1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

[spikr77]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here. I just bought a boat that came with a 1992 70hp evinrude. I just bought a new battery for the boat. The battery seemed to be dead after a day with it being fully charged. I thought it might be something electrical that was drawing power from the battery and killing it. So I disconnected everything and recharged the battery. I hooked up just the motor wiring and the next day the battery was dead again. I was told it might be a bad ground or something. Anyone have any ideas where I should look? Thanks in advance.

 

[fireman57]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

Get your $8.00 Harbor Freight meter out and start checking to see what is drawing this current. Start by removing the electrical connections and cleaning them with emery paper. You will probably need a buddy after this to watch the meter on the battery while you unhood one wire at a time to see what the culprit is. Are you sure that your ignition switch is turning all the way off?

 

[spikr77]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

I'm guessing it is. How can I tell if it is turning off or not. The key is out of the ignition should I be checking more than that?? Last night I took the hood off the engine and I could locate anywhere that corroded wires. All the wire end are spotless and have good contact. Now I also found a post on here yesterday that was talking about the battery sparking whenever the positive was connected to the battery. Well I am having the same problem. So what I did was start disconnecting wires on the engine until it stopped. I found a wire that runs off the positive connection on the engine and followed it but I basically came to a dead end on that one as well. Thanks for the help.

 

[fireman57]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

Put your alligator clips on your battery and disconnect connections one at a time. If the draw stops you have found your problem. Just because they look clean doesn't mean they really are, especially grounds. On your ignition unhook the wires one at a time. When the key is in the off position you should not have current flowing. You may have a bad wire to a light or pump. Could be shorted/open. Your lights are probably a separate wire going to your battery (I rigged mine this way so I could isolate a problem if I ever had one) try disconnecting it first to rule them out. You might do a search on this site with the red search feature as you are not the only one who has had to chase an electrical problem.

 

[spikr77]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

Ok, this might sound really dumb, but how to I measure if there is a draw on the battery? I have a mulitmeter can I use this? I have disconnected everything except for the main power cable coming from the battery that way I have eliminated all other sources. I was also wondering, I started to take apart the controls but I stopped because I wasn't sure if anything was going to pop out at me. Obviously I don't have a manual for my motor yet. Is there anything I should be aware of when taking apart the controls?? Thanks for all your help.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

You can use your meter if it has an amp setting. Basically you'd connect the meter in series with the lead to be tested and read the amperage draw (if any).<br /><br />Most meters that have a ampere setting are rated at a max current draw of 10 amps. Excede this figure and you'll blow a fuse in the meter. When in the amp setting, never 'volt your amps', that is never touch the Red test lead to the battery positive and the Black test lead to ground, this will blow the internal meter fuse.

 

[spikr77]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

Ok thanks I will try that tonight. Do you know what the normal readout should be?

 

[Xcusme]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

Gees, different devices have different current draws. You seem to be looking for a device (circuit) that is drawing down your battery. Any wire that is showing a current draw when your ignition is off will be drawing current from the battery. The greater the current draw, the faster it will take down your battery. Ideally, you don't want any current draw at all, on any circuit. If you do find one or more wires that draw current, trace the wires. Look for a high resistance short to ground or a defective part. If you're blowing fuses, replace the fuse with a small 12VDC light bulb. The bulb will be lit when there's current flowing. When you clear the short, the bulb will go out, problem fixed (or at least identified). The bulb is taking the place of the fuse for testing purposes, this way you aren't replacing fuses until you find the problem.

 

[fireman57]

Re: 1992 70hp Evinrude Killing Battery

spikr any luck yet?