Short Somewhere

[David Lee]

I have a short somewhere on my boat. It is a 1996 Dyna Trak bass boat with a 70 horse Suzuki 4 stroke engine. Something keeps draining the battery. What is the easiest way to find this? If there is one.:%

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Short Somewhere

Shorts blow fuses so that's not the problem. You can pull fuses until you find the circuit causing the drain. Bilge pumps with float switches are notorious for sticking and hence the pump runs continuously. Interior lights, live well lights, and live well pumps are other possible sources. Are you sure the battery is ok. Have it load tested. A bad battery will not hold a charge. If you have a radio in the boat the clock and station memory both draw current all the time although that draw is very small. Still, if the battery is bad, that small load will kill a weak battery. You could have a bad regulator that's allowing a drain on the battery. If you have a voltmeter, start the engine and at fast idle the voltmeter should read above 13 volts. If it doesn't, the charging system is not working.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Short Somewhere

Get a multimeter that has a current measuring function. Measure between the positive side of the battery and the positive cable that you will have removed from the battery. If you see a current draw, start by pulling fuses one at a time until you find the culprit. If it isn't something that is hooked to your fuse panel, it may be what Silvertip said, a regulator.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Short Somewhere

or this put a battery switch on it. i put a master switch before my fuse panel. when i leave the boat, everything is off.

 

[I/O WALDO]

Re: Short Somewhere

I like to use a test light connected where Bruce says(sans meter), on that size boat you can sea it from the fuse panel.

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

Not sure it is the regulator. The boat was never ran with the new battery. It just sat in the drive way. The bilge and graphs are on the panel with a master switch that is off. It is pretty frustrating. I hear the sandies and crappie are in the creeks and I cannot get to them.:'( I am going to go out there in a minute with my volt meter and check the wires.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Short Somewhere

New batteries can also be bad batteries. Eliminate it as the source of the problem.

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

It is the second new battery in the boat. How do I check to see if it is bad?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Short Somewhere

Problem with a test light is that you will never see a small draw that is less than 100 mA.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Short Somewhere

Load test at your local auto store. But since it's the second new battery (in how long) I doubt it's the problem. With the Master switch off, my money is on the regulator/rectifier. Which brings up a question. When you mention "Master Switch" do you mean a master switch on the console, or a Battery Disconnect switch? If you mean a Master Switch on the console, that should kill all accessories except anything wired directly to the battery -- such as a bilge pump and the large battery cables. If that's the case, I'll double my wager on the regulator/rectifier. Just curious, but did you ever disconnect the battery cables (accidentally or on purpose) when the engine was running?

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

Load test at your local auto store. But since it's the second new battery (in how long) I doubt it's the problem. With the Master switch off, my money is on the regulator/rectifier. Which brings up a question. When you mention "Master Switch" do you mean a master switch on the console, or a Battery Disconnect switch? If you mean a Master Switch on the console, that should kill all accessories except anything wired directly to the battery -- such as a bilge pump and the large battery cables. If that's the case, I'll double my wager on the regulator/rectifier. Just curious, but did you ever disconnect the battery cables (accidentally or on purpose) when the engine was running?

Second new battery in a week. I was at the lake and my old battery was dead. It was 7 years old. I put a new battery in the boat loaded the boat on the trailer and came home. I was messing around with the boat 2 days later and nothing worked. Battery was dead. I thought maybe just had a bad battery. Took it back yesterday and got a new battery. 2-3 hours later it was dead. The master switch I am talking about is on the console that turns everything off (lights, bilge, aerator and graphs). It has been off the whole time. The battery was never disconnected from the boat while the boat was running. This is really frustrating. I have everything disconnected from the battery now except the bank charger to see if the battery will charge. Thank you guys for all the help this is really frustrating.

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

Well the battery charged fine. It is now full. I just put the motor wires on there and nothing else. I will check in a few hours and see if it is draining. After that I will run the console wires and see if it is them.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Short Somewhere

Unless you do the tests that Bruce and I have suggested you won't find out what the problem really is.

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

Is trere a way to test the regulator. I will try measuring the current of the cable and the battery. Are you talking about the cable to the console, I am assuming?

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

Sorry for being such a slow one on this. I have never had a problem with this boat and it is really frustrating.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Short Somewhere

Do you have a meter that will measure current? You really need that to do this test.

 

[David Lee]

Re: Short Somewhere

It will read DC and AC current.

 

[I/O WALDO]

Re: Short Somewhere

I stiil like a test light.It does not sound like his drain is less than i00 Ma.As fast as this beast runs down there should be an arc when breaking the battery conn. at the battery! I agree with charging system/engine related problem.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Short Somewhere

[colour=blue]

.As fast as this beast runs down there should be an arc when breaking the battery conn. at the battery!

The same thought crossed my mind........................

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Short Somewhere

The problem with using the light is that if it goes on you will know. If it doesn't go on, you have to use your meter anyway.