Dago Racing

I got a problem and the mechanic is either an idiot or I am.........Sunday morning.........went to take the boat out tried to start the boat........dead batteries........BOTH OF THEM.........I'm baffled at this.......both dead at the same time........hard to believe...........try to jump them from a jump box but not enough juice in the jump box I guess. It wasn't fully charged..........I decied to pull the batteries out and take a look. They were the old style that you add water to. So I pop the caps off and see that the water is very very low in most of the cells.......I fill it.........hook it to a battery charger to see if the water bubbles or if the cells were dead........most of the cells were shot..........checked the other battery and did the bubble test.........same thing........dead. GREAT........so I think I found the problem.....the batteries were old so I figured they saw their better days and needed to be replaced.
I go to the autoparts and buy 2 brand new delco's.......sealed with the eye on the them. Get them back to the house and install. Boat fires right up and off I go.

Monday I try to go out but it turns out I shredded an impeller in my shallow canal (another story) and the boat was overheating back to the dock I go.......call the mechanic he comes out Tuesday and replaced the impeller. Didn't go out Tues. it was late.

Wed. I decide to go out and make sure everythings fine with the engine and it doesn't overheat. I did notice upon starting it ...it kinda turned over slower than normal but didn't pay much attention to it at the time. Went out for a little run and engines were fine.....engine temp was normal again. Great, impellers fixed, batteries problem fixed were looking good.

Thursday, I'm blowing out my well to try and get rid of loose dirt and deepen it a bit........the boat is docked along my seawall. I thought about the slow start from the last time I went out and decide to start it up for good measure. SURE ENOUGH........batteries are dead.........HOLY SHHIT! I can't believe this. I call the dealership they say someone will be out TODAY!

Keep in mind......I just bought this boat in July and have had nothing but problem.......see post (big big problems in Fountain Section). Just had an engine replaced and none of these battery issues started until after this install.

Back to the story.......genius mechanic comes out.....supposedly tests EVERYTHING........he even took the boat out to run it........why I have no idea.......don't think that was necessary but what do I know.......he said he took out the stereo and reset it...(whatever that does)........says nothing is draining off the batteries and that I should keep the battery switches off EVERYTIME the boat is not in use. And that's it........he says there's no problem.......the whole time I've had the boat prior to the engine install the switches were ALWAYS ON and I never killed the OLD SHHITTY BATTERIES..........I FIND THIS VERY HARD TO BELIEVE! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE IN MY MIND! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL LEAVING THE BATTERY SWITCHES IN THE ON POSITION WITH EVERYTHING IN THE BOAT OFF CAN FLATEN TWO BRAND NEW BATTERIES......AM I AN IDIOT OR IS HE ?

Any suggestions or diagnosis are greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

WildSafaris

Niether..

It sounds like something is still drawing power when everything is turned off. Something that when you turn off the battery switch, then it turns off also.
If that is the case then turning off the batteries will solve the issue, until you find what is draining the batteries.

You can find this by using a amp meter. Turn every thing off, then test for amps at the battery with the switch on and then with the switch off. Any change in amps then you need to take the meter and test every lead on the electrical box.

It only takes a couple minutes to do this.

Another possiblility is your alternator is over charging your batteries. (which is probably why he took it for a spin).

I'd check the bilge pump switches, i've seen them cause this kind of problem.

East Coast B

I had a bilge float switch break off and lay on it's side in the on position. Like wild said, put the volt/amp meter inline and see if anything is drawing current.....

WHIPLASH

These are all good responses but if you don't find anything, turn the battery switch off. Embarrassing to say, but I've had my boat for 18 years and have had a mysterious short/drain that I've never been able to find, even with all the tests- it comes and goes. A friend with a 3 year old Powerquest has had the same problem and by turning off the switch we've both not had any problems. Good luck and post if you do find something.

Dago Racing

When that happened could you hear the bilge running ? I don't hear anything running and both bilge pumps work fine when I turn them on but you can definitely hear if they are running.

I will find out in the morning if turning the battery switches off turns off the source of the problem.....if the boat is dead again in the morning then there is definitely something else going on. I manager of the service department is coming out in the morning to test the alternator.......he says the diodes in the alternator could be bad and if that's the case they will charge the batteries but they will also pull juice from them when the engines are off.......first I've heard of this....more to follow in the morning.

Dago Racing

My only problem with this would be........I would be scared everytime I went out that my batteries would die and I'd be stuck out on the lake somewhere. Plus I would be really scared to stop and use the stereo and other accessories. That's not my idea of fun!

Cool Trips

If your Mercothode (anti corrosion) systems are shorting out can they drain your battery that fast? Not having your bildge pump working while the boat is docked is not a good plan.

Mike

NetGain

All you need is one good rain with the battery off and you are going to fill that bilge. You'll be looking at starters and all other fun goodies.

Are they starting batteries or deep cycle. The bilge pump alone will kill a starting battery in a few days. If you put it on a lift, pull the plug and then shut off the battery, but make sure its up for the tides

Lmarth

There's a lot of good advice here. On my boat, turning off the batteries does not turn everything off as noted above. Bilge pump and other items are still enabled. I ran the 'house' battery dead this winter in heated storage by leaving the volt meter switch on that reads the voltage on the batteries. Everything else was turned off. Assuming the charging system is ok, I'd measure the draw on each battery with everything off and see what you have. I don't know how your boat is wired but with mine I can start each motor with its own battery or drawing from both or start each motor with just one good battery. The port battery is the house battery to run the stereo, etc. That way the stereo could run the port battery dead and I could start both motors with one good battery. You must have a pretty good draw to kill both batteries so quick. Let us know how you make out.

509 SC

Someone already mentioned the Mercathode System. I bought a new boat that would kill a battery in a couple of days. Put in a new battery and turned off the battery switch, couple of days later dead. Turned out the Mercathode system was faulty and was wired direct to the battery by the manufacturer (which is correct in a saltwater enviroment). Steve