boat not wanting to start: low voltage...

[gride]

so my boat ran perfectly all saturday. there was one time when she didn't want to crank back up, but after a couple pushes she did. so i was going to change some fluids today, boat wouldnt start. the two orange lights on the keypad dimmed after holding the button a few seconds. so i charged the battery up, then checked the voltage on the digital gauge(analog is out) and it read 12.0v. at the battery itself it read 12.94. it did turn over finally, but i couldnt get it to start again. while running in neutral the gauge read 14.0v. i did notice the same saturday that while running on perko 2(2 deep cycles in parallel-300 amp hours) that my volts were furiously bouncing from 13.8-15.0v with nothing on or lights and stereo, in neutral or at 2500-3000 rpm's. i plan to check all the connections tomorrow when its not raining. any other tips? EVERYTHING works except my temp and volt analog gauges. everything on the keypad works properly also. ugh!

[gride]

so i tried starting it again today. hooked up to the hose via the flush hookup on the stern. i press start once, then twice. then hold start as usual to crank it up, but it only gives it one good try before it just basically gives up. if i continue to hold start i get the "click click click" noise. could this be as simple as the fuse coming off the perko? pretty sure its going to the starter?i didnt have time to remove the rear seat to get to it today, but will be the first thing i check tomorrow. anyone experience this before? it ran great all day start and stop saturday. at the end of the day it acted like this once, but eventually started after a few tries. should i take the battery for a load test? its 9 months old flooded, and it's been charged after every time out on the boat.

[ski4evr]

That would definitely be the quickest easiest fix. Sounds just like a dead cell in the battery. When in parallel, one dead battery can and will discharge the other good one. Good luck!

[gride]

Well the battery is good. Now to remove the bak seat and back rest to check te fuse, perko attachments and see where t goes.

[gride]

Well my grounds are very corroded. The starting battery ground isn't so bad, but needs a new terminal and cleaning for sure. Everything seemed fine on the perko connections.

[Bri93SN]

You mentioned two deep cycle batteries... so you're running a deep cycle as a starting battery as well?

[gride]

Let me clarify. I have a 675cca on position 1, and 2 deep cycles in parallel on position 2. They each have their own ground that had a lot of corrosion on the non battery end. When it warms up more today I'm getting back to work. I'll post a pic of something interesting I found yesterday that I believe contributed to he problem as much if not more than the corroded terminals.

[gride]

here's short video from today. i've cleaned all the grounds and power connections. unless one of ya'll can tell something from the sounds i'm going to take a look at bypassing the kill switch, but i don't think that has anything to do with it?? and the LPFP is working.

http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/...7572F149E4.mp4

[SuperSquirt]

Just because your voltage looks good, doesn't mean your battery is good. Take it out and load test it at your local auto retailer. Cranking amps may be too low to crank. I learned this the hard way.

[gride]

i went to the deka dealer and had it load tested before i did anything else and they said it was fine. it was new in april 2012. i suppose i could try a different cranking battery.

[Mamigacz]

After you prove without a doubt that the battery is not bad, here are a couple of possibilities.

Possibility 1:
A week starter will draw more current from the battery. On a car you can watch the lights as you hitthe starter. They will dim because of the large amount of current being drawn by the starter. If your battery is bad, it will do the same thing. Unfortunately, you don’t have head lights on a boat.

Possibility 2:
When you turn the ignition key to start, current is sent from the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. The solenoid then engages, closing the circuit between the battery and starter (spinning the starter motor). I already had a problem were the ignition switch or something between the ignition switch (a bad wire) and solenoid was not allowing enough current to close or completely close the circuit between the battery and starter. This is easy to check. You can clamp a jumper wire on to the positive side of the battery. Next, you tap the other end of the jumper wire to the solenoid. If the engine spins over like nothing is wrong, your issue is most likely between the ignition switch and solenoid. However, if it acts the same, the issue is either the battery or bad starter.

I know these marine starters are outrageously expensive, so It’s worth it to do a little troubleshooting, to narrow down the issue.

[gride]

Thanks a lot. She's going to the shop wednesday. I think it's the starter and or solenoid. We will work from the cheapest/simplest fix down the line. I'm not into buying new parts on a guess. Everyone have a great day.

[Mikeski]

After you prove without a doubt that the battery is not bad, here are a couple of possibilities.

Possibility 1:
A week starter will draw more current from the battery. On a car you can watch the lights as you hitthe starter. They will dim because of the large amount of current being drawn by the starter. If your battery is bad, it will do the same thing. Unfortunately, you don’t have head lights on a boat.

Possibility 2:
When you turn the ignition key to start, current is sent from the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. The solenoid then engages, closing the circuit between the battery and starter (spinning the starter motor). I already had a problem were the ignition switch or something between the ignition switch (a bad wire) and solenoid was not allowing enough current to close or completely close the circuit between the battery and starter. This is easy to check. You can clamp a jumper wire on to the positive side of the battery. Next, you tap the other end of the jumper wire to the solenoid. If the engine spins over like nothing is wrong, your issue is most likely between the ignition switch and solenoid. However, if it acts the same, the issue is either the battery or bad starter.

I know these marine starters are outrageously expensive, so It’s worth it to do a little troubleshooting, to narrow down the issue.

Just an FYI. The newer style gear reduction starters are sealed units and by nature are marine compliant (spark free). When I replaced the starter in my slalom boat I did some research and found the suppliers were shipping the exact same units marine vs non-marine, just charging double for the marine starter. Something to consider if you do things yourself.

The starter had apparently gotten submerged by the previous owner (likely left the plug out) causing a rusty shaft. The starter worked but cranked slow like a weak battery. When I replaced it the new one worked great spinning the motor up quickly. Has your starter been under water?

[gride]

No it has not. But my boat does live outside and used in brackish water. Maybe moisture got in there. I'll let y'all know the end result.

[gride]

needed a new starter. ordered one from townsend at white lake. 150 shipped and my shop is charging me 40 out the door. love those guys.