Replies

• gandrfab Posts: 21,646 AG

  May 2016 #2

  Swap out the battery with something else you have and try it.
  If it works after that you have a bad battery.
  Cheap test.
  
  Put battery back in tow vehicle and go get a new one for the boat.

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• gandrfab Posts: 21,646 AG

  May 2016 #3

  And when cleaning the battery connections use a file or sand paper not a wire brush.

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• smooth move Posts: 540 Officer

  May 2016 #4

  put a set of jumper cables on and test. i made a set of jumpers out of old trolling motor wire(#10) just long enough to reach from my trolling batteries to my cranking battery.

  le se' bon ton roulet

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• HurricaneBK Posts: 213 Deckhand

  May 2016 #5

  Battery sounds dead. You can either swap it like someone else said or buy yourself a cheap multimeter, something you'll probably end up using more than once as a boat owner, and check the battery. I suspect it's shot and drained past the point of being able to hold a charge. If you have something that doesn't draw a lot of power like a light or something try turning it on and see if you get anything, might be pretty dim.

  BoatEasy
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• FS Dan Posts: 2,353 Moderator

  May 2016 #6

  It may be dead from leaving the key on but no one has said to also check that the charger is putting out voltage.
  a Bad charger may have you chasing ghost.
  
  FSD

  Formerly Catmandew

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• gandrfab Posts: 21,646 AG

  May 2016 #7

  FS Dan wrote: »

  It may be dead from leaving the key on but no one has said to also check that the charger is putting out voltage.
  a Bad charger may have you chasing ghost.
  
  FSD

  
  I have had a bad charger once. :banghead

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• illushinz Posts: 37 Deckhand

  May 2016 #8

  I've been there multiple times, every time (save one that was actually a dead battery) the battery connections were dirty/corroded. It doesn't take much, especially with newer motors and electronics. Some of them won't even click/crank with less than 10.5V (or something like that). I use 150 grit sand paper strips on the posts, and wrapped around a wooden dowel for the clamps. Clean clean clean, reattach and get some anti corrosive grease on them.

  2001 Tahoe 202 Deck Boat
  Mercury 150 XR6

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• Gotsea Posts: 861 Officer

  May 2016 #9

  Robert, All is good advise, but you haven't mention how old or what kind of boat/engine, older boats are finicky when it comes to electrical due to corroded wiring and loos connections, first things first, make sure that there is power in your battery and the polarity is correct, once went to see a friends friend's old boat with same symptoms, he had totally depleted his battery and connected the charger backwards reversing the battery polarity, he had blown the main fuse, needles to say that I thought I had found the problem till he told me he had changed the fuse three times, it was then that I start checking with the multi meter and I realized the polarity was reversed.

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