Boat frustrations- Valv, same me!

[Scoot]

I bought a new (used) boat this summer. I love the boat (18' Skeeter) and like the motor (150 Yammy Vmax). However, the frickin' starting battery keeps going dead. I tested the battery, it was bad. So I replaced the battery. After replacing the battery I had the same problem- I'd start the motor a dozen or more times when out fishing and sooner or later, the battery would be dead. The more times I'd start it, the more I'd be able to hear the battery getting worn down. Had the battery tested again- it was good. I worked on it for a very long time to determine I couldn't figure out the problem.

Eventually I was told the stadder (spelling???) was bad so I had it replaced ($$$). That didn't fix the problem. Next I was told that my 332c was draining the battery down too much. I was skeptical, but frustrated to the point of not caring how it got fixed anymore. So, a second battery went into the boat to run accessories and a switch was put between the starting battery and the accessory battery so that the starting battery couldn't be drained by the graph but the motor would be allowed to charge both the starting battery and the accessory battery. That made no frickin' difference either.

Here's what I think I can conclude so far: there must still be a drain on the starting battery. I assume this must come from the motor since that's all that's hooked up to the starting battery at this point (unless the one way switch between the starting battery and accessory battery isn't working- and I've been told it is). Is there anything else that could be draining the battery if the motor is the only thing hooked up to the battery? For example, could it be a guage on the dash that's screwin' me?

Any help would be appreciated. Having a dead battery every time out pretty much sucks. Spending money hand over fist to have an unfixed boat also really sucks. Thanks.

BTW, the guy who's working on it has a very reputible shot and knows more than anyone I know. I trust him and value his expert opinion. He clearly hasn't nailed this one down perfectly (hardly), but I'll continue to work through him because I trust him and know he's extemely knowledgable.

[Valv]

Scoot,

I am the last one to claim knowledge on anything, and I consider myself an amateur, not a pro by any mean. I think the guy working on your boat does not know a lot about it neither.

Starter would have been the last of my things to replace, they are not like automotive, consequently don't have same problems, I would have checked the solenoid instead. I would start from checking rectifier, which has more to to with charging/discharging battery than a starter (which is just a n electric motor on outboard motors).

Also check your ignition switch, it could be gone bad and draw current. The 332c definitely has nothing to do with it. I have a LCX15 and left it on for 3 days and still got battery to start and inboard V6.

I understand your "attachment" to the mechanic, but replacing parts without knowing what's the problem is not a good practice, especially when they are expensive as much as a Yamaha OB part.

Have somebody check ignition switch, wiring harness from battery to dash, and alternator (also known as "rectifier"), I bet that's where you'll find your problems.

Discharging a battery in few hours means having a large draw somewhere and it's not a safe condition, you need to have it fixed asap.

[marine_man]

Scoot -

Have you isolated which major component the draw is coming from - motor or boat?

There are two ways to do this - the imprecise way is to take all the connections off the positive post. Take each lead (to the motor, boat, etc) seperately and touch them to the post. If you get a spark it's drawing current. The more precise way is to take a test light and connect the clamp to the lead from the boat / motor / etc and touch the probe to the battery post. The brighter the light the more current is being drawn.

The motor will typically draw some current, but should not be draining your battery down that bad... and unfortunately I'm out of answers for you there.

If it's your boat I'd move onto step 2. If it's the lead that feeds your fuse panel I'd leave the test light connected as described above (or pinch the probe in the wing nut / post) and start pulling fuses, one at a time until the light gets dimmer (or hopefully out completely). Once you've isolated which circuit it is dig in and figure out what's going on...

One thing that could be doing this is a amplified antenna... do you have an amplified radio antenna? The one I'm thinking of is rectangular and shape with a flip up antenna that doesn't extend all that far. Those can drain a battery pretty quickly if they're not on a switched source.

Good Luck!

marine_man

[Hooked On a Feeling]

Have you checked if your 332c gps antenna is connected to a switched on-off control, if not that antenna will continue to draw power from said battery.

Good Luck!

[whitetips]

Not an expert On Yamis, but being its draining the electrical system would point to two items, first the battery size should be at least 1000amp with a deepcycle reserve and two, I would take the flywheel (alternator) off and check to make sure it is not shorted (coil wires on the back side of it) black area indicates a short, they can short if you hook up to the battery on the wrong post and it sparked it. The motor will start as long as its charged, but if it is shorted it will not recharge the battery while its running. Check the outputs back to the battery and see what the voltage is. should read about Approx 13 volts.

