Author Topic: Dakota battery charging (Read 5211 times)

joefishmore · « **on:** Jan 16, 2019, 01:44 PM »

Brand new 10 amp Dakota lithium battery I know it has run down. Plug it in to a Dakota charger and a green light comes on the charger immediately.
What does that mean ? I got no directions with the charger or the battery. I don't think the battery is charging. Any ideas ?

DR.SPECKLER · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 01:54 PM »

not sure but I ran my flx28/Dakota lithium for 4 hrs and I put it on the charger and the light was green because it was still 100% charged.it will be red light while charging and green fully charged.make sure the power cord at the charger is nice and snug too.ive had a few connection problems with that.

winterbuddy · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 02:02 PM »

How run down is it, what did you power off it and for how long?

defish · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 02:03 PM »

Quote from: joefishmore on Jan 16, 2019, 01:44 PM

Brand new 10 amp Dakota lithium battery I know it has run down. Plug it in to a Dakota charger and a green light comes on the charger immediately.
What does that mean ? I got no directions with the charger or the battery. I don't think the battery is charging. Any ideas ?

Do you mean "brand new" as in right from the box, or did you use it that it got to be that discharged? If it was run down too low the charger won't charge it because it thinks it's a bad battery. If it has never been used and won't charge, it is a bad battery.

Is the battery cold? They should be around room temperature before charging.

Someone on another thread said try putting the battery on the charger and then plug the charger in - it can "jolt" the battery into charging. Worth a try.

Otherwise, contact Dakota - they know their batteries better than anyone else.

joefishmore · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 02:42 PM »

Put it on charger last week when I got it. It was 12.7 amps when I put it on charger. Was 12.7 amps after charging. Used it today and worked on my fishfinder for 2 hours. Barely read 12 amps after that. Put it on charger and green light came on immediately. I would suppose if green light is on on the charger the charger somehow thinks the battery is charged.

tbern · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 02:50 PM »

What is the voltage reading on the battery while your charging it?

winterbuddy · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 03:01 PM »

Quote from: joefishmore on Jan 16, 2019, 02:42 PM

Put it on charger last week when I got it. It was 12.7 amps when I put it on charger. Was 12.7 amps after charging. Used it today and worked on my fishfinder for 2 hours. Barely read 12 amps after that. Put it on charger and green light came on immediately. I would suppose if green light is on on the charger the charger somehow thinks the battery is charged.

If you meant 12.7 volts, that implies a bad cell, three full and one bad should read 12.6.

DR.SPECKLER · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 03:10 PM »

Well if it was 12.7 when you got it and 12.7 after charging im guessing the charger didnt charge at all and is not working.got another charger laying around?the battery can be charged with a regular charger in a pinch.i hooked mine up to my battery tender jr a few times.13.8 volts.same voltage with the dakota lithium charger.

Gills-only · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:20 PM »

Quote from: DR.SPECKLER on Jan 16, 2019, 01:54 PM

not sure but I ran my flx28/Dakota lithium for 4 hrs and I put it on the charger and the light was green because it was still 100% charged.it will be red light while charging and green fully charged.make sure the power cord at the charger is nice and snug too.ive had a few connection problems with that.

. I ran my fl12 for 3 days prolly total of 16 hrs and hooked charger up and was green. My battery meter said100% so I didn’t charge it, fished 2 more days and I thought my meter was bad, but checked when done fishing and it dropped to 80%. These batteries last a long time

joefishmore · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:26 PM »

I have a Battery tender jr and a biger charger that goes thru several stages of charging.
Don't want to wreck the battery with a non compatable charger

DR.SPECKLER · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:30 PM »

when I had a problem with my Dakota I asked if a battery tender jr can be used and they said its ok but may not charge it fully.i tried it and got 13.8 volts.used my vex for a few days then put it on Dakotas charger and it was 13.8.exactly the same.it wont wreck your battery.id try it and see if voltage goes up or if the battery will even take a charge.process of elimination.

