All of a sudden

D

dedo

Recruit
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
1
I enjoyed a nice fishing trip without any motor hickup or concern. When I arrived back to the house I wanted to run fresh water through the engine, it would not turn over. The battery became too weak. I pulled the battery and had it tested(good) and charged. It started right away.

1990 48hp Evinrude SPL. Could it be that a 4 month old battery needed fluid added and a recharge?

Or, is there a motor component that is not charging the battery?
 
109jb

109jb

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
1,590
Re: All of a sudden

It could be one or both, or neither. We need more info.

How many starts and stops during the trip, do you have a trolling motor on the same battery, fish finder, radio or anything else? What size is the battery? IS it a marine deep-cycle battery, marine-starting battery, automotive battery, etc?
 
J

JBooth

Cadet
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
24
Re: All of a sudden

If you run your boat a lot it probably just needed fluid. If not it is a 21 year old motor, so the alternator could have a problem. Hope this helped.
 
Fireman431

Fireman431

Rear Admiral
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
4,292
Re: All of a sudden

A 4 month old battery should not need water added after a simple recharge or two. In fact, batteries that are on constant trickle charge from shore power (like mine) only require checking levels every 3-4 months or so. I add a bit of distilled water approximately every 8 months...so yours should not need it, unless it's leaking.

Check the charging system on your engine first. Also, if you motor just a short distance to fish, the engine doesn't have sufficient time to recharge your battery on the return trip (fishfinder and radio all day with a 10 minute ride back to the dock). Check your charging system first.
 
spdracr39

spdracr39

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
1,238
Re: All of a sudden

If your charging system is overcharging it could boil the water out on long runs. Have it checked for sure.
 
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