Battery draining of power

[Huskie]

My boat sat for about ten days, which was my first mistake, went to trim up the motor a bit and it was dead. Two year old starting battery??? I put a charger on it and could hear a low buzz coming out of one of the radio speakers, even though the radio was off. Could the radio be wired incorrectly and draining the battery? I remember a similar problem on a post a few months ago but couldn't find it, any ideas?

[Jeremy airjer W]

I've seen plenty of aftermarket radios cause batteries to go dead in automobiles. I don't see why a boat would be any different.

Did you just install the radio? If it has a clock and presets then it will draw a little bit of current even when it is off.

Disconnect the battery. Use an amp meter in series preferable on the positive battery post. You should see little to no draw. If you see anything over 50 milliamps .050 amps disconect the radio. If the draw goes away you've solved your problem and now have a good excuse to upgrade to the most expensive marine sound system you can find!!!!

You can use a test light for the same test. If the light is bright you have a fairly big draw. if the light is dim you have a lower draw.

[TiredOfWorking]

Had the same problem with my boat's radio. It is a Sony and you have to hold the power off button for 5 seconds for it to completely power off.

[Wavey Davey]

Had the same problem recently too. Had the battery tested and was told it was bad. Bought a new battery, same problem.

I had installed a new stereo this year. It has a removeable faceplate, when I leave the faceplate on it draws the battery down (clock, memory, etc.). Solved the problem by taking the faceplate off when I'm not using it. I was almost ready to bring the boat to a shop to have it checked out for shorts in the electrical system before I determined this.

So, yes, it could be your stereo. Also, marine starting batteries never seem to last very long, 2 or 3 years and it's time for a new one.