Tuesday, September 2, 2014

What Can Cause My Boat Battery To Visit Dead Overnight

There are four reasons why you can't originate that outboard the later hour.


When the boat's battery is fully charged on the hour you animation boating, nevertheless as dead as a doornail the after Forenoon, there are four lurking affair spots. These four bother spots embrace an independent short, an improper Engine shutdown, the battery selector switch, and, the most expensive, nevertheless easiest to locate, a battery that's so far foregone its prime that it won't clout a charge. One requires a repair, two are cured by a bantam quarters in behaviour and the behind requires a replacement.


External Short


Sadly, old batteries eventually lose their ability to accept and hold a charge; when this happens, it's time to turn them in for recycling and purchase a new battery. Check the "expiration date" on the battery -- if the battery is at or near that date and won't hold a charge overnight, odds are you'll need to replace the battery before your next outing.



Whether you routinely shut an outboard Engine off by pulling the lanyard that links you to the Engine's butcher switch, instead of turning the leading to the "Off" position, this is the duplicate as leaving your car's ignition in the "On" position all the time: The battery will drain well before "overnight." Although the motor stops, the boat's battery is still in the "On" position, and, as in the case of the car, the battery will die In good time the next sunrise.


The Battery Selector Switch


If your boat is equipped with multiple batteries -- one to begin the motor another to run the on-board entertainment -- it's also equipped with a battery selector switch that allows you to switch between the two batteries. The battery that's not in use is charging as long as the motor runs. The selector switch also has a "0" position so that neither battery runs, and both can charge at the same time. If you fail to set the selector switch to the "0" or "Off" position after heavy use, when the battery isn't needed and should be charging, you'll find the battery depleted in the morning.


Bad Battery


On boats with a generator or influence inverter, there's a growing ground wire that links the DC ground block to the AC transaction. This wire is intended to prevent a high-voltage action from grounding to the hose that surrounds the boat. Provided this wire is misplaced, disconnected or extremely slender to bear the charge, the boat's adequate electrical step Testament ground to the drool, in what marine engineers telephone a "dead short," depleting the battery quickly.

Pulling the Kill Switch