www.iFourWinns.com

I had the boat out last Friday for two hours of break-in (for new engine). I made sure and take note of which gauges worked and what needed attention. This is one of the things I noticed while eyeing the Voltage gauge.

When I turned the bilge blower on, the needle on the gauge goes from about 14v to 10v. It does the same with tilt/trim and, in fact, when I was at a low idle, in gear I was heading to the trailer and went to tilt the outdrive up and it killed the engine. She started up right away but could tell it those two things drew way more power than I think they should have.

Is this normal? Alternator going or gone?

Good thing, my tilt/trim gauge works!!! Ha ha...the most unlikely gauge works

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1987 Sundowner 195, 4.3 OMC " Z boat"
1983 Wellcraft 248 Sportsman, 3.0L OMC Sea Drive "Born Again"
9' Patriot 40lbs TM "Quack Addict"

Well. You can always have the alternator tested at most auto parts stores for free.

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

the regulator could be getting weak not compensating for the draw. mine will draw down the volts but not that much

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1989 245 vista
5.7 cobra

It may just be that there is a very poor +12V connection to the helm; with no load, normal voltage but when anything uses power, the voltage drops.

That sounds likely.
To test that theory, I would check voltage at the battery with a digital volt meter (with somebody operating the blower and/or trim). And then check voltage at the helm and compare the two.

The trim uses a lot of power, but only a little power comes from the helm (enough to run the solenoids).
The Blower does not use a lot of power, but it does draw from the helm.
The ignition (coil) also draws from the helm.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

I agree with checking your dash gauge in comparison to a digital voltmeter. Dash gauges can be inaccurate; I just checked mine the other day and when the dash gauge read 12-13 the digital voltmeter read a bit over 14v at the battery.
My boat had the original 26 year old gauges so that's not surprising (corrosion, age etc).
I'd start with your battery cables, connections at the starter and engine grounds. Then look at the connections at the blower and tilt n trim solenoids.
I'm betting you'll see corrosion.

If the batt cables are original they are surely trash by now. And take a good look at the connection on the starter solenoid, all the battery power has to pass through that to the boats electrical system. In fact if you find it corroded but the starter is good I'd just replace the solenoid, they're pretty cheap.

Have some tinned 2 gauge batt cables made up with proper crimped on terminals. I bolted marine grade battery clamps to those terminals. Do not use wingnuts they do not stay tight and cause a lot of problems. If you don't want to add the clamps then at least use nyloc nuts to secure the cables. When they get loose they generate a lot of heat. The OE cables on my boat were cheap automotive grade cables 4 gauge.

While you are at it, put in a dual battery system with a switch if you have room for 2 batteries. I put the 2nd battery on the port side, the cable from that batt to the switch was about 9 feet long so I used 1/0 gauge for that one. Ran a separate ground cable for each battery to the engine ground studs (behind the exhaust riser tubes).

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

In these type of situations.... where a possible poor connection is suspect I have a suggestion. Hook the + of your VM to the battery +, then use the - of your VM at the power side of the component you are testing/suspecting. When you turn "on" your component, you should read a small voltage drop, but shouldn't be much (3% or <.36VDC). More than about 5% or 0.6VDC indicates a poor connection somewhere between the battery and the component. Now is the trick! Keep working toward the battery (electrically) at each connection until the voltage drop is negligible.. Now you have found your culprit connection! You can do the same thing with the - and the batt ground to check the NEG side of things too. It's a PITA, I know, but short of running lots of load and checking with an IR camera, it's about the most thorough way to do it.

Keep in mind, this is not measuring the voltage drop across the component you are testing, but the drop across the circuit (fuse, switch, connections) UP TO the component you are testing.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

First, thanks to all you guys for the replies.

So, I do know that both batteries (already have dual battery set-up with switch) are new and all cables are new (except one), marine grade, 2 g. with generous amounts of dielectric grease.

I did not, however check for corrosion/bad connections at the places listed. I do know that the connections at the gauges are good, clean and secure as I had that panel down a couple weeks ago and went through cleaning and securing.

Off the top of my head, I can think of one connection right now that MAY be suspect. It is the ground cable coming from the helm. The ring terminal is broken and crusty/corroded. I just didn't think about it until I read through y'alls replies.

If that is not it. I will proceed with checking the other areas for corrosion, especially the starter solenoid. That connections SHOULD be good as I went through every connection I came across while installing the engine and ensured it was tight and clean. However, I understand with a solenoid it could have internal resistance.

