Battery drain?

[BeachBum2]

Hey All,

I have had a problem with my battery going dead, unless I disconnect when i am not using it. It has been a problem ever since I got the boat new! Any Idea what this can be? I plan on putting in an additional battery and perko switch. But I would still like to know how to find out what is draining the batery.

Thanks, Keith

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Do you wet slip the boat or is it on a trailer?
If it's on a trailer you should not have this problem, especially from day one(well, unless you keep the drain plugs on and keep raining buckets to make the pump go on and off)
If you wet slip the boat and scappers are below water line, then your bidge pump keeps working so the dead battery.
If you use the boat, lets say once a week, and you have a radio which requires a hot lead for memory, that does not drain the battery. If you have a GPS antenna that requires power, that does not drain your battery.
Give us some more specifics so we can help you.

Also make sure you don't have the bilge pump switch in the auto position if you have the boat on a trailer, the switch should be in the off position.

[chumhead]

It would be best to either install a battery kill switch or pull the fuse at the battery after each trip. Wires and connectors that are energized with 12v power will corrode at a much faster rate than the same wires/connectors that have the power shut off.

If you have a Rule Automatic bilge pump, and leave it on the Auto setting, it cycles every 2 1/2 minutes to check for water in the bilge and shuts off if no water is present. Many owners have reported dead batteries after a week or two of leaving the bilge switch set on auto. Some stereos and other electronics also have illumination, clock and memory settings that will have a minor drain on the battery that could have an impact over extended periods of time.

Hope this helps...
chumhead

[BeachBum2]

Thanks for your replies fellas but , thats just it. The boat sits on a trailer, plugs out, bilge off. I have installed radio, gps/fishfinder/chartplotter. The problem existed before these electronics were installed. I guess I will keep disconnecting positive lead to battery. It only takes three or four days for battery to drain completely. I,m confused.

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

If that's the case you should take it back to the dealer. It might be an engine harness problem and if it fails when you are on the water is not going to be funny at all. I could also lead to a fire.

[DIVERHERB]

Its fairly easy to find a drain. Disconnect +battery cable and put a multi meter between the battery and cable. Watch for amp draw. Then start disconnecting components one at a time until you see the draw drop. On the newer cars we look for 30 milliamps or less, sounds like very little but a 60 milliamp draw will drain a car battery in about a week.

[BeachBum2]

I would NEM but they are 3 hours away, they suck to deal with and some things are just cheaper and easier to do with a little help from some friends, and hopefully I won't miss any good fishing. Thanks for the advice, Keith

[BeachBum2]

Thanks Diver, I will give it a try. I was not sure how to troubleshoot the problem. I did notice when connecting positive leads, the one that operates the tilt/ignition will spark, any thoughts?

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

The spark means that that circuit gets powerd up as soon as you connect the lead to the battery(meaning the circuit is hot now). If that particular circuit is not supposed to be hot at that stage, there is your problem. I totally forgot to mention the trim and tilt switch. That would be one of the very first things i would check, they tend to go bad for no reason or because they are routed through a tight space sometimes you get a "floating" ground. That is also part of the harness i mentioned earlier.

[Harry]

Its fairly easy to find a drain. Disconnect +battery cable and put a multi meter between the battery and cable. Watch for amp draw. Then start disconnecting components one at a time until you see the draw drop. On the newer cars we look for 30 milliamps or less, sounds like very little but a 60 milliamp draw will drain a car battery in about a week.


Ditto what Herb said.

As I was reading the posts here I was all set to make the same post that Herb did, but now I don't have to ... *thumbsup*

If you don't have a multi meter a cheap 12 VDC light will work too, but the meter is best.

[Herfnwolf]

My 1765 is in the shop now with a trim short somewhere in the harness. But, in my case I'm not getting a battery drain, and have no down trim control. Good luck Keith.

DJ

[mistasherm]

This thread (and many others like it) represent why I am glad to have found this site. Great folks with with great personalities willing to help others out in a tight situation. *thumbsup*

[Dave]

My 1765 is in the shop now with a trim short somewhere in the harness. But, in my case I'm not getting a battery drain, and have no down trim control. Good luck Keith.

DJ

Herf, I had this happen a couple of times - up trim but no down trim. In my case, it was because the trim adjustment dial (not sure if that's the proper name for it) was out of position. Once I discovered where it was and how to adjust it, I corrected it myself and was back in business in a couple minutes.

Dave

[BeachBum2]

Isn't the trim/tilt always hot? The switch on the motor and the one on the throttle, or just the one on the motor. I think the answer to this question will help when I trouble shoot this weekend. I will let you all know what i find with pics if i am succesful or not.
Thanks, Keith

[workinprogress]

I'm a little out of my league here Beachbum, so this is a little bit speculative, but I am positive the tilt control on the motor is always hot as long as the battery is connected, and I am fairly sure the control on the throttle is hot as long as the ignition is on. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Dave]

WIP is right, except the part about the power tilt/trim (PTT) being hot ONLY when the ignition is on. The PTT should be operational at both locations at all times.

Dave

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

WIP is right, except the part about the power tilt/trim (PTT) being hot ONLY when the ignition is on. The PTT should be operational at both locations at all times.

