Boat battery & wiring problem! Who fixes???

[Jsail]

Ahhhhhhh, I know this problem!
If you have the time start checking one circut at a time.
If you are looking for someone to do it for you; try *****ula Marine in St.Johns. He's a small operation, but he's good at resonable costs. He's about 3-4 blocks east of the St. Johns Chev dealer (Sid Dorn?).

[brshooter]

You don't have a boat with a sportjet do you? I had a weird power failure a few weeks ago up at the Fishery. Lost all power except the ignition. No lights, horn, radio, blower, etc. Turned out to be a fuse. I know several sportjet owners who have had similar problems. Not real good ventilation inside the motor box and it tends to hold moisture. I have seen a couple of cases where the housing that holds the fuse corrodes. This housing is usually in the motor box or sometimes in an enclosed battery box. Look for a fuse housing fed with orange wires.

[Pete]

I've had good luck with Auto Battery Electric ... they're in the phone book. They do a complete diagnostic for a small fee, identifying the condition of all the elements of your eletrical system and finding problems. Of course, if Pilar weren't hiding in the hinterlands, he's a pretty good resource, too.

[Tanner]

Last year I had Rogers Marine Electonics clean up the wiring on my Formula Vee. Considering the mess I had going under my dash and at my batteries, They did a fantastic job at a reasonable price. I would highly recommend them.

[Tilla]

I had a loose ground to my 200 Merc jet, it sounded the beep signal. The 5/16 nut had vibrated off and the terminal loop was just hanging on the threads. I thought it was temp or oil problems. Luckily the first pro I consulted (the boat builder) tipped me on where to look and darn if there wasn't the nut and washer laying on the floor. An electrical guru told me that the new electronics will signal a warning with a loose ground.

[Pilar]

Rubber Robin, go to GI JOes and buy a hydrometer type battery tester. Cheap less than $5. Wear safety glasses and dont get any on you or your clothes. This tester checks the acid strength in the battery and is the only reliable way to check the state of charge. You may have a charging problem. Often the electrical systems will work and it will seem like all is good until the batteries are totally flat.

Check for green (+wires) or white (-wires) stuff growing on battery posts, ground connectors or wiring.

The higher the tester reads the better. Low is bad. 1.230 on the tester is the minimum good reading. Any lower and you have a problem, charge the battery immediately. If you let the battery sit half charged it will be ruined. A fully charged battery is about 1.250 or better. If it is less than 1.175 it is completely dead.

One last thing we kicked Pete's boat battery problems around a while ago. Lots of good tech and advice there.

Hey Pete, what was that post called?

Good luck.

[Pete]

Check out this thread for prior discussion!

Batteries and electrical systems

[Propwash]

Here is another reason to pay for a good shop to find your problem. I was at the Rockpile out of Newport and I was watching my voltmeter do a few goofy things. For a time I had good voltage and then it would drop to about 9 volts and go back up to 12 for awhile. I went in under power and when I got to the dock to load the boat I could not get the motor to start. both batts were so low the engine would not turn over.Took it to the shop and the diodes in the alternater were gunny bagged. Boat is two years old so wasn't expecting alt. to go. Actully it was the internal intergrated regulator. The shop got it fixed right away and I was HAPPY!

[Rubber Robin]

Thanks guys!!!! As usual this website never fails to amaze. :grin: There is a wealth of information here! I went to the history site for batteries and electrical systems. Thanks Pete and Pilar.

Excellent information!

[Rubber Robin]

I need some recommendations for someone that is good with checking boat wiring. I had a complete power failure on the river the other day. Also, our boat batteries seem to lose power with some type of drain on the battery that we are unable to detect.

Who is good at this????