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Glad to hear you got her going. As mentioned above these batteries (and my motorcycle and my car) begin to be suspect around three years. If the battery is just sitting it will drain completely which harms the battery. Best approach is put a battery tender on it. I have also been told (by my father) that leaving a battery on concrete is bad. I don't know if that is true but I don't do it!
That's funny I've never heard that! But no worries I won't be putting the battery on concrete anytime soon. Once I jump started it I left the boat on (out of the water) for around 20-25 minutes with the hose on. Seems like that got the battery recharged pretty well. I'm going to wait about a week or so again to see how it reacts and then buy a second one just in case. I've been thinking about putting a second battery in the boat for these reasons. Might be a good time to do it!
That's funny I've never heard that! But no worries I won't be putting the battery on concrete anytime soon. Once I jump started it I left the boat on (out of the water) for around 20-25 minutes with the hose on. Seems like that got the battery recharged pretty well. I'm going to wait about a week or so again to see how it reacts and then buy a second one just in case. I've been thinking about putting a second battery in the boat for these reasons. Might be a good time to do it!
It was also stated it sat in your garage. I hope it wasn't sitting directly on concrete, as that will drain a battery quickly. It is important to put on cardboard or a shelf. Unless that is just an Old Wives' Tale my dad taught me. But I have seen it happen..
I remember that story about the cement but really I think it was because if the battery was charging on a cement floor and it boiled over a bit the acid would react with the cement and damage the floor. Then someone mixed that up and believed that the cement would kill the battery. The only ill effect a cement floor can have on a battery is if the floor is really cold thus cooling the battery by being in direct contact with it the lower temperature would slow down the chemical reaction inside the battery making it appear that it lost some of it's power..
Another route you may want to take @Ismael Breton is to buy a jump pack rather than a second battery. That gives you more options. You can use it if your boat battery dies. You can keep it in your car/truck in the off season. You can also use it to help another boater. Just more useful options. Most also have a light and a USB charging port for charging a cell phone or tablet.
By the way...I may hold the battery record here. It's the origional battery that came with the boat 2006. This will be it's 10th season. Stays on a smart charger all winter. Still showing 100%. Backed up with a jump pack on the boat.
@Gym I wouldn't be accepting that trophy just yet, I am running the original battery as my house battery in my 2005! I did add a second battery as a dedicated starting battery last year though.
@Gym I wouldn't be accepting that trophy just yet, I am running the original battery as my house battery in my 2005! I did add a second battery as a dedicated starting battery last year though.
Okay you have the edge, but you have to get through this season to claim honors outright - I made it through 10 before adding my second battery. I'll be watching this closely!
Last year was the 5th season for my battery. I keep it on a Battery Tender all summer long. During the winter it sits in the basement (on wooden blocks but not on a Tender).
If I didn't carry a jump-pack, paranoia would have me purchasing a new battery but I know the jump pack can start the boat so I'm not too worried about getting home.
Hey, they really work! I have to admit, despite all of the testimonials on here and the videos, I was a tad skeptical. But, for $40 it was cheap insurance. I got one, put it in my 'boat bag' in the car (it comes out of the car and onto the boat when I get to the boat). We have a permanent generator on the house and its battery died the other day. So I broke out the jump pack (again, rather skeptical--it is so small...) and it started the generator several times! Amazing.
Oh, and for the record: 4th season with twin stock batteries on an ACR, stored hooked to a cheapo trickle charger (I know, I know, a real one is on the list, @MikeyL --I can hear him now) when the boat is not in the water. No issues, but knocking hard on any wood available.
@Gym I wouldn't be accepting that trophy just yet, I am running the original battery as my house battery in my 2005! I did add a second battery as a dedicated starting battery last year though.
Edit to add: my second battery saved the day once when our original one went bad. They are always stored on a Battery Minder Plus when not in the boat. We slip the boat for about four days at a time and use the stereo/tower speakers 90% of the time that were in the boat or tied up to shore. I run everything on one battery and tend to switch batteries on the third day of the trip.
My only (2006) battery only sees a charger about twice a season and for the whole winter. I do carry a jump pack during boating season just in case. I would never have expected to get this kind of longevity out of any battery as I could treat it a little better than I do. I guess the battery gods are just smiling on me.
My boat wouldn't start today either...It has enough battery power to crank forever but nothing turns over.
I changed the spark plugs, they were dry and all black from the fogging oil I think. The volts on the display gauge say 11.8 and when I crank the engine they drop to 10.5 or so...does this just mean weak battery? We had a really mild winter here and the battery sat in the boat...probably a bad idea in hindsight.
Does this sound as simple as a weak battery? or am I looking at something more complex? I topped it off with gas before I fogged it back in November and used fuel stabilizer and ran the stabilizer for 10 min with the flush attachment so i'm assuming I circulated that enough. maybe not? I also use non ethonal gas.
My boat wouldn't start today either...It has enough battery power to crank forever but nothing turns over.
I changed the spark plugs, they were dry and all black from the fogging oil I think. The volts on the display gauge say 11.8 and when I crank the engine they drop to 10.5 or so...does this just mean weak battery? We had a really mild winter here and the battery sat in the boat...probably a bad idea in hindsight.
Does this sound as simple as a weak battery? or am I looking at something more complex? I topped it off with gas before I fogged it back in November and used fuel stabilizer and ran the stabilizer for 10 min with the flush attachment so i'm assuming I circulated that enough. maybe not? I also use non ethonal gas.
Let's start with the obvious. First, the battery voltage seems a little low. Try jumping or charging your battery. If that doesn't help check these: Lanyard in? Throttle in neutral? Clean out hatch closed & latched? Are you getting a good crank or does it slow down while cranking? You may want to have someone hold down the switch under the clean out hatch as they can go out of adjustment. If none of these suggestions show any results you then want to check for spark and fuel flow. Keep us informed.
I agree with @Gym Another thing to consider would be to lower the bow of the boat and try to start again. If it does, it's possible that you have water in the tank.
So far I lowered the bow, no start. I put a jump charger on it and tried each of the batteries, nothing.
I checked the clean out hatch and the kill switch as well as being in neutral.
It gets a decent crank, almost sounds like normal just doesn't turn over.
When I changed the plugs yesterday they were dry and black.
I could look at the fuel pump but I don't know what I'm looking for if I took it out.
Voltage is almost at 12 when I try to start. I thought I recalled it being 13.8 last year but I've only looked at that display when it's running and could totally be making up that number.
If it cranks like that, I doubt it is your batteries. Sometimes, particularly after it has sat awhile, I need to crank for 9-10 seconds to get one or both to fire.
I would be very skeptical of a fuel pump problem on a 2015. Just would be abnormal. And if it were bad fuel (other than really bad), I would expect you to get some rough start or at least partial firing. So I suspect it is not that. I am thinking electrical.
Your plugs were black? Can you post a photo? Dry is good, but they should be a brownish or dull metallic color. I would change the plugs and try again, probably.
The lanyard switch will let the engine crank but not fire. Maybe try to cycle the switch a couple times to see if it wasn't making contact. It only takes a little bit of corrosion to make the contacts show open.
I threw them out last night. They were brownish black? I think the fogging oil darkened them.
I just cranked it for 15 seconds and nothing. I'm going to take a look at the kill switch buy taking out the cup holders.
I had some stereo work done. When I picked it up yesterday I noticed it was in gear and anytime we've left it that way it was hard to start. But that was yesterday at noon.
I took the new plugs out last night and put them back in, they were still clean after all those times I tried to crank it.
