Battery Draining

[zotemart]

I am the proud new owner of a 2000 Sport Nautique. Since buying the boat two months ago, my family and I have had to jump the battery twice while out on the water. I do not understand what is draining my battery so much.

The boat has the 5.8 GT-40 Pro Boss with a Perko on/off switch for a single battery.
It also has PerfectPass, but it doesn't work correctly.

Here's the sequence of events:
Boat sits in the driveway for over a week with the Perko switch set to off.
It starts right up when I put it in the water.
I drive it for about an hour to a beach spot on the river.
I turn off the engine and accessories completely with the Perko switch still in the on position.
One hour later, the boat won't start. I bought a portable battery jump starter that eventually got us running again.

I've had the battery and the alternator both tested. They both passed. When running, the voltage is measuring between 13 and 14 volts.

Any idea what could be happening? Do I have to turn off my Perko switch every time I turn off the boat?


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[MLA]

Id look at a possible shorted alternator. Thats if nothing is obviously on. Bilge pump cycle on and off. blower cycle on and off? Heater or shower? Ballast pumps? Lights? What about audio use during anchoring?

[zotemart]

Nothing is on that I can tell. The indicator lights next to the accessories (bilge pump, nav lights, etc) no longer illuminate. They did when I bought the boat. Those functions work though when I turn them on. I do not have ballasts, heater, or shower.


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[wakejunky]

Sounds like you're going to have to do some investigating. Buy a voltmeter with and amperage meter. Then while monitoring the current draw at the battery, either start pulling fuses or see if you can clamp the amp meter to the wires running to the fuse box and figure out which accessory is drawing current.

[zotemart]

I checked the battery. There was no difference in voltage readings with the Perko switch on or off. I can't see a way to touch the voltmeter to the accessories' breaker switches.


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[jasper]

If it starts cold on the first start and then has issues after running the engine, it is likely the starter rely - a small inexpensive part yet a common problem on this year model GT-40 engine. If you hear a single click when it tries to start but doesn't, it is like the relay. The relay is on the panel at the rear of the engine.

[zotemart]

Yep, I get one click when trying to start. Is the starter relay easy to replace?


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[jasper]

Yes, it is.

[zotemart]

I believe my friend's '89 SN had the same problem. Just to clarify, before I replace the relay, when the boat starts from being jumped off another battery, that is irrelevant or just a coincidence that it starts? Or does it just take time for the boat to cool down before the relay works again?


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[jasper]

The three things that cause me to focus on the relay are: 1) the year-model of the boat - common problem in and around that year-model; 2) starts fine when cold, but the issue arises when the engine is warm; 3) the single click when it doesn't work. It is an inexpensive part and easy to replace. I don't like throwing parts at problems, but I'm not good enough to diagnose how to know that part is bad. There may be a way to check based on the jumping some of the posts on the relay, but I don't recall how to do that. DanielC might have posted something on that if I remember correctly.

[MLars]

Subscribed, have the same boat and same problem with clicking. Sometimes it will start right away and sometimes it will click 5 or 6 times. Ordered a starter relay last night so will try that first.

[zotemart]

Is there really a difference between a standard or heavy duty starter relay?


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[zotemart]

So I bought the HD solenoid and hooked it up. As soon as I connected my safety lanyard, my gauges lit up and the check engine light came on (I didn't punch in my code or anything). I thought I had reconnected the wires correctly but apparently I did not.
I found the diagram online that applies to boats 92 and newer. Mine wasn't set up that way.
I wanted to run this by you guys who have done this before before I screw up my boat.
I'm connecting the big battery cable and the big red cable that goes to the starter to one of the big posts (the one clockwise to the S post). Then I'm connecting the yellow and red wire that also goes to the starter to the other big post. I'm positive I've connected the correct wires to the S and I posts.
Is this correct? I'm going to try again in the morning.


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[G23 GonZaga]

I had a 230 208 SAN and i had the exactly the same problem. Except that I learned that if i flip the toggle switch to the middle position the problem will go away. I never understood why this will happen but filliping the Ipswich to the middle will stop this from happening. I am talking about the switch next to the throttle that reads bilge (all on) all off i hope that helps.

[zotemart]

I tried starting it this morning and about had a heart attack.
I didn't connect it to a hose because I just wanted to see if it would fire. It started right up. But then it wouldn't turn off. I pulled the emergency lanyard. Still wouldn't turn off. Turned off the Perko switch. Still running. I ran to the hose and got water running through it.
When I punched in my code and hit start, the acc and start lights lit up as normal. When I hit stop, the gauges would turn off but not the engine.
Finally, I seemed to have tricked it into shutting down by punching in my code, pressing start, then start again to engage the starter (made the grinding sound) then I punched in my code and hit stop.
Is it possible that I fried my keypad when I hooked up the new solenoid wrong?
I want to try again but not sure what will happen if I can't turn it off.



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