whats draining my battery??

[machicj]

i have a two battery system. the switch reads off, 1, all, 2. if i don't use the boat for 3-4 weeks, which ever one i have the battery switched to, is dead. if i leave it on"all", then they are both dead. its not normally a problem unless i don't use the boat for a long period, but something has to draining the batteries. nothing is ever left on. i have a gps/ff combo, marine radio, and a regular stereo radio. i now switch the batteries to "off" when i get home, but i don't think that i should have to do that. any ideas?? thanks

 

[burp]

Re: whats draining my battery??

Several items will have power applied to them regardless of the position of the battery switch. The "normal" items are bilge pumps, carbon monoxide detector, outdrive trim pump and Mercathode. I found that the carbon monoxide detector would drain the battery in my boat over a 2-3 week time. In my case, adding a simple on-off switch for the power to the CO detector solved the problem. I suspect boat manufacturers wire the CO detectors to constant power to meet code or CYA reasons. For us, if we are in the boat, the CO detector is turned on....and off when we are not on the boat.

 

[JCF350]

Re: whats draining my battery??

i have a two battery system. the switch reads off, 1, all, 2. but i don't think that i should have to do that. any ideas?? thanks

You are not dealing with a car. Use the battery switch.

 

[fishmen111]

Re: whats draining my battery??

Turn the switch off. That is why it is on the switch. You can have small drains from electronics even when you turn them off. I would rather have charged batteries than radio presets. How old are your batteries and how many volts are they keeping?

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: whats draining my battery??

Does your regular stereo radio have a detachable faceplate and even though you turn the stereo off does the faceplate still have an active display, if so that will drain your battery over a couple of weeks (I speak from personal experience :redface The fix was just to remove the faceplate when leaving the boat for a period of time.

 

[machicj]

Re: whats draining my battery??

the boat and batteries are new. i know the radio memory draws some, but i never thought about the bilge pump. i will use the switch. thanks for your time.

 

[burp]

Re: whats draining my battery??

Bilge pump shouldn't be drawing any current unless there is water collecting in the bilge to turn it on or the float switch is stuck, keeping the pump running.

 

[JCF350]

Re: whats draining my battery??

Bilge pump shouldn't be drawing any current unless there is water collecting in the bilge to turn it on or the float switch is stuck, keeping the pump running.

http://www.iboats.com/Rule_Bilge_Pu...1829405--**********.838405577--view_id.341432

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: whats draining my battery??

http://www.iboats.com/Rule_Bilge_Pu...1829405--**********.838405577--view_id.341432

yep...we had one like that before as well and it will also kill the battery over time, supposed to work on current sensing (no float switch), when the pump does it's auto check every couple of minutes it measures the amount of current it draws based on the theory, water in the bilge, motor works harder draws more current and it stays on until the water is gone and then the current drops and pump turns off.

 

[Woodnaut]

Re: whats draining my battery??

I have two batteries and the same type of switch. If the boat is on the trailer back at the house, then the switch is in the OFF position. I have a nice little Sony radio that will definintely kill the battery over a couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, if you want to find out EXACTLY what is killing your battery, you can find out with an ampmeter. First, start by turning the batteries ON and everything else on the boat OFF. Then pull out the first fuse from your fuse block and place the leads of the ampmeter exactly across where the fuse just came out. If it shows any current at all, then you know you have a current drain there. (Remember, this is your DVM set up for amps - not volts.) Test all of the fuse locations and you can determine exactly where - and how much - your current drain is.