DR.SPECKLER · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:33 PM »

Quote from: Gills-only on Jan 16, 2019, 04:20 PM

. I ran my fl12 for 3 days prolly total of 16 hrs and hooked charger up and was green. My battery meter said100% so I didn’t charge it, fished 2 more days and I thought my meter was bad, but checked when done fishing and it dropped to 80%. These batteries last a long time

yes they run for days.lithiums put out full voltage till its dead that's why our flashers volt meter reads 100% forever it seems.

joefishmore · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:37 PM »

Sorry about the amps , meant volts
Measures 15 volts while charging so would seem charger is working.

Whytie · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 16, 2019, 04:54 PM »

try and jiggle your alligator clips when they are attached to the battery when charging. I just found out mine wasn't soldered properly and it would charge only if it was leaning the right way. The charger would show fully charged (green light) but if I moved it, it would start to charge again(red light).

joefishmore · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 17, 2019, 06:13 AM »

Left charger on all night and battery is now dead

Kevin23 · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 17, 2019, 08:49 AM »

Quote from: joefishmore on Jan 17, 2019, 06:13 AM

Left charger on all night and battery is now dead

You sure you are getting + voltage out of that charger and not -?

Whytie · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 17, 2019, 11:24 AM »

Another thing to add are you charging directly to the battery or using the charging cables with an inline fuse? Marcum has and charging cable with and inline fuse the, dakota charger sends a higher amp so you may have blown the fuse.

Or your battery is a dud. It happens. $:-\$

joefishmore · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 06:45 AM »

my boy hooked up the Dakota charger ( has alligator clips ) to the Dakota battery and red light came on. After 5 hours the green light came on. the battery registered 15 volts. This morning it registers 13.6 volts. Is that too many volts to use in a fishfinder ? I have a Marcum Showdown.
The Showdown has a 2 amp fuse in line.
I see no fuse on the Battery charger.

winterbuddy · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 06:57 AM »

If the charger reads 15v hooked to a battery and the battery only 13.7v after charging, the probability is it is a bad battery with a bad cell. The bad cell is acting more like a capacitor, will take and show a charge to an extent, but it's likely only a surface charge.

joefishmore · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 07:06 AM »

Quote from: winterbuddy on Jan 18, 2019, 06:57 AM

If the charger reads 15v hooked to a battery and the battery only 13.7v after charging, the probability is it is a bad battery with a bad cell. The bad cell is acting more like a capacitor, will take and show a charge to an extent, but it's likely only a surface charge.

Isn't a charged battery supposed to read about 12.8 volts ?

winterbuddy · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 07:12 AM »

Quote from: joefishmore on Jan 18, 2019, 07:06 AM

Isn't a charged battery supposed to read about 12.8 volts ?

Sorry. My bad, I was thinking of 18650 cells. You're 13.7 is perfect for the Dakota, so battery should be fine. The Dakota cells are rated 3.2volt cells, not 3.7.

winterbuddy · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 07:16 AM »

Quote from: joefishmore on Jan 18, 2019, 07:06 AM

Isn't a charged battery supposed to read about 12.8 volts ?

Even though the 4 cells are rated at 3.2, they charge a bit higher, so 13.7 is spot on. I would guess Whytie is correct in pointing out a loose connection.

joefishmore · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 09:11 AM »

Cheap !

Skywagon · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 09:50 AM »

The Dakota charger will show green when you hook it up to the battery until it is plugged into AC, then will turn red until the battery is charged. I did get a bad charger with Lowrance ice bag one time, so it can happen.

Kevin23 · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 12:29 PM »

Lithiums charge to a higher voltage than lead cell. Yes, 13.7 is perfect. Thats why some lithiums need special chargers, most lead chargers only charge at 13.5-13.7 and can stop it from getting that last little bit of juice in the tank.

As for fish finders, most are rated to 18 or 20v max.

joefishmore · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 18, 2019, 02:00 PM »

Quote from: Kevin23 on Jan 18, 2019, 12:29 PM

Lithiums charge to a higher voltage than lead cell. Yes, 13.7 is perfect. Thats why some lithiums need special chargers, most lead chargers only charge at 13.5-13.7 and can stop it from getting that last little bit of juice in the tank.

As for fish finders, most are rated to 18 or 20v max.

Thanks
And thanks to everyone who kindly responded

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Author Topic: Dakota battery charging (Read 5211 times)