[Scoot]

Thanks for the reply fellas. First of all, Valv, you may not consider yourself an expert, but you are. Marine Man, I know you also really know your dump on matters like this too. Can't say anything about the level of expertise for you other fellas who offered up info, but I really appreciate your input.

Valv, I'm not referring to the "starter", it's the "statter" (I spelled it "stadder" the first time")-- I believe it's the same thing you're calling the rectifier. Essentially it's the equivelent of an alternator. I watched him test it and he told me it was bad (which made sense given what we found with the tester). We called Yamaha and spoke with one of their mechanics- he walked us through the same testing procedure and we gave him the info and he also concluded the statter was bad. So he's not just replacing parts at random hoping something/anything will work. This guy is generally considered really good at what he does and I don't doubt this- he's owned the dealership for a long time, gets tons of repeat business, is good to work with, etc. That being said, he certainly hasn't helped me out so far.

I'll give the suggestions you fellas gave me and see what I can come up with. Thanks very much and have a great Christmas.

[hanson]

Quote:

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Valv, I'm not referring to the "starter", it's the "statter" (I spelled it "stadder" the first time")-- I believe it's the same thing you're calling the rectifier.

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I believe 'Stator' is a more correct spelling. Not sure I'm a 100% yet but closer.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I believe you're correct, Mr. Hanson.

[eurolarva]

Starter would probably be cheaper then a new stator. Seems to me the motor would not run worth a dump if the stator was bad in the first place. If you have access to a voltmeter (not dash board type but a hand held type) test the voltage with the motor off and then with it running at around half throttle. Connect the volt meter to the battery and set it to DC volts. The motor should have a regulator/ rectifier to charge the battery. With the motor running voltage at the battery should be at least 13 volts and could be as high a 17 volts. With motor off and battery should read around 12.75 volts fully charged but no lower then 12.45 Volts.

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

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Thanks for the reply fellas. First of all, Valv, you may not consider yourself an expert, but you are. Marine Man, I know you also really know your

dump

on matters like this too.

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Ya that is why Marine_Man is my friend he know his boats and is a lot cheaper than most marine mechanics. It is amazing what he will do for a beer .

[delcecchi]

The GPS chip takes 20 hours to run a pair of AA Batteries down. It isn't going to do anything to a starting battery.

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

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The GPS chip takes 20 hours to run a pair of AA Batteries down. It isn't going to do anything to a starting battery.

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Not the chip it he was talking about the receiver on the 332 unit. The white puck it needs it own power. It does draw it bit of juice and that is why it needs to be on a switched power source.

[ChuckN]

The Lowrance GPS module is designed to be "hot" all the time. They claim that it will not draw much power, but you never know.

I have a Skeeter too and I have similar issues. Never a dead battery, but it definitely drains down...then again, every battery I put in the darn boat seems to never hold it's power like it should. I usually throw the charger on it after every trip and every 2 weeks if not in use. My big Lowrance takes a lot of juice if the main motor does not run for extended periods.

I specifically wired my Lowrance GPS module (and all boat electronics) to the main power/fuse block under the dash. That way if the main power switch is off, everything is off except the motor(s).

I've had rectifiers fail in the past too. They mainly burn out when the positive and negative cables hit the battery wrong when hooking or unhooking them to the battery. I don't recall a bad rectifier draining a battery while not in use...usually the motor will take juice from the battery while the engine is running with a bad rectifier.

I would use a voltage meter and test everything going to that battery. Hook up all wires to one battery, and do a process of elimination until you find the source.

[Scoot]

Thanks again fellas. I'll give all of your suggestions a try and see what happens. If all else fails, I always have beer in the fridge and it sounds like that's the preferred form of payment for Marine Man! Rob, how much beer we talkin' here?

Merry Christmas to all!!!

[marine_man]

Ah, heck Scoot... not too many for you...

If you keep striking out on figuring this out shoot me an e-mail and we can see if we can meet up sometime and take a look at it... if I still lived in Fargo I'd be real easy...

Merry Christmas!

marine_man

[delcecchi]

Lowrance says "If the NMEA 2000 buss draws power directly from the boat's battery,

the LGC-2000 will remain on (drawing power) all the time. The LGC-2000's

current draw is very small and shouldn't decrease the boat's

storage battery life, but if this small draw is a concern, you can in-stall

a switch between the NMEA 2000 buss and the battery."

I guess you could measure the current with a multimeter. I bet it isn't more than 50 ma. An AA alkaline is about 2 amp hours and a pair is 3 volts. So a handheld is drawing maybe 100 ma at 3 volts, equivilent to 25 ma at 12 volts and that includes a monochrome display.

[chris63]

Marine man has it right,eliminate what is not drawing by doing a current test on each item!c63Hope this helps.