battery voltage.

[82rude]

Maybe im nuts maybe not?To me it seems im not getting my instant starts on the etec 60 any more .No offence to other motors but this has reliably started within about 1 turn of the flywheel it starts so fast,now it seems to start like other motors which im not use to.Put the battery on the charger and its showing good percentage but 14.8 volts.Is it possible my elderly blue top is dying? Or am i just imagining things?

 

[MH Hawker]

what is the voltage after its charged and then sat over night a good battery will test 12.5 to 12.8,,,,14.8 is charging voltage

 

[82rude]

If im not in such a big rush to get to the boat launch tomorrow and forget i will test with meter in the am.Thanks i will get back on this one.Right now with the meter just after charging i got 13.5 I cant see the date sticker from when i bought it but the beast is between 7-10 years old and this is the first time ive ever put a charger on it.Never leaves the boat all year either .So if by chance in the am voltage is low i dont think she owes me anything.

 

[mr 88]

Voltage is not the issue,its amperage and the amperage numbers your looking for should be performed under a load. If your battery is older than 3-4 years old your probably due. I can take a 20 year old battery and charge it up to 12 volts but it wont crank anything over .

 

[82rude]

Im way way past 3-4 years thats for sure.If she,s slow tomorrow i will think about a new one no problem.I just might be blowing it out of proportion.I have a good l-ion booster so it wont leave me stranded.

 

[MH Hawker]

and yes depending on the voltage a load test may be in order

 

[82rude]

Will test before i go anywheres tomorrow .Normally when i start questioning a battery things happen soon.Got 9 years out of my truck battery then i took her in to get an oil change and they told me it was going to die soon and i didnt believe them.Well you can guess what happened,she died within a month.My guts telling me the old blue doesnt have too much life left in her.

 

[MH Hawker]

i should of posted this earler

 

[82rude]

Thanks MH Hawker.

 

[82rude]

This morning voltage was 12.6 and started ok i must be anal.Worse problem was my little stryker fish finder wasnt showing sonar so went back to dock and loaded up for home.The transducer was busted right out of its mount!Im fishing in 100 to 170 feet of water no rocks or logs!All i can figure is a defective trans or some ahole kicked it last night.Luckliy i still had the old lowerance x125 trans on the back so i will hook it back up for now and use that beast.I lose my boat speed but who cares as long as i bring my handheld with me were golden.Really dont feel like getting another transducer right now as id like to get a scotty electric downrigger.

 

[MH Hawker]

my only guess is the starter brushings may be about done

 

[82rude]

Im taking it in this week for something unrelated and the motor is uner warranty so i will ask i personally think im just obsessing over 3 revolutions of the flywheel before starting which is probably normal ,seeing as how its been cold so im initally starting in the high 40,s f.

 

[Sprig]

How long since your last tuneup? How long since new spark plugs? Could be either or other of these things. Often if a boat sits for a week or longer it may not start as quickly. Also does it start slower on both cold starts and warm starts after it's been running? The problem you describe really doesn't sound like a problem at all. A second or two delay in actually starting is nothing to be concerned about as long as it starts fairly quickly and runs well after starting. The cause could be anything from dirty plugs to fuel or the battery. Even though the battery holds a good charge I'd consider getting a new one if it is around ten years old. That's a long life for a marine battery. When it does fail you can bet it will fail in the worst possible place at the worst possible time.

 

[82rude]

No your right, im just ocding.I put new plugs in last year and their properly indexed.Thats it for a tune up its a 2011 direct injected motor so theres nothing else to do.Ive run new yamaha 4 strokes and new mercs and it starts way faster than they do so im just obsessing over nothing.

 

[mike_i]

You got your moneys worth out of that battery, unless you have a backup on board it's time to get a new one. The voltage reading you get after charging is not important, it's called surface charge. If you really want to see how your battery is doing measure the voltage while your cranking the motor, that's a real life load test or by checking the specific gravity with a temperature-compensating hydrometer if it's a wet cell battery.
.

 

[82rude]

Was even harder to start this am took 10 seconds or so.After fishing took in for load test, battery is gone .Printout says avg life for this battery is 46 months i had 99! Being a dfi motor you need a good battery to get everything going.Now im back to 3/4 turn of the flywheel and go time.Thanks guys for the help.All ive ever had to do since 2012 was just bump the key hot or cold and away she goes i was getting worried.

 

[MH Hawker]

i use one of the HF load testers, the good old cheese grater, been used since they started making battery's