boat is in a mess

[lynnboy021]

s i have a 19ft nordic with a 488 merc in it and with the boat running my alt is at 13 and my water temp is at 150 so not here is my ? why when i talk on my cb the volts go down to 12 and my temp goes up to 160 then when i stop talking the volts go bak up and the temp goes back down lol what a mess?????

 

[JB]

Re: boat is in a mess

Your CB uses about 10 times as much power when transmitting as it does when receiving. More current to your accessories via maybe marginal wiring drops the voltage a bit.

Not a problem. Normal operation.

If you want to get rid of that, increase the size of the wiring going to your accessories from the battery. You might even make the CB a seperate dedicated circuit.

 

[rwidman]

Re: boat is in a mess

People still use CBs? There's someone to talk to?

The question is, is this a new problem or has it been this way since the CB was installed?

If it's a new problem, it could be a weak battery or loose or corroded connections on the battery or wiring common to the CB and the gauges.

If it's been this way since the CB was installed, the wire gauge is too small somewhere. Somewhere common to both the CB and the gauges. The negative wire from the helm to the battery would be common and would be something to check.