Dave

As long as you are connected to the battery.

[workinprogress]

Thanks for the correction 1stSarge, I will file it in my memory and consider it my lesson learned for the day.

[FishNC]

I experienced the same thing......boat on trailer.....nothing electrically on....or so I thought. Wanted to use the boat and battery was dead.
My dealer had recommended using the spare 'accessories' switch to power my electronics so the power could be shut off with the switch when not in use. I didn't listen and learned the hard way that my GPS antenna uses power even when the unit is off.
I started disconnecting the antenna from the unit when not in use and no more dead battery problems.

[MartyJ16]

Wires and connectors that are energized with 12v power will corrode at a much faster rate than the same wires/connectors that have the power shut off.


I did not know that. My battery does not have a drain problem, but everything on my console, bilge, aerator, horn, is hot with the key off so that is reason enough to unhook the battery at home.

Also, Herfenwolf, for what it is worth, when my t/t would not go down, it was a relay - easy to check, just switch the two positions. Only bad thing was they were encapsulated, and I had to cut that off to get to them.

[workinprogress]

I did not know that. My battery does not have a drain problem, but everything on my console, bilge, aerator, horn, is hot with the key off so that is reason enough to unhook the battery at home.

Also, Herfenwolf, for what it is worth, when my t/t would not go down, it was a relay - easy to check, just switch the two positions. Only bad thing was they were encapsulated, and I had to cut that off to get to them.

Marty,
I understand it's not much work to disconnect a battery cable, but if you were so inclined you could install a switch like this and never have to mess with the cable. (I'm assuming you have a single battery setup)
http://bluesea.com/category/1/products/6006
If I remember correctly, they are in the $30 range.

[MartyJ16]

Marty,
I understand it's not much work to disconnect a battery cable, but if you were so inclined you could install a switch like this and never have to mess with the cable. (I'm assuming you have a single battery setup)
http://bluesea.com/category/1/products/6006
If I remember correctly, they are in the $30 range.

WIP,

Perko has a couple of those also, I have a friend who keeps his Grady in a dry storage, and they require that kind of device. I might do that but my battery is real easy to get to. I guess it makes sense, but I never thought about wires carrying voltage corroding faster than no current.

[Redfish]

I'm going to jump in here with my 2 cents for what it's worth. Most of the advice for isolating this problem is valid--especially those posts by Diverherb and NEM. You have got to find out where the juice is going. If your battery is good, a minor drain such as what would occur with a stereo memory or GPS antenna should not kill the battery in a week--although it will eventually. The multimeter will tell you how much juice is flowing. A spark when connecting the positive lead is an indication of draw, but the problem with some of the modern electronic components is that they will draw a few amps when first reconnected to the battery, but that amp draw will quickly minimize or become nonexistent once the circuit has been powered up. The bottom line is that with a good battery, there should NOT be enough juice flowing to drain a battery in several weeks. If there is, there is a problem that needs to be looked at. My guess is you have a problem with either your motor's internal circuitry (could be a malfunctioning alternator as they will draw current if they are going bad) or the wiring harness. I suspect your problem is not with an accessory.

Also, you said the dealership you bought from is a PITA to deal with, but I would not hesitate to take it back to them and tell them to get it right. I would be interested to know which dealer. You are in the Raleigh area and it is a long way over to Sea Level. One bad trip due to this problem would make it worth my while to get it fixed. Why not take it to a different CS/Suzuki dealership? It is under warranty and should be covered at any of the dealerships that are closer. You have two in your area that get pretty consistently good reviews on their customer service from other members here on CSO. Your signature line says it is an 08 boat, so there should be no question about them fixing the problem.

Let us know how you come out. Good luck!

[CFISHN]

MY SWITCH KILLES ALL BUT THE BILDGE PUMP .
CONSIDER AND ONBOARD CHARGER ONE THAT CAN BE LEFT PLUGED IN ALL THE TIME .

"IMHO" ALL CRAFT WITH MORE THAN A 9.9 HP OR WHAT EVER YOU CAN HAND CRANK / START WITH THAT HAND WRAP ON PULL STRING SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 2 CRANKING BATTS AND A SWITCH !

I HAVE HAD MORE DAYS GO BAD FROM BATTS THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE PROBLEM OVER MY 25 YEARS AS A BOAT OWNER

I KEEP 2 CRANKERS WITH SWITCH AND CHARGER IN THE STREN .

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk1/CFISHN62/CSO/R-CHARGER.jpg

AND 2 TROLLING 24 V IN THE BOW WITH CHARGER

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk1/CFISHN62/CSO/F-CHARGER.jpg

I LIKE AND HAVE USED THE GUEST BRAND FOR MAY YEARS PLUG IN AND FORGET TILL NEXT TRIP WITH SEALED BATTS OF CORSE. AND FOR THAT REASON RECOMEND THEM TO ALL A NICE ONE CAN BE HAD FOR $80
YOU CAN FIND OTHER GOOD BRANDS TOO !!!

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21404-cat601812-cat21448&id=0022981016459a&navCount=12&podId=0022981&parentId=cat21448&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=8IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21448&hasJS=true