chaining batteries

[FISHINMUSICIAN]

my lund tyee came with one batt that handles starting and all electronics just fine. i do not currently use an electric trolling motor. my motor is a 2001 merc 150 v-6 efi.<br />question: can i do a parallel jump (red to red, black to black) off my main batt to charge my spare while im running the motor? thanks.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: chaining batteries

You can, but you need to verify the output capacity of your altenator to make sure it can handle the load of charging them both. You're also better off going trough a 1-2-both battery switch or a combiner. If one of your batteries goes bad when you have them parralled, it can kill both batteries by allowing the good battery to discharge into the bad battery.