Help - No power

[JD Burch]

Sorry for the long post but I need help in a big way...

She sat on the mooring for about 8 days while I was away (during all the rain we got in the NE). Went out Saturday to get ready for the long weekend, turned the main power switch and heard low battery warning. Nothing worked: couldn't turn on any electronics, trim motor, etc. Picked up a battery charger and headed back out - this time no low battery warning and still no power. Pulled one of the batteries (it was totally dead) and headed to the marina for a charge. Hooked it up and still not a hint of power getting to the boat. Checked all fuses, none blown.

Any ideas on what else I can check? I am generally a boating rookie and don't know what to do from here - other than have the local marina come and check it out (which they are this week).

Thanks.

Jim

[JD Burch]

Update - friend just suggested this may be the alternator. Does this make sense?

Jim

[mrdelgado]

Is your battery holding a charge? Have it charged and load tested at autozone, they do it for free. You can charge a battery all day, but if the cells are bad you're wasting your time. Check all your battery connections for corrosion too. With all the rain we got, maybe your bildge pump was running for long periods of time? If it worked fine 8 days ago, i can't see it being anything but a toasted battery

[JD Burch]

I had one battery charged on Sunday, but after it had no effect I left it out on the boat - I guess I'll pull it again tonight and have it tested again. The connections all look nice and clean and everything appears to be hooked up correctly. I'm sure the bilge pump was on a fair amount, but (assuming the batteries are okay) shouldn't they be able to handle that?

Jim

[RudeAttitude]

Do you have a battery switch between the motor and the batteries? If so, and it was left ON and your alternator was bad, this could drain your charging system. Also, check bilge float switches and other obvious areas. As mentioned, your batteries may be shot too.

[JD Burch]

The main power swith was in the off position (as opposed to all or 1 or 2).

How fast would bad batteries lose their charge? It was about 1.5 hours between charge and hookup.

[grantn]

before you go wasting any more time or money. have the batteries (both) load tested. even a discharged battery will hold somewhat of a load. put an ohm meter on the battery switch and check ALL positions of the switch on all terminals. (don't ask me how i know this [B)]).

[mchar]

a battery must be fully charged to be fully tested. A 1 amp trickle charger on a 130 amp dead battery will take 5.41 days to charge. (130 amp hours.) Last winter, this happened, I charged both, one was bad one is good. Charge, then test.

Mark

[warthog5]

mchar is right. The battery must br fully charged to do a proper load test.

Something I learned along the way when you load test a battery.

Remove the cap's if you can, then load test it. If it has a shorted cell in the battery it will show up right away. A little wisper of smoke will roll out of the bad cell.

[JD Burch]

Update: Mechanic went out to the boat yesterday, both fuses in the engine blown and one battery not holding a charge. He replaced the fuses and I took the boat up to his marina today (where the rest of his equipment is). He will be fully testing both batteries and the system today.

We're still not sure what caused all this.

Thanks for all your help. I know this approach is going to cost me more $$ than doing it myself, but I need it ready for a family get-together this weekend (plus as I stated earlier, I'm still a nautical rookie and don't fully trust myself yet - however I am going up there on Saturday to spend some time with him going over the issue so I can prevent it/fix it in the future).

Jim