Marine battery is dead
JMay1500
in my Sea Ray 175 Bow Rider. This morning we went to the lake and the battery
was dead as dead gets. All I got out of it was the clicking for a few seconds
then nothing. I have only used the boat 3 or 4 times this season so far. No
excessive electronic use with the engine off, nothing was left on by accident.
I can't figure out why this battery would just wake up dead out of the blue.
I guess my question is this: How long does a marine battery last? I have used
this same battery for two other seasons. I store it inside during the winter. I
charge it once a month while it is in storage. Should I charge it once a month
during the summer also? I never had to charge it lasst year at all. Help....
Tony Thomas
something turned on and drain it. Make sure your charging system is working
before replacing the battery.
1. Charge battery - if it won't charge, found the problem.
2. Once charged - crank engine and verify that the charging system is
working (voltage should go to 13.8 volts)
Batteries are notorious for just being dead all of a sudden. I had one
crank the car, I went to the corner store, turned the car off, came back out
and the dome light would not even come on.
If the battery is only 2 years old, there should be a substantial amount of
warrenty left on it.
Tony
JMay1500 <jmay...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990725153325...@ng-ft1.aol.com...
brian whatcott
>
>Two months ago, at the beginning of the boating season, I charged the
battery
>in my Sea Ray 175 Bow Rider. This morning we went to the lake and the
battery
>was dead as dead gets. All I got out of it was the clicking for a few seconds
>then nothing. I have only used the boat 3 or 4 times this season so far. No
>excessive electronic use with the engine off, nothing was left on by accident.
>I can't figure out why this battery would just wake up dead out of the blue.
>I guess my question is this: How long does a marine battery last? I have used
>this same battery for two other seasons. I store it inside during the winter. I
>charge it once a month while it is in storage. Should I charge it once a month
>during the summer also? I never had to charge it lasst year at all. Help....
>
Do you leave a car standing for two months then expect it to
burst into life? I wouldn't.
You could just buy another battery and continue with your present
method - two seasons use is not a disaster, exactly.
But you might consider two other options.
1) A trickle charger can be left connected for long periods.
2) a 'smart' charger will turn down the charge when the battery hits its
full charge voltage which varies with temperature (that's why its a 'smart'
charger!)
There is even a third radical approach.
Take the boat out every week - the battery will last longer, and you
will feel sunnier altogether! :-)
Brian Whatcott Altus OK
Peter Nivling
battery clean. I work for a golf car distributer and we deal with 6, 8, and 12 volt batteries all
the time. Usually we find that a battery failure is due to poor maintenance rather than a defective
battery. If the fluid level is below the the top of the plates, that much of the plates are now
useless. If the battery is dirty on top it will actually discharge slightly all the time through the
dirt or whatever that is on top of the battery. Sounds to me though like you have a charging problem
in the boat. I know that the battery in my boat is starting to go south when I get signs like when I
have my Loran on and I turn the engine over, the Loran starts to reaquire as if it was shut off. It
has never just gone dead all of a sudden though. Also, I make it a practice to turn off the battery
switch when I leave the boat just in case I have left something on.
Regards,
Peter