Tracker Pro Guide V16 - onboard charger

[fly_fishing_nut]

I just bought a 2013 Tracker Pro Guide V16 and I’m trying to decide where the best place to mount an onboard charger for my three batteries (two in front for my 24V trolling motor and one in the back for starting the boat). Do any of you have a similar setup or have a recommendation? Love to see any pictures if you have them of a similar setup.
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I'm not sure what the configuration of the Pro Guide is compared to the Targa V16 I had for 11 years. I had my charger mounted high on the vertical wall just under the passenger side dash. On my new TnunderJet, it's mounted in the same place.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I have to ask; why do you think you need to use the on-board charger to charge your cranking battery? Your outboard motor is charging your crank battery 100% of the time it is running. There is no reason that I'm aware of to every charge the crank battery except when you take it out of storage at the beginning of the new season. I owned my Tracker for 11 years and never once had to charge the crank battery between trips.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I am looking into running a charge line from my outboard engines to my electric trolling batteries so I can extend the running time on them. I always push the boat with the 9.9 hp kicker (charging the crank batteries) and it may provide enough charge current to slow down the draw on the electric trolling motor bank. Still doing the research on that.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[fly_fishing_nut]

Bob, thanks. The main reason I thought I would hook up the charger to the cranking battery is just for year round maintenance (leave them all plugged in when not in the water to extend the battery life). I already have a three bank onboard charger so it seems like I might as well try to hook them all up if I can figure out how to do it. My boat is like the Targa but is the side console version that only has a console on the driver side.
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[catchinon]

I recently bought an older V17 with a 90 hp. I wasn't sure if the motor charged the battery or not (please don't laugh at me for being greener than spring grass). While I was charging my trolling battery I decided to check the cranking one. It said it was down some and took quite a while to get up to full charge. Is that normal? One day I got to the lake and had a completely dead battery. I took it back home and put a 25 amp charger on it for a few hours and then it was fine. I can only guess that between me and an eight year old we left a switch on overnight somehow. Could it be anything else? How do you quickly check charge before heading out? Would seeing if you can trim the motor a bit mean you have sufficient charge to start the motor?
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[dubob]

[quote fly_fishing_nut]Bob, thanks. The main reason I thought I would hook up the charger to the cranking battery is just for year round maintenance (leave them all plugged in when not in the water to extend the battery life). I already have a three bank onboard charger so it seems like I might as well try to hook them all up if I can figure out how to do it. My boat is like the Targa but is the side console version that only has a console on the driver side.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]There's nothing wrong with charging the cranking battery between trips, it just isn't a maintenance requirement. When any battery equipment of mine goes into long term storage (like during the winter months), the batteries get pulled and stored inside a heated room in my garage and insulated from the cold concrete with 2 layers of thick cardboard under them. I don't trickle charge or use maintenance chargers on any of the 8 I store for the winter. Just charge them in the spring before first use. I've had a few last 10 years or more and all have lasted at least 8 years. In your boat, I would suggest the vertical wall under the steering dash/side counsel. But the leads for the cranking battery will probably have to be lengthened to reach it if you really feel you need/want to use it.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[dubob]

[quote catchinon]I recently bought an older V17 with a 90 hp. I wasn't sure if the motor charged the battery or not (please don't laugh at me for being greener than spring grass). [font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]The outboard does in fact charge the battery while running the motor - and I'm not laughing.[/size][/#800000][/font]
While I was charging my trolling battery I decided to check the cranking one. It said it was down some and took quite a while to get up to full charge. Is that normal? [font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]It could be normal depending on how you were charging it - low amps vs high amps.[/size][/#800000][/font]
One day I got to the lake and had a completely dead battery. I took it back home and put a 25 amp charger on it for a few hours and then it was fine. I can only guess that between me and an eight year old we left a switch on overnight somehow. [font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Yep, that will do it - every time its tried. (Now I'm laughing, but only a little).[/size][/#800000][/font]
Could it be anything else? How do you quickly check charge before heading out? [font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I don't. But I do make sure all switches on the dash are turned off at the end of every trip, the downriggers are off and unplugged, and the sonar is turned off. If you REALLY want to check the battery before every trip, just carry a simple volt meter in the boat and check the battery voltage before leaving home. It should always be at least 13 volts or more. If it's less, then you have a very small draw somewhere in the boat. [/size][/#800000][/font] Would seeing if you can trim the motor a bit mean you have sufficient charge to start the motor?[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]You could install one of these battery switches and turn it to the 'OFF' position between trips to eliminate any possibility of a draw on the battery.[/size][/#800000][/font]
[url "https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fbaymarinesupply.com%2Fmedia%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct%2Fe%2F-%2Fe-series-switch-features.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fbaymarinesupply.com%2Fbattery-switch-5511e.html&docid=kXZ1sY9JbOEGbM&tbnid=0AUbeZnYukvp7M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiDq92S3svlAhUCP6wKHYqkA-8QMwizAigEMAQ..i&w=540&h=276&client=firefox-b-1-d&bih=764&biw=1600&q=marine%20battery%20switches&ved=0ahUKEwiDq92S3svlAhUCP6wKHYqkA-8QMwizAigEMAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8"][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Marine Battery Switch[/size][/font][/url]
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[liketrolling]

