Dead Battery

[MKmedic]

Hey all!! Quick question for anyone. Today we took our new to us boat out for its maiden voyage....She was running great for us throughout the day. But my wife said that when we pulled her off the trailer and she was idling to the dock to load the kids and and everything else she said the engine stalled on her. But she started the boat right back up. No problem I thought, then about an hour into out voyage, we started to tow the kids on the kids on the tube, well after a few times of shutting her down to get the kids settled in the tube and to switch to skis, we had lost power. The battery did work for all the lights and the horn and bilge blower and the radio, but just not enough amps to kick the engine over. A few theories come to my mind... Since it was foggy out I ended up turning on the nav lights, plus we had the radio going too...could that have drained the battery that much? Or should I be worried about something else possibly? And what should I be doing to ensure this wont happen again.... Im kinda a newbie at all this but I was thinking of getting a jump start pack to possibly "jump" the boat of needs be, and possibly carrying an extra battery too..... Now also I know I didnt disconnect the battery last night (it is Dc'd now though) after I got her home, should I be doing this every time?

 

[joed]

Re: Dead Battery

Should not have drained the battery with the engine running. Check for corroded or loose connections. The low power stuff will run, but extra high current for a starter will be affected by loose terminals of corrosion.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dead Battery

Dead batteries are caused by just a couple of things. 1) It was not fully charged when you left the dock AND the alternator is not charging the battery, 2) The current draw of the electrics you had operating at the time were greater than the current output of the alternator, or 3) the battery is headed for battery heaven and needs replacing.

Not knowing what boat you have, we don't know what gauges it has. If the boat has a VOLTMETER, you really need to pay attention to it because that gauge is what tells you if the charging system is working. A battery is a 12.6 volt source of power for the boat. When you turn the key on, but don't start the engine, the voltmeter should read somewhere between 12 and 12.6 volts. When you start the engine and rev it to 2000 or so, the needle should rise to 13.5 - 14.5 or so - give or take a little. If the needle does not rise, or if the reading is well below 12 volts the charging system is not working and yes, the battery will die. Just so you know, if the charging system is not working, the engine dies, and you restart it with a jump box, the minute you remove the jump box the engine will die -- because the battery is still dead and the charging system isn't working.

Your corrective action isL: 1) charge the battery then take it to any auto store for a "Load Test". If it tests bad, replacement is necessary. If it is good, put it back in the boat and check the charging system. If the boat doesn't have a voltmeter, buy a multitester (volt, ohm milliammeter) at a local hardware or home improvement store. It is the single most useful tool for troubleshooting electrical system problems. Then learn how to use it. That meter can then be used to measure the battery voltage static, and with the engine running to verify the charging system is or is not working.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Dead Battery

What engine and drive do you have? Make/Model/Year.

Depending on the engine package, There is a switch that kills the ignition for a few milliseconds during the time you pull the throttle from Forward or Reverse into Neutral. It is there to allow the clutch to disengage.

If you are too gentle about going into neutral, it may stall.
Pull firmly into neutral and you will only see the rpms drop slightly for a half second.

The hardest start of the day will be the first cold one. The warm starts after running should be easier.
Be sure the battery is being charged. It will measure above 14 volts with the engine running.

To test the battery, Place the meter leads on the battery posts, NOT the Battery clamps or cables, the actual battery posts.
Attempt to crank the engine, If it measures above 11 volts, the battery is good but the connections are not.
If it measures below 10 volts, the battery is not charged or bad/dead.

No not start the engine out of the water without a garden hose attached to supply water to a set of muffs.
Engine parts can be damaged in as little as 10 seconds without cooling water.
Be sure the drive is trimmed DOWN like it is when running.

There should be no need to disconnect the battery unless you do not expect to use it again for a few months, not weeks.
The battery should measure ~12.6 volts within a few hours after shutting down.
Is should still be at 12.4 or more after a week or more.

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

Heres the info on the engine... Its a Mercruiser 4.3lx Alpha one, Serial number 0C776586 IO/OD Im not exactly sure of what year it would be my guess is 89 or possibly 90 since original purchase date was actually in 1990. I am not sure if it would be the charging system or not since this morning I went out and put a new battery in and fired the engine up (no worries the muffs were used and good pressure was coming in from my hose to circulate the water) I saw initially the battery was at 12-12.6 volts like mentioned above and as I reved the engine up I saw the voltage increase to around 14. I backed it down and it stayed between the 12 and 14 volt range then I shut her down and DC'd the positive cable. So according to what you all are saying is that from all of this is shouldnt be a charging system issue??? But why would my battery die so quickly in the water like it did? all I really had running was the radio and Nav Lights......

