No power

grkrze · **Joined:** Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:39 am **Posts:** 34

Tried to start engine yesterday and got nothing. Boat had been plugged into shore power for previous week. Tried battery switch on parallel and still nothing. Made sure shore power cable was on correctly, battery cables at batteries looked ok-I loosened/tightened, and charger breaker was/had been on. Tested both batteries w/ multimeter- cranking battery was at 13v and house at 8v. Volt meter at dash read approx 10v (I thought maybe gauge was bad, but now I wonder...). Both batteries are approx 2 yrs old. I plan on replacing both batteries. Boat did start on parallel after about 30 min. I thought maybe cranking/house batteries got switch when installed, but engine should have started right away on parallel. Any thoughts? Thanks

acguy · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:57 am

Is it possible that the contacts on the battery selector switch are dirty?

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:21 am

Ignition switch. Occasionally, I have to "wiggle" my key around to get er to crank.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:31 am

grkrze wrote:

Tried to start engine yesterday and got nothing. Boat had been plugged into shore power for previous week. Tried battery switch on parallel and still nothing. Made sure shore power cable was on correctly, battery cables at batteries looked ok-I loosened/tightened, and charger breaker was/had been on. Tested both batteries w/ multimeter- cranking battery was at 13v and house at 8v. Volt meter at dash read approx 10v (I thought maybe gauge was bad, but now I wonder...). Both batteries are approx 2 yrs old. I plan on replacing both batteries. Boat did start on parallel after about 30 min. I thought maybe cranking/house batteries got switch when installed, but engine should have started right away on parallel. Any thoughts? Thanks

First off, why is the house battery at 8V?

JohnScott · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:12 am

We had an issue with the ignition switch on our 1995 258. The engine would not crank in the start position but would provide power in the accessory position. Replaced the ignition switch and problem disappeared. Hope this helps.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:31 am

Do you get anything when you turn the key? Any sounds, gauge movement, lights, etc? From what you describe, it sounds like it could be the ignition switch ($20).

I had a no-start issue for which I figured it out to be one the wires on the back of the safety kill switch fill off.

babbot1 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:46 pm **Posts:** 570

10 volts sounds like when you had both batteries switched it was dividing the voltage. 13v and 8v was like 10.5volt and was proabbly not enough to start it. If you just used the one good battery it may have started on the first try.
Be very careful with batteries. I just had one explode on me and it was only 2 years old. The charger cooked it.

grkrze · **Joined:** Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:39 am **Posts:** 34

Thanks for all the replies. I did get a little "clicking" with key turned about 20 min after re-tightening battery cables at terminals. Still doesn't answer why fully charged starting battery acted dead (clicking noise)? Could this still be ignition switch issue? I wonder if I have 2 separate problems. 1) House battery not holding a charge or not being charged 2) Starting battery has/had bad connection to motor?

Regarding new batteries, I have 1 deep cycle and one starting battery. Both are group 29. Any advise on replacement size? Group 27 seem much more common. Also, would a dual purpose battery be suitable to use as starting battery and should both batteries be same group size? Sorry for so many questions...

GottWhat · **Posted:** Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:25 pm

If you get clicking, sounds like bad batteries.

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:30 am

Pull off the batt switch and look at the terminals; are they clean and tight? Mine was mounted on a carpeted shelf in the engine bay and the nuts laying in the damp carpet in salt air got pretty corroded. I cleaned it up and mounted it higher up on a piece of fiberglass where moisture does not collect. Follow the ground for each battery and make sure they are clean, tight and free of corrosion. If you have the OE batt cables retained by wing nuts replace them with properly sized (at least 2 gauge) marine cables with automotive style clamps (marine quality) where you make the connection with the battery. Cheap cables, wingnuts and bad terminals will cause chronic issues. You might also want to check if anything is draining the batts with everything off (disconnect the ground and hook up an ammeter between the ground and the batt cable)....
Other things that can cause a no crank intermittent condition include a bad ig switch, assist solenoid or stater solenoid. It is not uncommon for there to be corrosion on the starter solenoid terminals because water leaks from the exhaust manifold drain can leak right on them....
If you need to replace the ig switch get a Cole-Hersee one, they make very high quality switches for marine use.

grkrze · **Joined:** Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:39 am **Posts:** 34

I checked and cleaned all the battery connections, including inside battery switch, and replaced both batteries. With charger breaker on, starting batery reads 13.6v, house battery reads 11.9v. With charger off, start batt reads 12.6v, house reads 11.8v. I jave a guest 2620 charger (1999 vintage). I'm guessing my charger is going bad. Is it possible/likely that 1/2 the charger works and 1/2 doesn't? Is there anything on the charger i could check? Both green "battery ready" lights on the chsrger are lit and one of the red "charging" lights. The batteries were on charger for a week prior to the voltages mentioned above. Any thoughts? Thanks.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:04 pm

Were there any loads on the house batt during this time? It's possible it will no longer take a full charge. If your charger can fully charge your start batt and not the house batt the get the house batt load tested. Or if you have a regular batt charger at home try charging it with that and see what happens. It it comes up to full charge then you may be right about the charger on the boat.

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:02 am

grkrze wrote:

I checked and cleaned all the battery connections, including inside battery switch, and replaced both batteries. With charger breaker on, starting batery reads 13.6v, house battery reads 11.9v. With charger off, start batt reads 12.6v, house reads 11.8v. I jave a guest 2620 charger (1999 vintage). I'm guessing my charger is going bad. Is it possible/likely that 1/2 the charger works and 1/2 doesn't? Is there anything on the charger i could check? Both green "battery ready" lights on the chsrger are lit and one of the red "charging" lights. The batteries were on charger for a week prior to the voltages mentioned above. Any thoughts? Thanks.

I beleive that charger has a glass fuse in each charging output lead close to the battery switch. Those glass fuses seem to corrode easy or maybe you had a shorted battery that popped the fuse. That would cause only one bank to charge and the red light to be on for the other bank

babbot1 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:46 pm **Posts:** 570

There might also be a fuse in line to the battery hidden somewhere. Still curious why the house battery is 11.9 when it is new. Try turning everything off that could possibly pull a load like the fridge. If you don't have a charger at home bring it back to the store and have them charge it. You could also use a ammeter to test for a draw. There might be a stray killing your battery but it does sound like the charger is not functioning correctly. Its possibly 2 issues.

grkrze · **Joined:** Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:39 am **Posts:** 34

I took the battery switch off and checked the inline fuses. On closer inspection, one of the fuses was carroded inside on of the ends. It was charging, but maxed out at 11.9v. I changed fuse and batteries are charging correctly (Bliss36 nailed it). Thanks to all for your help!

www.iFourWinns.com

No power

Who is online