On-Board Charger Help

[Fishmael]

I think my on-board charger died.  I plug it in, but the light does not come on and the batteries are dead.  I know that is a good sign, but is there any way to test them to see if there is something else going on?  Or is there anyone who works on this kind of stuff?  Or do I just need to replace it?  Hopefully my batteries are ok.  I guess I need to charge them up separately with an actual battery charger.  Any help/thoughts on what might be going on would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Fishmael.

[Waterfoul]

Check the unit for a fuse or circuit breaker.  It should have one or the other right on it.

[Dan]

I can't help you much on fixing your charger, but if you end up needing a new charger make sure you at least check out the Stealth Charging System. http://stealth1charging.com/  I have had some first hand experience with Danny the owner of Stealth (See my Cherokee Lake BFL story from my teardropbass.com website.) and I'm here to tell you, you will get no better service when you buy one of his units. He'll talk you through any situation any time of the day or night. He's spent hours on the phone with my buddy when he's had battery problems. He's also driven for hours to personally come and fix a problem. You East siders that ply St. Clair and Erie need to check out the on the go charging system. When my buddy Don and I come over that way to fish for several days, Don seldom needs to plug in his charger. Making those longer runs on the big water keeps the batteries at full charge. Keeping that charge level up during the course of a fishing day, rather than depleting them and recharging at the end of the day, really keeps your batteries operating at their peak and living a lot longer. I made the mistake of going cheap and bought a system called Stay'n Charge and have had nothing but problems and after two years of frustration with trying to get a hold of people I'm ripping it out this year and going with a Stealth Charger. Just my experienced 2 cents worth. Might I add, I don't get anything from Stealth nor do I have any connections with them. I just know their product from fishing with my traveling partner who has had one for five years.

[Fishmael]

That would be great if it was a fuse/circuit breaker problem.  Where are they located at?  Do I need to pull the charger out to find it?

[BigSmallie]

I wish I had my boat out of storage so I could have problems with my on board charger...

BS 

[bassdisaster]

That would be great if it was a fuse/circuit breaker problem.  Where are they located at?  Do I need to pull the charger out to find it?

My ChampioN has a Circut breaker on the side pannel by the gas tank under the rear lid, its likely to be close to the charger, dig around and see, or pay to have it done, lord knows I cant afford that!  Good luck

BD

[Waterfoul]

I had  Minnkota in the tracker and it was right on the unit.

[djkimmel]

Go to an auto parts store and find a cheap DC voltage meter. It will tell you for sure when your unit is plugged in if there is anything happening at all.

Sounds like no, but I use the voltage meter to see if my unit is working correctly by checking the output periodically. Should shoot up to close to 13 Volts to over 14 Volts depending on your brand.

I would think your charger unit breaker or fuse would be right on the side of or front of your unit if it has one. Can you check their web site for assistance? Unless it was a real expensive unit, it may cost more, if not under warranty, to fix than just buying a new one, but call the company and ask.

[Cy]

If the unit has a fuse it is probably going to be a fusible link.  It will look like an a colored, normally black, plastic cylinder, diameter smaller then a dime, attached to one of the wires.  If it is blown it will be brunt and crusty.

[Fishmael]

Thanks for all the help.  I was able to find the owner's manual online.  It is a ProSport20 Plus and it seems there is a fuse by the battery.  However, none of the lights show power to the unit.  The owner's manual says when that happens to contact the company for service options...That doesn't sound good to me!

[Cy]

Thanks for all the help.  I was able to find the owner's manual online.  It is a ProSport20 Plus and it seems there is a fuse by the battery.  However, none of the lights show power to the unit.  The owner's manual says when that happens to contact the company for service options...That doesn't sound good to me!

This might be a dumb question but did you check the outlet or extension cord you are using to plug the charger in with?  You might have a tripped breaker, bad outlet or broken wire in the cord.

[bshaner]

Thanks for all the help.  I was able to find the owner's manual online.  It is a ProSport20 Plus and it seems there is a fuse by the battery.  However, none of the lights show power to the unit.  The owner's manual says when that happens to contact the company for service options...That doesn't sound good to me!

This might be a dumb question but did you check the outlet or extension cord you are using to plug the charger in with?  You might have a tripped breaker, bad outlet or broken wire in the cord.

This is not a dumb question... I freaked out once taking everything apart checking the fuse and wiring and meter testing, calling the company - frantic before a tournament - sweating bullets only to find out the outlet I always use had the breaker flipped on it right at the outlet that I didnt realize it had.  I did however feel dumb.

Moral of the story is that's a possible solution.

B

[Fishmael]

Yeah, that was the first thing I checked.  I took another plug-in item and ran it from the outlet, which was working perfectly.  I called the company and they told me to check each of the battery connections with a DC voltage reader and to call them back with the results...so we'll see...I personally think the unit is dead.  It was purchased about 3 years ago and has a 2 year warranty.  Don't you love it when a product just passes the warranty and pukes?