Power Draw on Boat...help

[sneak_e_pete]

Hi there, I have a 16ft. aluminum and I am having power issues. My battery keeps getting drained while just sitting in the driveway. Goes from full charge to dead in 2 days. Have had the battery tested and tried my back-up and they are fine. The only things running to the battery are my bilge, lights and ignition (electric start 40hp). All run off a fuse panel. I am not an electrical guy and am wondering if anyone has any ideas? Is this something I could tackle myself, or should I just take it to the marina?

[dhickey]

i would disconect 1 system at a time and see what happens.

start with the motor.

this should lead you to the system at fault.

then check all conections and wires.

if you have a good cherger it should tell you within a couple of hours if the battery is draining.

if this doesnt work than at least you have somthing to help your mechanic solve the problem.

 

good luck.

[Muskieman]

Do you have a stereo?

The clock and memory on my Pioneer will drain my battery in 3 days.

[Billy Bob]

The way to find the battery draw is hook up a VOLT meter on the battery...take a reading...WRITE IT DOWN...have someone watch the meter as you start to pull fuses ONE at a time...when the meter jumps up you found your draining circuit. P.S. start with a charged battery.

 

Good Luck,

Bob

[sneak_e_pete]

Thanks...what would cause a draw...is it easy to fix or better left to the pros?

[mercman]

A draw could be a short circuit, loose connection,faulty wiring,faulty switch,etc.Determine which circuit is causing the drain, then check everything on that circuit for the problem.

[Tom McCutcheon]

I was having the same problem last year. I think it was the stereo draining, even when the ignition was off. I put a battery switch in that shuts everything down when in the off position. Haven't had a problem since. You just have to remember to hit the switch at the end of a days fishing.

 

Tom.

[landry]

I am having the same problem this winter.

Where did u get a battery switch and is it easy to install?

Landry

[mercman]

why dont you hook up the stereo through the ignition switch.Then,like a car,when you switch the ignition off, everything else is swwitched off too. Can this even be done with a boat.

[Fisherman]

I am having the same problem this winter.

Where did u get a battery switch and is it easy to install?

Landry

You can get the switch at West Marine, Cabela's or BPro.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Perko-Dual-Battery-Switch/737961.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dbattery%2Bswitch%26x%3D19%26y%3D8%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=battery+switch&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Edited April 2, 2011 by Fisherman

[dhickey]

one system at a time.!

if your not using your boat DISCONECT the batery!

its easy.

or take the time to figure it out .

 

i agree with mercman .

 

the key should control all systems.

i would assume that your batery is going dead while the key is in your pocket?

 

quick fix.

disconect batery.

[irishfield]

Even with a switch installed... there is still something amiss in the wiring or items hooked to the battery if it's going dead in 3 days. You say only electric start, lights and bilge. No stereo, No fish finder?? No fish finder/GPS network?? Networks get wired for power and many make the mistake of doing so direct or before the master switch. They drain continuously. Electric postive ion downriggers.. constant output unless you unhook them. Electric choke... is it getting a bit of power thru a corroded ignition switch or choke button? Billy Bob has the right idea considering how few things you have that can be easily disconnected at one time. Another item it could be is a bad diode in your voltage regulator.. allowing power to drain in reverse flow through a leaky diode. Again.. something that can be isolated by simply disconnecting the wires.

Edited April 2, 2011 by irishfield

[Bernie]

Ideally a clamp on ampere tester is best to check for a drain.

But in a pinch I will hook a 12 volt test lamp by taking off a battery terminal (preferably the negative) and installing the test light between the battery and the cable.

A large drain such as yours will probably light the light.

Disconnect the devises hooked to the battery one at a time until the light goes out.

When it does, that is the problem.

 

One more thing, the test light needs to be an incandescent bulb as a diode test light does not draw enough power.

Edited April 2, 2011 by Bernie

[dhickey]

1 thing at a time...

 

its not a big boat .

 

or a plane.

 

???

 

hope everything is well.

 

salty

[sneak_e_pete]

Thanks, I did install a new bilge a few weeks ago...most likely the culprit I am thinking because I have changed nothing else. Seemed to be a pretty easy install though...I cut the old cables and wired them to the new bilge....viola....seems hard to mess that up!

[Jer]

Thanks, I did install a new bilge a few weeks ago...most likely the culprit I am thinking because I have changed nothing else. Seemed to be a pretty easy install though...I cut the old cables and wired them to the new bilge....viola....seems hard to mess that up!

 

 

Didja waterproof your connections at the bilge? It's pretty wet down there, could be causing a partial short.

[Tybo]

May also be that your battery is longer able to hold a charge.

[Rattletrap2]

Ideally a clamp on ampere tester is best to check for a drain.

But in a pinch I will hook a 12 volt test lamp by taking off a battery terminal (preferably the negative) and installing the test light between the battery and the cable.

A large drain such as yours will probably light the light.

Disconnect the devises hooked to the battery one at a time until the light goes out.

When it does, that is the problem.

 

One more thing, the test light needs to be an incandescent bulb as a diode test light does not draw enough power.

 

Bernie,

You have to be careful with this method. The majority of clamp on ammeters can only measure AC. I know there are a few that will pick up DC, but they are rare. I don't know about the automotive field, but any electrician will not likely have a DC meter.

Just a word of caution, not disagreeing with you.

[Bernie]

Bernie,

You have to be careful with this method. The majority of clamp on ammeters can only measure AC. I know there are a few that will pick up DC, but they are rare. I don't know about the automotive field, but any electrician will not likely have a DC meter.

Just a word of caution, not disagreeing with you.

 

It's pretty much a necessary tool in automotive and marine RT.

Mine reads right down to 1 milliamp.

There are so many things in a vehicle that draw power there are specifications for the amount allowed key off.

[irishfield]

I have one, as does my son Brian.

 

This is the one I have...

 

 

I believe my son's is a Fluke.

Edited April 2, 2011 by irishfield

[Rattletrap2]

I have one, as does my son Brian.

 

This is the one I have...

 

 

I believe my son's is a Fluke.

 

Thanks Wayne,

Those are cool. One of the things an HVAC Tech needs to measure a lot these days is control signals that range from 4-20 mA DC. We usually had to break into the circuit and place a regular multimeter set on "mA" in series with the signal to measure. PIA. I wonder what the accuracy is like with those clamp-on meters down in that low range? It would be interesting to compare the two methods. If 4 - 20 mA represented say 40 - 240 deg.F, any inaccuracy would throw things way off. That is 200 deg. over 16 mA. (.O8 mA/Deg).

Oh well, sorry to get off topic here.