Boat shut down yesterday But Started

[cclarke89]

SO i took the boat out yesterday and it should off! everything shut down as if the batteries were completely dead. SO i shut my battery switch off for about 2 minutes and it fired right back up. Then it did it again when i was running the ballast pump and stereo that has one amp to it. so i did the something and it fired up. Then five minuted later i was at a cursing speed and everything shut down once again and then i disconnected the amp and stereo completely then dove the boat fast for about 8 minutes and the boat ran fine all day. Whats going on?? I have 2 starting Batteries right now. Is it the batteries or alternator?? Help please..

[WakerideN]

not sure if you battery charger can test alternator output. but I would start there. that would be free to find amp output. But I would suspect as you do. its one of those two items. but you could pull the batteries and have them tested at any local autoparts store as well for free.

but going with batteries if I was betting based on what u have already done.

[R&T Babich]

SO i took the boat out yesterday and it should off! everything shut down as if the batteries were completely dead. ... I have 2 starting Batteries right now. Is it the batteries or alternator?? ...

What is the system voltage just before starting and while cranking the engine? Should be around 12.3-12.5v before cranking and 9.7-10.5v while cranking. If it goes below 9.5v the electronic ignition won't fire. When the engine is running at idle or low rpm what is the system voltage? Should be around 13-13.5v if the battery is charged, 14-15v if they are being charged by the alternator. If you see any voltage between 13-16.5v the alternator is working fine, over 16.5v and the regulator is faulty and the battery is being cooked.

Also, are both batteries hooked up for starting? Usually the second is connected to accessories so the accessories won't drain the starting battery. A 1-2-ALL switch allows switching to the backup battery if the starting battery has issues.

[cclarke89]

Ill make a long story short. took the boat to my mechanic he replaced my alternator, fixed a broken bracket and installed a ACR and that didn't fixed the problem. So was talking to my buddy thats a John Deer Mechanic and explained to him what was happening, instantly he goes "Thats a circuit breaker dude". Did some reserch picked up a 50amp circuit breaker and she ran like a champ all day blaring the new system.

[IDBoating]

Must have been an auto-reset breaker. I have a love-hate relationship with those because they can make troubleshooting a nightmare. Glad you got it figured out!