The LED Battery Meters on our trolling motors and Smart Battery Box are not compatible with lithium batteries.
Our Newport Trolling Motors and the Smart Battery Box are specifically designed to be powered by lead-acid deep cycle or marine batteries. The battery meter reads the battery's immediate voltage and displays the charge level with illuminated LED lights. Our trolling motors either offer a 5 Point or 10 Point LED battery meter depending on the series, while our Smart Battery Box offers a 4 Point LED battery meter.
If your motor is attached to a fully charged lead-acid battery in the off position, it will read 10 out of 10 lights. This means the battery indicator on the motor is receiving and reading 11.8 volts or greater. If you were to put the motor into the highest speed, speed 5, the voltage coming from the battery would drop due to stress or load caused by the motor. Below you can reference a chart displaying different voltage ratings recorded by the 10 point LED Battery Meter used on our L Series.
Since our LED battery meters operate based on the current-voltage output, lithium batteries create a problem. While Lead Acid batteries drop voltage as they are used similar to a gas tank, the voltage from a lithium battery is constant until it is completely discharged, so the LED meter won’t accurately read how much battery life is left. This makes Lithium batteries incompatible with our LED battery meters. You will need a separate lithium battery meter to get an accurate power reading for your lithium battery.
Lithium LED Battery Meter
Lithium LED battery meters can be purchased from websites like Amazon for $15-30. Many battery meters have a positive and negative wire that can be connected directly to the battery. Be sure to check the compatibility of the charger with your lithium battery to ensure it functions properly. For added safety, reach out to your battery manufacturer to ensure that this meter will accurately measure the power when in use. Some options are waterproof, and it goes without saying that these are recommended over their non-waterproof counterparts for boating applications. For more information on using lithium batteries with our trolling motors, please see our Lithium Batteries With Trolling Motors? article.
If you have any additional questions about our motors, please see our Motors FAQ Page. For more in-depth articles, please visit our Motor Support Page. If you can’t find the information you need, give us a call (866) 721-0002 Monday to Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm PST or reach out to us via email SUPPORT@NEWPORTVESSELS.COM.
