The short story:
Battery voltage shows 12.56 with a DVM. Also shows 12.56 at idle, and WOT on plane.
Do I have a charging problem?
The long story:
I'll include all the details I can, because I know when making an educated guess , the more details the better...
35hp Merc, mid-80's model.
I have a 460cca marine battery, 3 years old.
This summer, I took the battery out of the basement (not stored on concrete) and put it in the boat. Put the muffs on, attempted to start, nothing. My control box has the choke on the key (push key in to choke) and I couldn't even hear the choke solenoid clicking. Put a test light on the bettery, and it was stone dead..filament of test light would just glow orange.
I figured my battery was toast, so gave it to a co-worker who's dad has an automotive shop. He charged and load tested the battery, etc, battery passed with flying colours.
So, I put the battery in the boat, brought it to the cottage and spent an evening cruising around, pulling the nephiews on the tube, etc. 2 days later I was going back to the cottage so I bought myself a DVM to do some testing.
We spent last evening with more cruising and tubing, and then as th evening was wrapping up, I got the brother in law to drive while i checked the charging, etc.
12.56v engine off, idling or at WOT.
So.... There are no electrical loads on the boat at all..lights are disconnected (no, I never use it when lights would be needed), no power tilt, no radios, fishfinders, guages, etc....nothing at all.
So, with an overkill battery like that (460cca), and no electrical loads at all, except running the motor itself, it it possible that my battery is at 100% state of charge, and there's no need to have it charging? (And that's why i get 12.56v across the board)
The battery was charged at his shop, and then I used it for a total of 2 evenings, maybe 5 hours of running time, and it was started quite a few times... If I had a charging problem, would the battery not be below 12.56v by now? But then again, it's a pretty big battery for a little 35hp.
the main reason for my paranoia is because of the fact that the battery was stone dead when i put it in the boat at the start of the season.
Now, it's possible that the ignition switch may have been left on after the last time the boat was used last season...then when fall came i just pulled it out and put it in the basement (dead, but didn't know it).
Anyway, with the info I have given, do I just have an overkill battery with very little load, and there's no need for it to be charging? Or should I see 13+v output from the motor, even if the battery is at 100% state of charge?
Since i don't know if I really have a problem or not, I'll continue to use the boat like it is, and watch the voltage before and after each evening I use it. If the voltage keeps creeping down, then I know I have a problem. The brother in law has his little aluminum boat right there, and I'm always in eyeshot of the cottage so if I need to come back to shore on the end of a rope, that's no problem... But i would think I would notice it cranking slow before it left me stranded anyway....
In the meantime, if anyone can tell me right off that everything's fine, or that everything is definately NOT fine, that would be appreciated.
Am I looking for a problem where there isn't one? Better safe than sorry....
<>< Thanks!!!
Battery voltage shows 12.56 with a DVM. Also shows 12.56 at idle, and WOT on plane.
Do I have a charging problem?
The long story:
I'll include all the details I can, because I know when making an educated guess , the more details the better...
35hp Merc, mid-80's model.
I have a 460cca marine battery, 3 years old.
This summer, I took the battery out of the basement (not stored on concrete) and put it in the boat. Put the muffs on, attempted to start, nothing. My control box has the choke on the key (push key in to choke) and I couldn't even hear the choke solenoid clicking. Put a test light on the bettery, and it was stone dead..filament of test light would just glow orange.
I figured my battery was toast, so gave it to a co-worker who's dad has an automotive shop. He charged and load tested the battery, etc, battery passed with flying colours.
So, I put the battery in the boat, brought it to the cottage and spent an evening cruising around, pulling the nephiews on the tube, etc. 2 days later I was going back to the cottage so I bought myself a DVM to do some testing.
We spent last evening with more cruising and tubing, and then as th evening was wrapping up, I got the brother in law to drive while i checked the charging, etc.
12.56v engine off, idling or at WOT.
So.... There are no electrical loads on the boat at all..lights are disconnected (no, I never use it when lights would be needed), no power tilt, no radios, fishfinders, guages, etc....nothing at all.
So, with an overkill battery like that (460cca), and no electrical loads at all, except running the motor itself, it it possible that my battery is at 100% state of charge, and there's no need to have it charging? (And that's why i get 12.56v across the board)
The battery was charged at his shop, and then I used it for a total of 2 evenings, maybe 5 hours of running time, and it was started quite a few times... If I had a charging problem, would the battery not be below 12.56v by now? But then again, it's a pretty big battery for a little 35hp.
the main reason for my paranoia is because of the fact that the battery was stone dead when i put it in the boat at the start of the season.
Now, it's possible that the ignition switch may have been left on after the last time the boat was used last season...then when fall came i just pulled it out and put it in the basement (dead, but didn't know it).
Anyway, with the info I have given, do I just have an overkill battery with very little load, and there's no need for it to be charging? Or should I see 13+v output from the motor, even if the battery is at 100% state of charge?
Since i don't know if I really have a problem or not, I'll continue to use the boat like it is, and watch the voltage before and after each evening I use it. If the voltage keeps creeping down, then I know I have a problem. The brother in law has his little aluminum boat right there, and I'm always in eyeshot of the cottage so if I need to come back to shore on the end of a rope, that's no problem... But i would think I would notice it cranking slow before it left me stranded anyway....
In the meantime, if anyone can tell me right off that everything's fine, or that everything is definately NOT fine, that would be appreciated.
Am I looking for a problem where there isn't one? Better safe than sorry....
<>< Thanks!!!
