Like they said, get the battery load tested too. I know it not a boat but recently my Suburban was only showing 12 volts while it was running and my battery would never hold a charge long and I thought cause the gauge used to always read around 14v running that it was my alt that was bad, I pulled out my alt and got it tested to find out it was perfectly fine. It turned out I had a dead cell in my battery. New batter and all was golden.

It should show around 14 volts while running (Charging volts) Looks like it's time to pull out the manual and test the charging circuit.

I no this seems triviale but do a load test on the batt if u dont have a load tester they well do it at oriley's - auto zone any local parts warehouse just a thought . By the way boat is looking Sweettttttt :up:

I don't have a problem with trickle charging every once in a while just dont want to get stranded in the river. My assumptions were the motor would charge plenty where trickle charge wouldn't be necessary. But.....I've been known of making an *** out of me before.

easy answer would be to bring to mech but id rather learn on my own. Thanks for the input.


Cody

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I feel battery shoulda never went dead, nothing was left on, I'm using a perko switch to kill entire boat when not in use.

Left on trickle charge last night, this morning pulled it out and started every couple of hours ti see if something was pulling battery down. No problems what so ever.

Volt meter on dash never gets above 12v running or not. While running....when trim pump is engaged volts drop off ti 10.... Normal?

Double checked wiring today didn't find anything. A few wires seen awful delicate though. (coming out if stator harness)

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Sounds like me a few months ago. My batt was less than two years old, never let it go dead during winter, but it was bad. I think that with a good ign. system, the voltmeter will should show 11+ volts not running and about 14 volts running.

My merc had a bad voltage regulator when I bought it, same symptoms, except my tach wasn't working either.

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Batteries can drop fast if not used, especially if they're left connected. I've had good luck with cheap Harbor Freight trickle chargers. Also, you may want to check the battery voltage while the boat is running. 12-volts won't charge a battery.

Yesterday I ran across a problem when I went for a boat ride.

Tried to start it after launched and battery seemed dead. Turned over a few times then nothing. Not enough juice to engage starter.
Jump started the battery, motor cranked right up and ran fine. Volt meter showing 12v while running. Ran for 15 mins or so.....killed motor tried to restart battery dead again. Seems like motor not charging battery while
running. This is new battery but I haven't charged it in a few months of running periodically. I double checked all wiring, seems ok. Is this a stator problem?? Rectifier?

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