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

could there be a battery switch?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Dead Battery

What exactly happened when you tried to re-start on the water? You said "not enough amps to kick the engine over". Does that mean the starter didn't turn or it turned slowly?

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Dead Battery

As already mentioned, take the battery out and have it load tested. Regardless of age.

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

Well what I meant by that was the engine was cranking over, but it seemed like there was just not enough "juice" to kick it completely over. All the accessories ran perfectly. Like I meantioned above I did change out batteries and ran this morning and it turned right over, amperage did climb and remained pretty steady for me. I had a total of 3 batteries one is completely shot and one is one the boat ready to go, and th other is being conditioned and charged as we speak. so I am actually hoping this is all just operator error with us....and nothing majorly wrong. We are planning on taking it out tomorrow during the day again to see how it goes..... and we are tking the extra battery with us this time.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dead Battery

As I explained earlier, batteries can go bad instantly although generally they begin the dying process rather slowly. By dying slowly I mean that the battery can no longer "deliver" the current required by the electrical system for any prolonged period of time. Remember, lights and other low current draw accessories are a drop in the bucket compared to what it takes to crank the engine. therefore the radio may play just fine but attempt to crank the engine and voltage drops to nothing. That is why "load testing" is necessary. With no load on the battery it may very well read 12 volts. But crank the engine and voltage drops to less than 11 volts is an indication that the battery is weak. Charging it may make it seem ok but that battery simply cannot sustain the electrical load demanded of it. Get that battery load tested.

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

So went and got the batteries load tested this morning and everything was good.... Had 2 charged batteries ready for us so we took her out this afternoon. Well, after we dropped her in the water the wife fired her up and I guess as she was pulling into the dock it stalled.....She could get it fired up again. Until she figured out that if we press the throttle, push forward till we here the "click" then turn the key....it fires up every single time.... Voltage was great the whole trip. Even tested the theory by killing the engine in the middle of the lake, ate lunch, and repeated the sequence.... success.... I honestly think this all was just operator error on our part (newbies)....But thank you guys for all the advice and trouble shooting...still gonna get her checked this winter just to make sure she will be good for next year....

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Dead Battery

If I remember correctly...
If the lanyard switch near the throttle is pulled out, the engine will crank but the ignition has no power so it will never start.
Any chance someone bumped it?

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

Heres a pic a the throttle that i have....We have to (like I said) push the throttle button (on bottom of handle) in, then push the control until it "clicks" in THEN turn the key....for us "newbies" it was difficult for us to get the sequence right when we first started (the previous owner did not do a good job showing us how the sequence worked, and I blame us for not asking him to ellaborate on it either)

 

[joed]

Re: Dead Battery

The engine will only start in neutral. What the 'throttle' button is, it disengages the shift lever so you can apply more throttle while staying in neutral.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dead Battery

If you have to push that button and jiggle the throttle lever to get it started, you need to have that box looked at. You only need to push that button to advance the throttle WITHOUT ENGAGING FORWARD GEAR so you have a "fast idle" capability for warmup. You then pull the lever back to neutral which reengages the shift mechanism and you now go forward or reverse as normal. And the engine should only CRANK in neutral. Note that I said CRANK. If the lanyard is pulled the engine will crank but not start. If the engine cranks normally in neutral but doesn't start it has nothing to do with the throttle/shift box.

 

[MKmedic]

Re: Dead Battery

After we figured out the starting sequence while we were on the boat, I confirmed it by rereading the actual manual. we dont have to jiggle the throttle at all. Pushiing the throttle button and moving forward engages it into that high idle you were talking about... the engine cranks then starts no problems. We then pulled the lever back into neutral it stays running the whole time without any issues....Like I said I think this was all a case of "operator error" to be gin with... I/we were focussed on the battery which in fact it was none of that....newbies making mistakes LOL but everyone has to start some where right?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dead Battery

I repeat. You should not need to ALWAYS use the fast idle feature to start the engine. It should crank anytime the lever is in neutral.