Problems with battery drain on my 242X

[Julian]

Julian, does your boat have multiple negative wires of differing sizes? If so, disconnect all negative wires and reconnect all positive wires. Set multi meter to DC current and clamp black lead to negative post. With all boat systems in off, touch the red multi meter lead to the negative wires one at a time. Note the ones that show a current draw.

Yes...there are perhaps 8 negative connections - 4 per battery! My guess on what they are:

2 Starter connections
2 Amp connections
1 House ground connection
1 small wire connected to starter-no clue what it is
2 others? I will take pics today!

 

[Julian]

So here are a couple of pics

This is just the battery layout (positive still disconnected from start battery )

2nd one is fluke meter on the positive connections with battery switch on.

 

[Julian]

Starting battery is down to 12.0 volts from 12.2 overnight not connected. That doesn't seem right?

 

[haknslash]

You could have a bad cell in the battery. It's rare but it's happened before on non-marine batteries in my experience. Back in the day when I did car stereo installation we also sold Optima batteries and every once in a while we would get a bad battery that couldn't hold a charge because of a bad cell or something wrong with the battery. It was rare, maybe like one or two a year out of hundreds we sold, but it happened.

It looks like it would kind of be a PITA but try swapping batteries and see if the good one drops voltage overnight once everything is hooked up. Or just charge the other battery with no connections on it and if it drains that many volts overnight something is wrong with it IMO.

 

[Julian]

You could have a bad cell in the battery. It's rare but it's happened before.

I had the battery at Advance Auto yesterday, they tested and charged it and it came back Passed.

 

[2nazt]

Coming off charge they would lose some also if you checked immediately or close to coming off the charger.

 

[tdonoughue]

Not to be insulting, but... Is that the right battery?

Looks like you are hooked up to test it properly, and that is indeed showing no draw. But I noted that on the other battery you have 3 positive connections. You have 2 engines and each one should have a wire going to its starter... At least that is how they used to wire them.

 

[2nazt]

I saw your Facebook video. Curious if you can connect all wires and with switches off turn anything on? Radio, lights, bilge, get the buzz from the motor you have? It could be a misplaced wire on the switchs?

 

[haknslash]

I had the battery at Advance Auto yesterday, they tested and charged it and it came back Passed.

Eh, I don't know how much I would trust what qualifies as "Passed" on their machine. Does it mean performed well or does it mean it could take a load? I mean obviously something is causing the battery to lose voltage if nothing truly was connected to it. I can't see that being a good battery if it's dropping volts with no load.

 

[Julian]

I posted a video on the Facebook page, but my phone won't let me link it.

He is the sys screen:

 

[Julian]

I turn the stereo on and here is the screen....

 

[Murf'n'surf]

A battery that's freshly off a charger will drop a little over a few hours.

12.2 is not fully charged, put it back on a charger when you can.

 

[Julian]

I saw your Facebook video. Curious if you can connect all wires and with switches off turn anything on? Radio, lights, bilge, get the buzz from the motor you have? It could be a misplaced wire on the switchs?

Nothing will operate with the switches off.

 

[Julian]

The wet sounds sound bar has a short somewhere. I disconnected BOTH amps + and - and it still hums with the starting battery switch on! WTF?

Something is wired to the Starting switch that shouldn't be! I can't imagine a short of the wires to the starter lines???? I'm still wishing I had taken an EE course! If anyone with experience wants to call me, ping me in a conversation!

 

[2nazt]

Ok just wanted to rule that out.

You said the amps are connected to batteries correct? Are there in line fuses by batteries you can pull for the amps. Maybe the crackle is is the amp getting power initially but it will not fully turn on till remote line from stereo activates it? Could you pull those fuses to disconnect amps and then see if you still get the sound bar powering on when you touch the lines like in the video with everything else off? Maybe amps are having a draw in a kind of standby mode.

Well disregard you beat me to that. Lol

 

[Julian]

So, I just unplugged the sound bar at the speaker...and of course that stopped the buzz. So out of curiosity I thought...huh...will that allow the rest of the stereo to run? And it only gets uglier from here..... turned on the stereo and no sound....of course I forgot to replug in the speaker connections! So turn it off again, plug them in, turn it on, and the system works nicely. Before when I'd turn it up to perhaps 30-40% the lower amp would go into protection and half the speakers and the sub would cut out. So I'm listening and checking all the speakers, and notice that one of the bow speakers is crackling a lot! I lean over to hear if it is both, and it crackles then SMOKES! I dive for the battery switches and am DONE FOR THE DAY! This boat is going to the dealer!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Check the wires on the speaker. They must be crossed/shorted somehow.

 

[2nazt]

Yup to the dealer and don't forget to see if they will replace that battery for all the total discharges. Bummer it happens to the new boat but get them to handle it!

 

[Julian]

The stereo is totally F'd up! This is what I have determined thus far:

• Wet sounds sound bar has a crossed wire with something....I'm wondering if its the solar panels....as they are producing power when the batteries are all disconnected.
• The Starboard side bow speaker has a short with something bad enough to make it smoke!
• The Starboard side tower can speaker does nothing (dealer mentioned this when I picked it up and said if they swap the connections at the amp it works fine-ditto for the the port side cabin)
• The Port side cabin speaker does nothing
• Left and right channels are all messed up-when I fade to the left/port side, some speakers on the starboard side are on.

Dealers diagnosis was a bad amp (because it would go into protection mode), but I'm beginning to think that there is a short with the solar panels somewhere. Perhaps where the tower folds? Not sure this explains why the sound bar buzzes when the start switch is turned on, but it does explain why there is no current draw showing at the battery.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Well, at least you've figured out what the E stands for......Experiment! Yikes, I hope your dealer gets this ironed out quickly so you can enjoy the water.