do gauges draw power all the time

[bdanley]

i have been having trouble with my batteries being dead after a couple of days. I tested the alternator and it test good...When hooking up the positive cable on my batterie i can hear a clicking sound and watch the tackes give a little twists i have unhooked all the other electronics on the boat and still something is drawing power.....The gauges are the only thing i have left to unhook.

[AuMDLST]

RE: do gauges draw power all the time

what year and model boat are you dealing with?
The boats I have owned (94 SNOB, 05 206, 06 210) would draw some current unless you turned everything off using the factory supplied switch - on the 94 it was a push button on the dash and more recently it is the toggle switch to the drivers right

[bdanley]

its an 87 18 foot

[Nates78Ski]

87 18foot what? Ski? BFN?...

Nate

[Laptom]

Do you have an Amp meter? If so you can measure the current. If there is still some current drawn when the ignition switch is on off, then something is wired wrong?!
On our 88 BFN everything was wired through this switch. I rewired the clock and memory from the radio to bypass this switch. But it would never uses that much power that I couldn't start the engine after 3 weeks.

[RedZoom]

If it is a 1987 SN2001, and is wired like the wiring diagram, then if all circit breakers are out then it should not draw current from the battery. Turning on the nav lights or the ignition switch to the on position would allow currrent to flow. Installing (and using) a battery switch should stop the current flow. A poor man's battery switch would be to disconnect the battery. If you have aftermarket items installed they may be bypassing the built in protection. For example if you have a radio/sound system and can play it with everything turned off and the accessory circuit breaker out, then you have a wiring problem to address. Good Luck. There are wiring diagrams available online for most sn2001's.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

If your ignition button is "off" then they shouldnt be drawing anything. The usual culprit on these boats, at least it was on mine, is a radio. It constantly pulls power, even when off. But if its going dead after jsut a few days, there is probably another issue.