What is this on my graph?

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

My Garmin up front reads between 9 and 11 volts all day everyday, And i just put a new battery in my boat too.  Could it be because the size of the wire running the graph?   My humminbird reads 12.7 off the same battery

[moguy1973]

7 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

The next step down from 12.0 volts is 11.9 

Put a starter or tilt/trim load on it and you'll have 10v or less.  Have I been completely unsuccessful in teaching y'all about boat electrical circuits and the results of low voltage? 🙄 

If the motor was idling when the pic showing 12.4 was taken then he has a stator/voltage regulator issue. That can (and will) either burn up the entire ignition system....or it can start a fire without ever tripping a breaker or blowing a fuse.  

Yeah, the 2nd picture  showing 12.4v is while idling out of the cove I was in.  When I'm running full out the gauge on my dash is reading between 13-14 volts, but the finder at my console never gets over 13.  It's a 2009 60hp Merc 4 stroke.  How long do stators last typically?  Looks like there are special tools needed to take the flywheel off to get to it.  I do only charge it when I'm away from the water with a battery tender charger and not a full charger.  During my time at TR lake I was only making a couple mile runs at a time that took only 10min or so to get to where I was fishing if that matters any.

[moguy1973]

19 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

The use of the word "staged" indicates that you're studying fishing via magazines and videos.    

What does it mean to you when a fish is "staged"?    Holding in a strategic location while waiting for conditions elsewhere to change?   Like a waiting room?  

Fish don't really do that, just so ya know. 

Not picking on you, I just like pointing out that the way studying anglers are being taught about fish movements is rediculous, and actually holds you back. Lengthening your "learning curve".  😅

By staged I mean the fish were holding on the rock or structure that was shown on the bottom.  I just want to know are all those lines fish, or something else.

[fishinwrench]

4 hours ago, moguy1973 said:

How long do stators last typically? 

Forever, unless they are abused.   The #1 cause of voltage regulator and/or stator failure is trying to get one more trip out of a tired old battery, or momentarily hooking up a battery backwards.  

I've changed out a thousand of them, but have never smoked one on one of my own rigs.

[moguy1973]

13 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Forever, unless they are abused.   The #1 cause of voltage regulator and/or stator failure is trying to get one more trip out of a tired old battery, or momentarily hooking up a battery backwards.  

I've changed out a thousand of them, but have never smoked one on one of my own rigs.

I may not have had the battery fully charged before taking it out. I only had it on the battery tender for 12 hours before we left and don’t charge it at all except for the motor charging it during our 10-15min runs on the lake. I let it sit on the tender from the time we got back yesterday until now, tender says fully charged, and my graph is saying 12.8v now.    

[snagged in outlet 3]

On 6/20/2020 at 10:24 PM, fishinwrench said:

Forever, unless they are abused.   The #1 cause of voltage regulator and/or stator failure is trying to get one more trip out of a tired old battery, or momentarily hooking up a battery backwards.  

I've changed out a thousand of them, but have never smoked one on one of my own rigs.

12.51 on my starter battery @fishinwrench After fishing Saturday and probably ran 6-7 miles.  No trickle charger though.  Should I get one?

[Dutch]

9 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

12.51 on my starter battery @fishinwrench After fishing Saturday and probably ran 6-7 miles.  No trickle charger though.  Should I get one?

If it were mine I would for sure have a charger for every battery in the boat, but not a fan of trickle chargers.  10-15 amps for me.

[snagged in outlet 3]

5 minutes ago, Dutch said:

If it were mine I would for sure have a charger for every battery in the boat, but not a fan of trickle chargers.  10-15 amps for me.

I have that.  Just put it on there.  Thx 

[snagged in outlet 3]

7 minutes ago, Dutch said:

If it were mine I would for sure have a charger for every battery in the boat, but not a fan of trickle chargers.  10-15 amps for me.

Only charged for a minute and it said complete.  Now 13.1.   What do you think?

[fishinwrench]

6 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Only charged for a minute and it said complete.  Now 13.1.   What do you think?

Automatic chargers can be misleading.  Run the tilt and trim through a complete cycle then test battery voltage again.  You'll probably see voltage back down to 12.5-12.6 right away.    You can either leave the auto charger hooked up for awhile and let it periodically bump it, or you can put a manual charger on it and let it boil for an hour or two.  

I haven't touched my bass boat since our little memorial day derby and my cranking battery reads 12.8v  and that's entirely from stator output several weeks ago.  I never have to charge my cranking battery unless I run my livewell pump for several hours and don't burn more than 3 gal. of fuel.