Battery/Alt Question-Got Towed In Last Night

[gus_jd]

After riding we idled over to a shallow spot to hang out a bit, and along the way emptied the fat seat. Finished emptying fat seat, then turned off the engine. No radio or other accessories draining the battery. After about ten minutes, try to start and it turns over, but not very fast and doesn't even sound like there is any firing going on. New battery (1000 CA) is a starting battery (not deep cycle), and the boat ran fine for about 2.5 hours prior to this. I'm thinking alternator, but not sure. The guy I bought the boat from had two batteries in it but only one hooked up. If the boat wouldn't start, he'd hook up the second. I'm thinking this would work but I'd need to occasionally put a charger on the second battery and I don't want to get stuck out there only to find I forgot to charge the reserve.

Thoughts? Another battery is the cheap option (on sale for $50), but I want to do everything I can to avoid this hassle. I'd also like to be able to add a stereo without worrying about the battery.

[tommyadrian5]

My boat did the exact same thing last saturday, we were idling through a 6 mph zone under a bridge, and i noticed that all my guages were out, so i made the dumb mistake of turning the boat off to see if the guages were reset, thinking that the mdc box had faulted or something. When i went to try to turn the boat back on, click, click, click, and only 11 volts showing on the ppass and in dash battery meter. I got a tow about 100 yards back to a gas dock and asked them if they had a booster pack, while i was waiting for the booster pack i did the usual, cleaned the battery terminals, checked the breakers. I finally found the culprit, one of the bolts holding the positive charge wire to the back of the alternator had come loose and the connection was sketchy, i think it was fine for a while but then loosened up enough to sever any charging capability. I asked for a toolbox, tightened the connection bolt, boosted the battery and all is good now.

So i'd check your alternator connections first before buying any new batteries.

[boarditup]

I would have the alternator looked at. Something is not charging correctly. Since your boat is older, find a shop near you that rebuilds marine alternators. Something in the charging system is not right. Across the pond Quick Start, at 2121 Alpine, in Walker, MI has a complete set-up. I once dropped my alternator off in the morning and picked it up a lunch and was on the water that night. (616) 364-0550. Check near you, you should be able to find a shop. Best yet, take a garden hose and a fake a lake with the boat and run it for them, they may be able to pinpoint the problem very quickly.

Good Luck - let me know how it goes. If you are down for a while, I give you a tow.

[Johnny5]

simple check to see if the alternator is working:
Fire up the boat and put a meter on the battery it should read 13-14 volts, if it reads 12 or less shut off the boat and see if the reading drops. If it does not drop then your alternator is not charging the battery and you are running on the reserve capacity of the battery. ie. the Alternator is shot, or not hooked up as EX said above.
GOOD LUCK

[holiday13]

If you also want to run an additional battery there is a way to wire both in together so you don't need to swap batteries (this being of course after you find out why the 1 died). If you look at jeep magazines they sell kits to make a dual battery set up, this will help when you are running a lot of accessories like stereo water pump etc, and the alt will charge both at the same time