my tracker is bigger than the one you have

the on board charger is mounted on its side in the box where the main starting battery is.

the On-Board Alternator I have it mounted in the left side storage box.
I love this, I would say anyone that has 2 minkota battery's should buy something like this
MY batteries last 3 years which I think is good I use my boat a lot and have a lot of elect. stuff . cost of batteries about $120. each

the ones I use but you may buy other brands that work just as good.


On-Board Digital Charger

https://minnkotamotors.johnsonoutdoors.c...l-chargers

On-Board Alternator

https://minnkotamotors.johnsonoutdoors.c...alternator
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[liketrolling]

[quote catchinon] How do you quickly check charge before heading out? Would seeing if you can trim the motor a bit mean you have sufficient charge to start the motor?[/quote]

buy a cheep volt meter and keep it in your boat
put one lead on the (pos.) and one on the (neg.)
if it is over 12 volts you are good to go. you want it close to 13 volts

I can see the charge on my fish finder
this shows 13V I watch this all the time if it shows this it is charging my minkota battery's
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[catchinon]

"my tracker is bigger than the one you have"

Well, my pickup is bigger than yours![mad] []
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[r2u2]

Mine looks better!
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[BearLakeFishGuy]

I have a 17.5' Lund Tyee (similar to your boat). I charge both my crank and deep cycle batteries after every trip just to be sure they are topped off. DUbob said he didn't charge his crank, but I have a battery switch that I mostly keep on "both" batteries, so my crank gets drained when I'm using my trolling motor intermittently. That is why I charge both. I switch the switch to "deep cycle only" if I'm planning to run the battery totally down and then I'd still have power in my crank battery to start my main engine. With a 3 bank charger, I'd just mount the charger at or near the location of your front batteries and then run an extension to your rear battery. You can splice in cable (makes sure to use bigger (14g+) and not the thin 18g wire that is cheaper. This way you won't over heat wires, etc. I then clipped the main wire that plugs in my charger and bought a recessed male plug receptacle and mounted that near the front of the boat. I then hooked the charger up to the recessed male plug. Now when I get home I take a regular extension cord and plug it into the recessed male plug. No need to dig through compartments looking for the plug on your charger, etc. Easy is best!
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[Kent]

I carry jumper cables and a jump starter battery on my boat. I can use the cables to jump start my boat using one of my trolling batteries (I have two of them) should the jump starter battery fail me. I have used both, on a few occasions to start my boat, and I have used both several times to start boats for other folks out on the water. I find people are surprised that I carry these, but they are sure appreciative when the need arises.

[inline dewalt-jump-starters-dxaej14-64_400_compressed.jpg]
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[fly_fishing_nut]

That’s basically what I ended up doing. I installed a 3 bank onboard charger and mounted it up front in the battery box with the two trolling deep cycle batteries and then added an extension cable to one of the banks to reach the back cranking battery. It was a little tricky getting the wires all run through but I took apart the side panels and the entire back carpet. There were two sections I had to use a wire snake to pull the wire through but I needed to do that to install my new fish finder (Humminbird Helix 7) transducer cable also so it worked out doing both wires at the same time. Overall I’m very happy how it turned out. Now I can leave the batteries getting charged/maintained all year round and always know they are ready to go when I pull the boat out to fish.
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