Power/Electrical Issue

[Matt Garcia]

Ok here’s the dilemma: Charged my batteries to a full charge. Turned on the stereo, blower, bilge etc. with no problems. Went to start it but heard a few clicks. Tried again and it did not work.

Few minutes later tried it again and did not hear anything. The blower barely turns on, the lights are on but dim, the stereo doesn’t turn on and the bilge barely runs.

To me it sounds like a battery issue but the batteries are fully charged. Checked the obvious such as fuses and circuit breaker (black nipple looking things) but couldn’t find anything.

Is it the batteries or something else?

[pup]

If the batteries are good, it seems like you have a poor connection on one of the battery cables. Check all the connections . The bat pos should connect to the starter & the ground should go to the engine block. If you have multiple batteries & an isolator switch make sure you check the switch connections also.

[lee]

Check for corrosion on the cables at both ends and makes they are tight.

[Tige M.D.]

matt,
just because the battery voltage is above 12.5vlt (100% being 12.75vlts) doesn't meen the battery is good. you could have an amperage problem. in other words you might have lost a cell.
the blower, stereo, horn, etc. don't require the amps that the starter does. after checking that all the connections are clean and tight then have the battery load tested. this can be done at a local parts store.

by the way, thanks for the goodies, just got them today. we are out of the westcoast shirts and will not be getting more (04' stuff is old news around here) i can send you an 05' shirt if you want?

greg

[Matt Garcia]

I did check the connections on every end of my cables and all were good. No corossion either.

Greg, I have had the batteries load tested twice this season and both times they turned out good. Thats what keeps me guessing every time.

The batteries are about 1 1/2 years old so I probably just replace them and be done with it.

And yes and 05 shirt would be cool! Thanks.

[Tige M.D.]

do you have a meter you can check voltage with? if so, check battery voltage at the battery, ignition switch, blower, bilge pump, and starter.
see if they are the same. then also you can check the voltage between the starter and solenoid. if all looks good then you might have a starter
failure.

how do the ground connection look? mainley where it mounts to the
block.

i need an address to ship the shirt to. just e-mail it to me.
service@tigewatersports

[Matt Garcia]

Greg, I have a multi meter that I use. The batteries check out fine. Not sure on how I would test the blower, bilge, starter etc.??

The ground connection is tight and is corrossion free. Also the stater was just replaced about a month ago.

Could it be something with the alternator?

[Tige M.D.]

if the batteries are charged then it shouldn't be the alternator.

to test the acc. voltage, place the red meter lead to the post on the rocker switch that is "switched hot" and the black to a good ground. turn on the switch and check your meter reading. checking the starter is just as easy. find a known good ground, put the red lead on the large red cable coming from the battery and check voltage, then move the red lead to the cable between the starter and solenoid. have someone turn the key to start and hold it,read the meter.
if the solenoid is powering up and clicking 1 time for each time you turn the key to start and there is power leaving the solenoid to the starter motor then there is either a power problem (cable, connection, battery) or the starter motor is bad. if the "click" is more like a hard "clunk" then check your cylinders for water

did the starter get replaced because of this problem?

did this start after the starter replacement?

is a new starter or remanufactured?

what is the battery voltage?

[Matt Garcia]

Greg thanks for the detailed response.
When I do try to turn the key its more of click and not a clunk. However, it will only allow me to do that once or twice. If I try it consecutively it acts like no battery is connected, no click or anything else. If I let is sit for an hour or more it will do a few more clicks and then nothing.

did the starter get replaced because of this problem? - I dont think so, it just slowly went out. Each outing it took more and more trys to get it started.


did this start after the starter replacement? - Yes. But I have also encountered this before and it just turned out that I just needed to charge the battery. Even before the starter was replaced.

is a new starter or remanufactured? -New. Arco, I believe.

what is the battery voltage? - It shows about 8 volts this is after I had tried starting it a few times.

I wont be able to check it out untill this weekend.

[Tige M.D.]

8 volts!!!!
that battery is done.

these merc efi engines will not start running with less than 11 volts. the computer needs 11.4 volts just to wake up. the engine will crank with less than that but it will not start.

borrow a battery out of your vehicle and see if it will start the engine.

[Matt Garcia]

Will do. Good thing I have two batteries in my truck. Thanks for the help.

[Matt Garcia]

Greg,

Yep, it was the batteries! Replaced them with two new ones. Thanks for the help.

[smendez]

This raises the question - Do batteries only last 1 1/2 years? I was hoping for 3-4 since I had two of them.

[Matt Garcia]

Not sure. I didnt ride last winter and kept them on a battery tender. Although I did use my boat heavily this year, about 2 times a week for about 6 months.

Maybe its the way my battery isolator is setup??