Deka Battery

[aastephe]

Curious if anyone else has had an issue with the 8A31DTM. Had 60hrs on my 19' G21 and batteries didn't survive the winter. I've owned several boats and winterized them including disconnecting both batteries. Have never had an issue with a battery especially one with limited hours. Troubleshooting included hooking up jump pack for several hours as well as installing a new battery in hopes that alternator would charge other after running it on the water for 5hrs. Biggest disappointment was Deka would not back these two faulty batteries due to warranty being 1mo past 12mo warranty. Spending 135k on a boat then having to spend another $600 on new batteries after 1 season is infuriating.

[ffmedic74]

Had issues with Deka batteries as well. Switched to batteries plus x2 power. 5yrs non depreciated warranty.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

[GMLIII]

I switched from Interstate( lead acid) batteries recently to AGM Optima size D34M batteries in my G23 2017 and I could not be happier. Warning they are many “Haters” on this site for AGM batteries in general so proceed with that in mind in determining what kind of batteries you want to replace., just saying

[XBIGPUN66]

I use interstate lead acid deep cycle marine batteries. I remove them and keep them inside the basement over the winter. I get 5-6 yrs out of them.

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[Nautiquehunter]

$600.00 for battery's? How many did you buy?

[nyryan2001]

These Dekas that came OEM in 2019 weren’t regular cheapies.

the ones in mine are “Deka Platinum” AGMs. So that would be where the $300/battery comes from.

GMLIII- if you changed from lead acid to AGMs,.. and you have the OEM ProMariner charger... you needed to change the programming plug on the side from black to gray for AGMs.

[bturner]

And I thought my Optima's were expensive. Looking like $380 each on Amazon so you must have gotten a deal. What charger are you using to charge your batteries? Is it an AGM specific charger? If not have you tired one? I know Optma was having tons of warranty claims from people letting the batteries deplete too far then not having the correct charger to bring them back. Usually when you have someone crying about Optima's dying after a year or two this is the root cause. I'm currently going into my 6th season on one Blue top and 7th on another. I actually moved these batteries from my previous boat swapping them for some cheap lead acid batteries before the sale. Potential buyers love seeing the receipt new batteries when you're selling a used boat.

Anyway, hopefully you haven't tossed or did the core exchange for them yet. A deeply discharged AGM can be difficult to recharge without the correct charger and sometimes even with one if the charger isn't big enough. The odds that both Deka AGMs went bad so quickly is unlikely. I've had really good luck with Deka batteries and most will say they make a quality product. There's a really good chance here that you actually have very depleted batteries and may be able to bring them back. There are some methods to try before tossing the batteries that you can do. I have personally used these methods once buying the core from a guy at an auto parts store to basically get a Blue Top for the $5 core charge and also a few beers at the dock by saving some friends the cost of a new battery. There are several YouTube posts on this method but here is the one from Optima from years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slqd73ZOQvI

I know this sounds crazy but it's worked for me multiple times.

As to my own maintenance procedure..... Batteries in general are too expensive for me not to store properly, even lead/acid. For the 20 minutes it takes to pull the batteries and throw a charger on them once a month, I'll keep that cash for something else. I pull mine, store them in the basement then throw them on a good charger once a month off season. I do know people who don't and seem to have good luck but this is my routine that has worked well for me.

[nyryan2001]

Curious if anyone else has had an issue with the 8A31DTM. Had 60hrs on my 19' G21 and batteries didn't survive the winter. I've owned several boats and winterized them including disconnecting both batteries. Have never had an issue with a battery especially one with limited hours. Troubleshooting included hooking up jump pack for several hours as well as installing a new battery in hopes that alternator would charge other after running it on the water for 5hrs. Biggest disappointment was Deka would not back these two faulty batteries due to warranty being 1mo past 12mo warranty. Spending 135k on a boat then having to spend another $600 on new batteries after 1 season is infuriating.

Does your G21 have the onboard ProMariner charger?

check this plug on the side by removing it with a penny. (Little back one in the pic)

it should be the Correct color programming plug designated for AGMs.

if it have a different color plug... your beef is a faulty install. (Assuming you have Deka AGMs like I do)

the wrong color plug = an incorrect charging profile for AGMs.

(I think I’m getting these colors right- verify for yourself!)

“3 Charge Profiles – User selectable performance charge profiles for: Flooded(lead-acid)/STD AGM, GEL & High Performance(HP) AGM.”

[GMLIII]

These Dekas that came OEM in 2019 weren’t regular cheapies.

the ones in mine are “Deka Platinum” AGMs. So that would be where the $300/battery comes from.

GMLIII- if you changed from lead acid to AGMs,.. and you have the OEM ProMariner charger... you needed to change the programming plug on the side from black to gray for AGMs.

Thanks I’m using the NOCO charger

[Evening Shade]

Does your G21 have the onboard ProMariner charger?

check this plug on the side by removing it with a penny. (Little back one in the pic)

it should be the RED programming plug for AGMs.

if it have a different color plug... your beef is with Nautique for a faulty install. (Assuming you have Deka AGMs like I do)

the wrong color plug = an incorrect charging profile for AGMs.

(I think I’m getting these colors right- verify for yourself!)

“3 Charge Profiles – User selectable performance charge profiles for: Flooded(lead-acid)/STD AGM, GEL & High Performance(HP) AGM.”

Great info here. I wasn't aware of this.