if you're quick. ( I have to pull mine a couple of times a season because baby Zebra Mussels get into it and clog it)
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