If it isnt something I can readily see I will continue on with the troubleshooting with the multimeter...ugh!

I really appreciate the help gents! I will report back with my findings

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1987 Sundowner 195, 4.3 OMC " Z boat"
1983 Wellcraft 248 Sportsman, 3.0L OMC Sea Drive "Born Again"
9' Patriot 40lbs TM "Quack Addict"

I agree with the posters mentioning the first place to check being connections. Especially if you've verified the batteries, switch, and connections. Carefully check that one cable that isn't new.

I went through this during this boating season, where one battery would not power much of anything or would intermittently cause the engine to cut out if I had my switch on "2" while running at cruising speeds. I found a mildly corroded negative cable connection, cleaned it up, and everything was back to normal. Before that, though, I was also getting bouncing gauge needles when turning on/off the blower or using the trim.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Yes, check the ground connections at the engine; there is often more than one. On my 2004 Sundowner I couldn't even see the second one until I removed the first. Both were a mixture of all sorts of different metals/ alloys with no dielectric grease protection, like a electrochemical corrosion scientists toy kit.

New engine = new paint. Remove ALL grounds from the engine and remove the paint with emery cloth. Coat with de-electric and re-install.

I've seen paint on fresh engines cause many ground problems over the years.

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

I like this method as well, short of a very good visual and wiggle test this is the fastest way to find an electrical gremlin. Walt you sound like you do this for a profession.

Awesome idea. I did this and PART of my original problem was, the yellow wire going to the starter solenoid was not tightened at all. I tightened it down and I think the tilt trim, at least, isn't sucking as much juice as it did before. I still need to look at the connections on the bilge blower though. While that didn't draw as much, it still took way more than I think it should.

A new problem arose last night. The engine would surge, like it was loosing spark for a split second and while it was surging, the radio was blinking on and off. My wife took the helm. I went back and looked under dog house while under way (7 knots-ish, still in break in period) and noticed #2 spark plug wire was pulled out of the boot on the plug. I managed to get it worked back in there some but, I still need to replace the wire and go through the rest of them. It ran quieter and smoother obviously with that cyl getting at least some of the spark it should. The surge was still present though. Also something else surfaced last night. I would shift into reverse and engine would die. It was though stall you get sometimes when the idle is too low. It was like it gets cut off. Could these issues be related? Maybe the ESA jacking up? On that note. The tach is malfunctioned, stealing my spark so I disconnect that from NEG on coil. Well, joined with that is the ESA wire. So, that is unhooked too. Is it possible that those wires were grounding themselves cutting spark? I thought I had them up and away from any ground but who knows.

It runs strong though and am looking forward to engine break-in being complete however, there are a couple growing pains.

Thanks for your help guys

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1987 Sundowner 195, 4.3 OMC " Z boat"
1983 Wellcraft 248 Sportsman, 3.0L OMC Sea Drive "Born Again"
9' Patriot 40lbs TM "Quack Addict"

Ok, so the connections at the bilge blower look good. Essentially just shielded wiring up into the fan motor housing so....nothing to look at really. Wasn't sure where to look for trim motor connections.

I did remove both battery cables, cleaned all terminal ends with wire brush on drill. In fact, the 2 ought cable connecting the batteries wasn't connected to the other battery....hmmm. Odd, since I KNOW I did connect it. Either way. I ALSO removed the two small leads to the starter solenoid and cleaned them both thoroughly and reattached.

I applied copious amounts di-electric grease to everything. I haven't tried it yet but I think with a couple connections that I saw that were fairly corroded (in addition to the solenoid connections) also the connecting cables between the batteries now attached, it should make a difference somewhere. I will test it out later this week and report back.

The tilt-trim sucking so much power is my concern now. At idle it kills the engine while under way, it causes a loss of power (surge). It is almost like the tilt motor is stealing the spark.

Thanks guys

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1987 Sundowner 195, 4.3 OMC " Z boat"
1983 Wellcraft 248 Sportsman, 3.0L OMC Sea Drive "Born Again"
9' Patriot 40lbs TM "Quack Addict"

a battery draw shouldt kill the engine unless its pulling more than the alt is putting out. an engine will run with just the alt. have you checked the amp gauge while trying to use the trim? get off idle and hit the trim see what kind of amp draw you have

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1989 245 vista
5.7 cobra