Hardware & power

Battery and power

What the voltage reading tells you, and how to read a battery that is on its way out.

5 min read

Every report carries the voltage the tracker sees at its power lead, which is effectively the asset’s battery under whatever load is present. Watched over time it is a genuinely good health signal — usually the first sign that a season is about to start with a no-start.

Resting voltage bands for a 12 volt batteryAbove 12.6 volts is fully charged, 12.4 to 12.6 is healthy, 12.2 to 12.4 is getting low, 12.0 to 12.2 triggers the low battery flag, and below 12.0 volts is discharged and likely to cause a no-start. These are resting voltages, measured with the engine off.12.6V +full12.4–12.6healthy12.2–12.4charge it12.0–12.2low-battery flagunder 12.0expect a no-starthealthierflatter12.2V — alert thresholdResting means engine off. Voltage while running reads higher — that is the alternator, not the battery.
Where the low-battery flag sits, and what each band means for whether the asset will start.

Reading a 12V lead-acid battery

Resting voltageState
12.6V and upFully charged
12.4–12.6VHealthy
12.2–12.4VGetting low — worth a charge
12.0–12.2VLow. This is where the low-battery flag lights up
Below 12.0VDischarged. Expect a no-start and shortened battery life
Resting means engine off and no significant load. Voltage while running reads higher — that is the alternator, not the battery.

Charging state

Rather than showing you a raw number and leaving you to interpret it, Vectra watches the slope of recent voltage readings and reports charging, discharging, or idle. A boat that reads "discharging" while the engine is running is telling you the alternator or the belt is not doing its job — and that is worth knowing before the customer is offshore.

A tracker cannot flatten a healthy battery, but it is not zero

Draw is small, and negligible against any battery that gets charged regularly. On an asset that sits unused for months with no charge source, put it in storage mode — that is exactly the case storage mode exists for.

NextWinter and long-term storage
Something here wrong or missing? Tell us — these pages are maintained by the people who answer the phone.