Will a motor die if it loses battery connection?

[mack6820]

I'm curious to know if an engine will die if the battery wire gets hot and loses its current flow as if you disconnected it from the battery. I know the older cars would stay running and the newer cars will die. I just don't know about boat motors. Its a 1994 115 Merc I think. Also it seems that my negative cable might be made of aluminum instead of copper. Does this seem weird?

 

[spoolin01]

Pretty sure my old motorcycle would stay running if you disconnected the battery, as did my old non-computer cars. One used an alternator, one a generator, to make electricity. Haven't tried it on anything in a long time. It would seem weird to me if the cable were aluminum, but live and learn.

 

[GA_Boater]

The cable should be tinned copper. Tinned means each strand has a coating of solder - Very aluminum looking.

 

[H20Rat]

Not sure about that age, but I do know that 2000+ and newer mercs can fry all kinds of electronics if the battery is disconnected. Voltage goes high, and your pulse packs will fry.

 

[MH Hawker]

Not sure about that age, but I do know that 2000+ and newer mercs can fry all kinds of electronics if the battery is disconnected. Voltage goes high, and your pulse packs will fry.

yea what he says

 

[ondarvr]

If it has a charging system it will fry the rectifier, but it will run fine, it doesn't need the battery to run.

 

[Silvertip]

Just because your older outboard has a battery does not mean it has a battery ignition. In fact it doesn't -- it has a magneto ignition. The job of the battery is simply to spin the starter which spins the engine to get it started. Spark is produced by the magneto. So to answer your question, yes -- the engine will continue to run with the battery disconnected but as was pointed out, you may be in the market for some replacement electrical system parts if you do that. New, old, or in-between, there is no good reason to disconnect the battery from an engine while it is running.