Is my boat done?

[wesbradshaw]

So,

I bought a 03 21il with 90 hours on it last month. Everything seemed to work fine when we test drove it.

There was some sort of electrical problem with the boat the second time we took it out, to where we ended up floating into some guys dock and he towed us back. So I took it into the shop, and there was a loose connection.

Went back out, now the batteries will not hold 12 volts! By the end of the day we're pushing 10 volts, and the perfect pass, radio, etc. keep turning off and on.

I bought new batteries (dual system) installed them, put a meter at the alternator with the boat off, and they read 12.68 V. Then I turned the boat on, and they started dropping down to 12.4 V!!!

I'm putting a new Alternator in it tomorrow, anyone have any other ideas of what I should check?

[bfrank]

Man that really sucks, did your dealer give you any other ideas on problems???
Tige MD would be the guy to help you out.

[gman]

sounds very much like the alternator....however its a little early for one of those to go out especially with 90 hrs on it.

[wesbradshaw]

That's what I thought, a little early. But I guess maybe if the batteries are so dead, they can't be charged maybe that could put more strain on the alternator? I don't really know.

How do I get ahold of Tige MD? And does anyone know where I can get a shop manual for my boat?

[dogbert]

You may want to have the dealer do a full inspection just so there are no more surprises.

I'd also check to see if the engine came with a transferrable extended warranty. It's new enough where some of this may have been covered.

Where are you located?

[CP3]

I think you are right about the alternator. I had just about the same thing happen to my car not to long ago. The battery went dead then I replaced and it went dead again. then I was driving and the lights cut out and so did the radio, but it was still running. You can send tige MD to get a hold of him.

[lee]

Did you put a meter on the alternator to see what the output was/is? It should be 14 or so volts.

[emily]

I feel you pain. BUT there IS hope!

I had the SAME problem with my 03 21i!
We were having a serious case of buyers remorse. We had it worked on 2 or 3 different times at very reputable mechanic in the area, but they never were able to track it down, and then sometimes it would never act up on them.
We called TIGE factory and I'm pretty sure we spoke to Andrew Reyes who was able to to tell my husband what to check. It ended up being a very easy thing to fix with the wiring harness and we were able to do it ourselves. Now the boat operates as it should and we are thrilled.
Pleas contact us if you need more info or want my husban to tell you exactly what he did.

[dogbert]

Originally posted by CP3
You can send tige MD to get a hold of him.

Lee's pretty good, too. He didn't get his title for nothing

[wesbradshaw]

I did put the meter on the alternator (not at the battery) before I started the boat. Brand new 200 bucks worth of batteries in, and I was reading 12.6 ish. Then I started the boat, and the volts started slowley dropping down to 12.3 ish. I only ran the boat for a few seconds (out of the water), but I thought I should have gotten an immediate spike in volts up to 13.8 or so. Do you think I narrowed it down correctly? Could there be something else causing the alternator to go bad?

I also learned that there have been different little electrical problems with the boat, (mainly the charging problem, then there was an ignition connection that came loose-easy fix). Could these all be adding up to a bad alternator? Or could these different problems cause the alternator to take a crap?

And yes I want to know more about the wiring harness! The only inboard boat I have ever worked on was a 96 Nautique, and boats were a bit different 10 years ago. So I'm a little blind in this.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Oh, and I'm in the Seattle, Wa area!!

[dogbert]

Originally posted by wesbradshaw
I did put the meter on the alternator (not at the battery) before I started the boat. Brand new 200 bucks worth of batteries in, and I was reading 12.6 ish. Then I started the boat, and the volts started slowley dropping down to 12.3 ish. I only ran the boat for a few seconds (out of the water), but I thought I should have gotten an immediate spike in volts up to 13.8 or so. Do you think I narrowed it down correctly? Could there be something else causing the alternator to go bad?

Well, one thing I know about my boat is that the volts will read lower when I first start it at idle speed. I usually need to crank the RPMs up over 1200 to get the voltage above 12.3. I'm just going by my guage.

[wesbradshaw]

So far, the alternator was opened up and is shot! Beyond repair. But I am still thinking there may be somethign more going on in the boat in order to cause this.

[dogbert]

Originally posted by wesbradshaw
So far, the alternator was opened up and is shot! Beyond repair. But I am still thinking there may be somethign more going on in the boat in order to cause this.

What was wrong with it...did it fill up with water?

[wesbradshaw]

Didn't say anything about water, just that the repair shop said that it was beyond repair.

I bought the boat from Pacific Nautiques, and they are really working hard to learn a new boat and help me out, but this is getting a little annoying.

Does anyone know of anything that could cause a alternator to burn out? i.e. Grounds, water, etc.

[CP3]

Dogbert, He wanted to know how to get a hold of Tige MD. I just told him how.