outboard troubles... electrical

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by jamesbalog

i ran jumpers from the same battery that was on the boat to the motor last night and got the same results... maybe the battery is bad.... ill have it load tested tonight

Just put your car near the boat and run the jumpers from it to the outboard. Why spend money if you don't have to?


Oh, and make sure you ground to the motor being tested, not to your outboard engine itself. (If your motor ground is corroded and you ground to your engine then you'll get bad results). The idea is to eliminate potential problem areas, and if you have a bad ground and you use it during the test then you'll never find the problem.

[jamesbalog]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Just put your car near the boat and run the jumpers from it to the outboard. Why spend money if you don't have to?


Oh, and make sure you ground to the motor being tested, not to your outboard engine itself. (If your motor ground is corroded and you ground to your engine then you'll get bad results). The idea is to eliminate potential problem areas, and if you have a bad ground and you use it during the test then you'll never find the problem.

boat was in a slip making things a bit more difficult.... but the results are in, it was a bad battery

old battery showed 12.5 but under a load it wouldnt put out much of anything.... new battery and problem solved


thanks everyone

[bradford]

Cheap and easy fix.

[Genie Aye]

I am late on this--but if a battery has full voltage does not mean it has any amps to speak of in it.

good easy find.

remember--a alternator is NOT a battery charger!

[Destroyer]

Glad you found the problem. A new battery is lots cheaper, and it has many side advantages... like insuring that your bilge pump works when needed... little stuff like that. Congrats on the solving of your problem.

[Larryrsf]

But this incident certainly illustrates the reason we need TWO batteries and a switch. The LAST thing we want is to be stuck out somewhere with a bad battery, bad cable, whatever. A Wellcraft V20 is too big to row! It is easy and inexpensive to invest in another battery and a switch and new cables. Then ensure both are charged up during your next outing. BTW, you must shut the engine down when you switch batteries unless your switch goes through a "both" position. I just stop the engine, switch batteries, then restart the engine. In an hour or so, even without a meter, you can be confident that the other battery is fully charged.

Larry

[jamesbalog]

Originally Posted by Larryrsf

But this incident certainly illustrates the reason we need TWO batteries and a switch. The LAST thing we want is to be stuck out somewhere with a bad battery, bad cable, whatever. A Wellcraft V20 is too big to row! It is easy and inexpensive to invest in another battery and a switch and new cables. Then ensure both are charged up during your next outing. BTW, you must shut the engine down when you switch batteries unless your switch goes through a "both" position. I just stop the engine, switch batteries, then restart the engine. In an hour or so, even without a meter, you can be confident that the other battery is fully charged.

Larry

i actually bought two batteries when i got the new one. just waiting on the perko switch from ebay that i dont think is ever going to show up.... one thing ill tell you is a kicker motor is worth its weight in gold