dying batts

[lynnboy021]

ok so i have a 19 ft boat with two deep batts with a switch in the middle and i all i have is a cd player and a fish finder, now both my batts are new but my ? is why are they both dead??// the cd player does not work and also the fish finder. i charged number one batt and it was fine so i put the switch to off so the next day i put the switch to one and got nothing just clicking and the trim wont go down so i put on batt 2 and nothing so i put on batt 1and2 it works and motor starts so next day not even one,2 or boat wont do anything....lol wtf???? so what i am thinking is i think my starter is killing my batts cuz everything is connected to the starter maybe how do i know cuz it happend to my chevy truck so i rebuilt the starter and never happend againe or its my ingtion cuz when i turn the key off my rpm jumps from like 0 to 4 about 3 times then it stays like half of 0... ya so sorry for the long post any ideas???

 

[Silvertip]

Re: dying batts

No diagram of how your switch is wired means not much we can do to help. We can't see your boat. Something is staying on. When you use a dual battery switch, ALL accessories including the motor should be wired to the COM terminal on the switch. If you have an automatic bilge pump, the automatic function should be wired directly to one of the batteries. The starter cannot drain your batteries since the solenoid controls when it is on. If the solenoid is not energized the starter cannot draw current. I suspect you have some bad wiring.

The post right below yours has a diagram of how a dual battery switch should be wired. All accessories go the the COM terminal (which is not shown on the diagram).

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

ya thats how i have it but if the switch is off everything on the boat does not work no lights no pump no nothing so it might be the switch....... the pic shows how i have it

 

[Silvertip]

Re: dying batts

The wire you show as the COM wire should be the large red battery cable from the engine starter solenoid. Is that what you have?

To test the switch, disconnect everything from the COM terminal. Using a test light or voltmeter, set the switch to OFF. You should see no voltage at the COM terminal. Set the switch to BAT 1, BAT 2 and BOTH. You should see 12 volts in all of those positions.

Next disconnect battery 2 from the switch. Set the switch to OFF. You should see no voltage at the COM terminal or at the BAT 2 terminal. Set the switch to BAT 1. You should see voltage at COM but not on the BAT 2 terminal. On BOTH you should see voltage at BAT 2 and COM. If this checks out the switch is OK.

What you may have is a bad diode in the charging system. This would drain the batteries, but not if the switch is set to OFF.

So double check what you have. Something is not right.

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

yes the com goes right to the starter

 

[NYBo]

Re: dying batts

ya thats how i have it but if the switch is off everything on the boat does not work no lights no pump no nothing so it might be the switch....... the pic shows how i have it

Nothing hooked through the switch is supposed to work when the switch is off! Besides, even if the switch was bad and not letting any power through, that most certainly wouldn't kill the batteries.

The batteries may be new, but were they properly charged and is your alternator charging properly?

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

ya never had a problem with them. when ok so when motor is running i put on batt 1 and its like 12 to 13 then when i give gas it goes to 13 to 14 then when i switch to batt 2 its the same then when i put the switch to off first it was up to 16 so i turned off the motor turned it back on and with the motor running and switch to off it is at 12 to 14 no more then that and the motor is still running so with the switch off the motor working that means the alt is not bad right???

 

[NYBo]

Re: dying batts

It's not a good idea to switch off the batteries with the engine running. You can damage the alternator.

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

i know but i just wanted to see if the alt was good

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

ok so i found out what happend so what happend was that both battery box was full of water and it just killed the batterys but the switch is fine. today i went to go test the batts and they wont hold a charge so i just went to go get two new batts and i made some small holes on the batt box so it wont happen next time

 

[EricJRW]

Re: dying batts

Thanks for the update. I always appreciate reading about the final solution... Never know when the knowledge may come in handy.

 

[lynnboy021]

Re: dying batts

lol so tell me about it....i just cant beleave how something dum like this made me go nuts i mean i took the whole back part of the boat could not find anything then look at the box and it was full of water that is some crazy stuff lol..... maybe the box got full of water maybe from washing the boat or here in boston ma we got like a week of non stop rain but its ok cuz walmart gived me two new batts for free and everything is good working order thanks god. i am telling you boats is like a wife always needs money lol...