About a month ago we were almost back to our ramp when there was a loud pop and and the boat just died. When I raised the hatch there was a little smoke. I tried to start again and it cranked over a couple times but wouldn't start, then the battery gauge read nothing and nothing would work at all. We got towed to the ramp and I just got to look at it yesterday. Well I found that one of my positive battery cables had gotten enough slack in it to get against the belts or pulleys and had been worn almost completely through so it had grounded out on the motor. So I replaced the cable and zip tied it so that it wouldn't happen again and I charged both of the batteries. Well I tried to start and it cranked over a couple times on the other battery but didnt start and then just makes a click when I try to start it. When I switched it over to the other battery it read charged but when I tried to start nothing happened and the gauge just went to zero and stayed there. I just had the starter replaced about 2 months ago and was wondering if it fried my starter or my ignition or whats going on? Any help or info is appreciated

Could have fried your ignition module.. Check for spark at a plug.. Also make sure the 50 amp breaker isn't tripped.. If there isn't any power at all when you turn the key, a possible cause would be the fusible link at the starter..

ok here is the deal..you had someone replace your starter?? you should have takin it back to the guy that replaced it..he did a shabby job and most likely over looked the battery cable rubbing on the pully..his fault and i would hold him liable to fix your boat the rite way..if that cable was not misrouted a you would not be in the situation your in now..

the discharge of battery to ground could have damaged plates(shorted) in battery, making them batteries junk.

I tried pushing in the 50 amp breaker but it wouldnt move so I hope that means it isnt tripped. When I try the battery that the cable was connected to that shorted out the battery gauge reads nothing, when I switch over to the other battery it turned over a couple times but now it just clicks and the gauge shoots down to zero and I have to turn the switch off and back on again to even get a reading on the battery gauge. I am going to take it back to the guy who changed my starter but I dont really know if it was his fault that the cable got into the pulley. I have had problems since I had the starter changed though, it would very slowly turn over to the point where you couldnt even tell that it was and you would just have to keep the key turned and it would eventually start. So I dont know if it was a bad starter or if it was a bad connection. I was just hoping that I could fix it and it would be something simple.

Take the battery out and have it load checked.

Symptoms sound like a battery issue. Pull the battery out of your car/truck and put it in the boat. That way you can start further troubleshooting with a known-good power supply.

Its more than a battery issue because I have two separate batteries and i charged them both fully before even trying to start the boat. At this point I dont know if the starter is fried or the distributor or ignition etc.... I just wish i could figure it out or that it isnt too expensive to fix.