When I had my G3 1860DLX up at Lakeside Marine in Harrisburg, Pa. last week, I had to buy three new "Heavy Duty" deep cycle batteries for my 36V trolling motor. I had told Barb and JC Nuss that two of my 4-Bank Charger lights weren't lighting. The manual mentioned that if any of the batteries weren't fully charging that there was a possibility that the lights mwould not light up. I knew that one of my batteries wasn't holding a charge (75%) and I assumed that it was the cause.
So, after the three new deep cycle batteries were installed by the service department, they failed to check whether the charger was working. When I got the boat home, I plugged the charger into the receptacle and guess what!? Yep, the two lights still weren't lit. I was not a happy camper.
I gave Barb a call and she had me talk with one of the battery guys over in the service department. He asked me to go to the fuses and check to see if they were still good and if so, jiggle them around to see if they were loose.
Well, when I found the fuses, I noticed that they were "shrink wrapped" in a heavy rubber... Say what? I can understand why they would be, but when I called to let the service guys know that, their main battery guy said that he had never seen this before. Well, Lakeside Marine's service department were the guys who had placed the 4-Bank Battery Charger in several years ago when I upgraded my trolling motor to a 36 volt and my 90/65 Yamaha to my current 115/80 Yamaha. :)
He told me that the fuse box would be yellow. I used a paring knife to scrape a bit of the shrink wrap off and, yes, the fuse box was yellow underneath it... LOL!
JC gave me a call a few minutes later and asked me what was happening. I explained to him that the battery charger lights were still not lighting up when I got home. He was upset that they didn't check that out for me before I towed the boat home and told me he would be driving all the way to my home in Willow Street, Pa. from Harrisburg, Pa. the very next morning to pick up my jet rig. THANK YOU, JC!
JC arrived at my home last week and took my G3 back to Harrisburg, Pa. to have the old charger checked out. What they found was that two banks of the four were charging and the other two were not. I now needed a new "4-Bank Charger". The charger model I was currently using is no longer in production and we needed to order from another company. I chose Minn Kota because of it's reputation... I also had options. 1. Buy a 3-Bank Charger and allow the cranking battery to charge off the motor (That is risky for how often I use my boat), 2. By a three bank and a one bank charger... (It would take up space and the total cost would be about the same as a 4-Bank Charger), or 3. Buy another "4-Bank Charger"... (The Minn Kota 4-Bank Chargers are "BIG" and we may have to improvise under the console in placing it).
I chose to go with the new "4-Bank Charger" from Minn Kota ($399 + tax and installation). Lakeside Marine ordered the new trolling for me and installed it this past Tuesday. JC drove my rig to his UPS job early Wednesday morning. The roads had cleared from the snow the day before, but during the early morning hours, we had more snow... UGH!
After working on Wednesday morning, JC drove it to our home and it was a mess from the road chemicals and slush... DANG!
After breakfast this morning, I hooked the ole' jet rig up to my F150 and in the 23 degree temperature, we drove to our local car wash and power washed all that slush and dried salt off... I could hear my boat cry out with a sigh of relief... "Ahhhhhhh!"
The boat is looking good once again!... All is ready for my first season's adventure with her on the Susquehanna River.. Full battery power and a new "4-Bank Charger"! I'm good to go for another 4+ years of trolling motor power!
Drying Off in the Driveway
Things Are Looking Better After The Power Wash
Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad
