Engine won't turn over......electrical ? 2001 SAN 210

[Baz]

I'm new to the boating arena. I have a 2001 SAN 210. .....I found at times my engine would not turn over. Owners manual indicates to have the bilge switch on when not using the boat for long periods of times. Tried something cooky....took the positive cable off, cleaned everything up, and everything was back to normal. Thought maybe I was draining the battery, so I got a new one along with a battery switch, so I now I had two batteries. Figured I'd always have one fully charged, while the other operated the bilge pump when necessary. Now the engine will only turn over when the battery switch is in the ALL position. Neither battery seems strong enough on its own and engine simply will not turn over........and now for some strange reason, my radio doesn't work at all and my speedometer not working either. Confused and frustrated. Would appreciate your thoughts

[nukemustang]

Welcome!

Do you store the boar in the water or on a trailer? If it is on the trailer, I turn OFF the bilge pumps. There would be no reason for them to need to run.

I was re-lugging the stereo speakers, and had the stereo on and within 5-10 minutes the stereo cut off and the dash started "blinking." I found that one cell, on one of the batteries was almost dry. I refilled it with distilled water and trickle charged it back up. Before all this was happening, it was reading 12.34VDC, but as soon as I put any kind of load on it, it went to <11V almost immediately.

I would double check the series wiring to the switch and make sure both batteries are fully grounded to the boat. Are they the correct size batteries as well? Do you store it with the switch in the OFF position? or 1, 2 or ALL? If there is a slow drain from anything, the radio, amps whatever, that maybe slowly killing the batteries as well.

[Baz]

Thank you....I lot of this is difficult to explain not being familiar with the terminology but again, I appreciate the feedback.

The boat is in the water and will usually sit for minimum 5 days and max. 10....I do believe they are the correct size batteries but will double check. I store it in the #1 (brand new battery) position and will double check the ground. But everything I describe was happening when I had only the one battery. I thought a new battery might solve this so I rushed out to get a new one, only to have the same things happen. Brand new battery worked but then a couple weeks later, it didn't(this was last year).....hence why I'm thinking there is a drain.

Just got the boat back after storage with a fully charged battery. Worked out of the gate.... but then again, a week later I was back to where I started from. Started the boat the other day (in the ALL position of course) and went for a 15 minute run. Volt meter read 13. Came back and tried to start on one battery thinking both would recharge but again, was unable to start on one battery. I'm going to have someone look at it this weekend. Just trying to get a handle on what might be the problem. Our season is short where I am, hoping I can get this worked out soon.

not sure if this matters, but when I do try to start and the engine won't turn over.........it will make only "one" quick sound (same sound you hear when engine is turning over), the volt meter will move......but that's it.......just the sound of a dead battery not pushing out enough.......but strong enough still to operate the blower, bilge pump, etc......which I'm sure don't need a lot

[J10]

I am having the same issue, was about to post when I seen your post here. Sounds almost identical to my issue. Could the alternator be going bad and not giving the batteries enough charge to turn the engine over?? Cause I have power to everything also but it won't turn the motor over. But I used a charge box and started right up. I always turn the perko to OFF when we leave so there shouldn't be any drain. I have a 96 super sport and added 2 new batteries this season and worked for the first couple of weeks and now won't turn over.

[Tryathlete]

I'm not saying this is it, but it sounds like something is draining the juice out of your batteries when the boats are sitting between rides assuming no corrosion on terminals. The fact that stuff works but won't start says nothing about the total charge. If you turn everything off, then pull the negative terminal from the battery and check amp draw you might see what I mean. If that's not it, check belt tension on alternator. Finally do load test after fully charging battery or batteries. Do the cheap and easy stuff first.


Sooner or later your toys own you

[nukemustang]

I would pull the original battery and see if a auto shop can do a load test on it. It maybe bad due to age, or being stored for long periods. I have been looking at reserve capacity, and I don't know how long I would expect a battery to last with the bilge pumps running for a few seconds every few minutes for a longer period. Is there shore power at the dock? I would almost be tempted to install a permanent battery tender on the boat and just plug it in when I got back to the dock, especially if the pumps run a lot.

I have read a few things about pairing new batteries with old batteries. I think I have not solved my issue either, think I may have killed the one battery that had a dry cell. I will yank both batteries, tank them to a shop and if one is bad, I will suck it up and just replace both.

[kend]

l double check the ground.

I would clean the terminals at the battery and where it hooks to the engine block; boats are notorious for electrical issues because of bad ground. A weak ground can make it seems like the battery is weak.

[J10]

Like I was saying I was having kinda of the same issues, well I started with the starter and noticed my cables were very corroded. so i cleaned those and followed the wiring to the solenoid and noticed those were badly corroded. So I went to cut back cable and put new end on and as I cut about 6 inches back it was still green (not good) so I replaced cable and since i took cables off, i replaced solenoid also, and haven't had any starting issues since. cheap fix, $53