Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

3d49sue

Recruit
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
1
My battery light constantly beeps/flashes while on my Waverunner. I took it to a shop and they want to charge $90.00 for a diagnostic. This is a 1999 Yamaha Waverunner GP 800. Has anyone had problems with the electrical system not recharging the battery or do you think it's just the battery itself?

Thanks for any help you can provide!!

8)
 

Jeff Walkowiak

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 23, 2004
Messages
1,944
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

could be a bad rectifier, or a bad plug conection from the stator or a bad battery conection, or a broken wire so start with the easy stuff and see what happens, and the fuses should be checked first, and it just may be a weak battery with a bad cell, if you find a cell that is low on water that is a good indication that the cell may be bad, 2 years is about all you should expect from a battery but an inexpensive volt meter will tell you the battery condition, charge the battery with a 1 amp charger for about 12 hours, test the voltage with the ski off it should be 12.5 to 13.5 volts with the volt meter conected turn on the starter and as it turns the engine see what the voltage reads on the battery. if it drops below 11 volts with a load it probably has a bad cell.
 

Crownie2

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
378
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

"charge the battery with a 1 amp charger for about 12 hours,"

I guess we can now see why the $90 charge.

OK - I'm curious, Why the 1 amp charge recommendation??

Thanks.

Bob
 

Jeff Walkowiak

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 23, 2004
Messages
1,944
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

the battery can get too hot and warp the plates or boil off the acid if you use a big charger, 1 amp won't hurt it, 6 amps is ok for a short period of time but if you forget it's on the battery and leave it for a long time it may ruin it
 

Crownie2

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
378
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

Thanks for the response - I'm a newbie in the PWC world and will keep this in mind.

I did charge mine when I got it on 6 amps for a couple hours and it seemed to do alright...

Bob
 

waterinthefuel

Commander
Joined
Nov 15, 2003
Messages
2,726
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

The lower the charge rate the better, we have peak chargers that go as low as 2 amps.....that's pretty good. They might take 7 hours to charge, but at least the battery has been re-boosted without risk of damage.
 

nos1013

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
97
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

another thought. most PWC batteries only last 2 to 3 years.
B
 

AlanR

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
310
Re: Waverunner - Battery won't recharge

bad rectifier.
 
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