Accessories power dead - ‘18 RZX2

[SONIC]

I'm betting you have an alternator issue.
Do you have an onboard 120V charger? If so plug it in and top up the batteries and see if the problem goes away for a bit.
Once you get it started you should see 14+V at both batteries when running. If you only see 12.xx or less you're not charging.

The deep cycle static at 11.4 without a load is dead, it needs a charge, at 9.4 it's dead dead and useless.

I'd pull the deep cycle out and charge it up and then have it load tested (any autoparts store can do that)
With the deep cycle at 9.4V when you go to combine all your juice is going to try to bring that voltage up so that's likely why you won't start now.

[BrentB]

Thanks SONIC. I did leave the onboard charger plugged in last night (I typically do leave it plugged in any time I’m not using the boat). I’ll try to start the boat when I get home and see what happens.

I do recall having some issues with the engine starting last summer. After being out surfing for a while (starting and stopping the engine) the engine would crank several times before turning over. Then I’d go back to the dock at the end of the day, plug it in, and everything was fine. So maybe the alternator was starting to go bad last summer.

[BrentB]

Onboard charger was in “auto maintain” mode when I got home. So I assumed batteries were fully charged. Engine still won’t start. Voltage measuring 12.84 on the house battery and 13.00 on the starting battery with everything off.

[BrentB]

I took the batteries to advance auto and had them tested. The told me the deep cycle was bad (tested 13.1V and 141 CCA). The cranking battery tested okay. So I got a new deep cycle battery (assuming this probably would NOT solve my starting problem). It did not. I again confirmed that the batteries are connected properly. The house and cranking batteries are NOT swapped.

I did notice, however, when I looked under the battery menu on the touch screen, the boat is seeing ZERO voltage from the cranking battery which leads me to believe something other than the battery is the problem (loose connection somewhere, bad selector switch, etc.).

[freeheel4life]

You won't get a battery voltage reading until the ignition is turned on(CAN network has to be transmitting)When you turn the key to the ignition position do you hear the fuel pump prime??

Dumb question but is your kill lanyard in the closed position??

[BrentB]

I’m an idiot and shall give up all my rights and responsibilities as a boat owner (and perhaps as a human being in general)...

I went outside to cover the boat (and to make sure the lanyard wasn’t pulled out, thanks free). My 10 year old son was with me. He said, “Dad, isn’t the throttle supposed to be in a certain position to start the boat?” I said, “Yeah buddy, it has to be in neutral, why?” Then I looked at the throttle. It was NOT in neutral. Uggghhhh!!! I’m such an idiot.

Started right up!

So I think my only problem is a bad house battery (which caused the initial problem with the screen and accessories power going out).

Thanks to all of you who helped me out. At least I learned a lot about batteries, alternators and the wiring of my boat!

I’ll drop the boat in the water tomorrow and check the voltage at the batteries with the engine running to make sure the alternator is still not an issue.

Now it would make me feel a lot better if some of you could share some stories about when you thought your boat had a major problem, spent hours troubleshooting it, and then it turned out to be something stupidly simple.

[freeheel4life]

Sounds like you solved it and verified your throttles Neutral acknowledge is good (fun fact, it's all digital on your boat, no switch on the trans)

I spent hours once on a Supreme after I relocated the batteries to the spotter locker, gutted the hard tanks, bagged it, and built new engine dividers. Well one of the battery cables was a blue audio cable with a red connector. Assumed it was a positive. Turns out it was a negative. Caused all kinds of issues. Didn't blow any breakers or sparks....just a lot of freaky electrical issues. Took about half a day.

Also spent a ton of time on an ignition fuse blowing on a 14 Z3 at random times.....spent almost a whole day to find that a washer had come loose and plinko (A la price is right) in between the purple ignition wire and another post (can't remember if it was a direct short to ground or one of the batter positives) on the ProIso isolator. The washer would only bridge the gap when the boat was bow high just right.

Hope those were worth a laugh and at least a reminder that we all chase out tails in circles sometimes lol

[mikemcclain8]

I spent weeks chasing a engine/fuel pump that would randomly not work. Changed out low pressure pump, multiple relays, and checked wiring harnesses.....turned out it was a fuse holder that had expanded just enough to make poor contact with the fuel pump fuse and once I crimped the holder a bit, no more problems.....we've all been there. Glad your son saved the day!

[mikemcclain8]

More recently: My son went out to mow and the zero turn wouldn't start. I wasn't home so tried to trouble shoot from the road. Charge the battery, check cable connections, check neutral switch, check seat safety switch, Nothing. When I got home, I wiggled the positive cable and heard a relay click. Cleaned the battery posts and recrimped the ring connector. Fired right up. Reminded of K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid

[BrentB]

I was thinking of buying a set of cable terminal connectors to make it easier to connect/disconnect my batteries. There are multiple connections to each terminal so it seems this would make it a lot simpler. Anyone aware of any issues/problems with this type of connector?

[mikemcclain8]

I use these and have had no problems.
battery.jpg

[InstantBreakfast]

I had a similar issue last month ('17 rzx2), where the boat wouldn't start. The batteries tested fine, and all the systems would turn on and function, but nothing would happen when the key was turned. It turned out to be a loose starter relay in the fuse box.

[BrentB]

Voltage readings with new house/deep cycle battery installed...

Everything Off
—house 12.99
—crank 13.05
Radio/Blower On
—house 12.51
—crank 13.03
Engine On
—house 14.35
—crank 14.45

This tells me the alternator is probably just fine, correct? So I think my original issue was simply a bad deep cycle battery.

[Bamer]

Looks good. 13V is a little high for an open circuit voltage, should be more like 12.7V, but I’m guessing batteries were on a charger just prior to your test or the engine was running just prior to test?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[25cents]

I’m an idiot and shall give up all my rights and responsibilities as a boat owner (and perhaps as a human being in general)...

I went outside to cover the boat (and to make sure the lanyard wasn’t pulled out, thanks free). My 10 year old son was with me. He said, “Dad, isn’t the throttle supposed to be in a certain position to start the boat?” I said, “Yeah buddy, it has to be in neutral, why?” Then I looked at the throttle. It was NOT in neutral. Uggghhhh!!! I’m such an idiot.

Started right up!

So I think my only problem is a bad house battery (which caused the initial problem with the screen and accessories power going out).

Thanks to all of you who helped me out. At least I learned a lot about batteries, alternators and the wiring of my boat!

I’ll drop the boat in the water tomorrow and check the voltage at the batteries with the engine running to make sure the alternator is still not an issue.

Now it would make me feel a lot better if some of you could share some stories about when you thought your boat had a major problem, spent hours troubleshooting it, and then it turned out to be something stupidly simple.

Brent. I had a similar issue at Lake Powell. For three hours I couldn’t get the boat to turn over. Check the kill switch. Checked voltage and wiring. I was dumbfounded…..well actually just dumb. Haha.

we pulled into the cove on a slow idle approach and I had left the throttle in gear when I killed it. When I finally realized my issue I was relieved that it was something major but felt quite small letting everyone on the boat know my error.

that was 8 years ago and it’s still gets brought up pretty regularly.

glad you found the issue. Guarantee that this will be the first thing you check in the future.