Boat Trouble-Con't

[BJ Laster]

I checked my fuses and they are all fine. Does any one know what it might else be? Is there a circuit breaker i should check? thanks for all the help



BJ

 

[Staci Matheis]

BJ -



This is REALLY basic..... But..... If yo haven't already.....



Take the cables off both battery terminals.

Check the terminals and terminal ends for corrosion.

Use a battery terminal brush to clean them well - even if just for preventative maintenance.



Be sure you tighten them back up good and snug; not over-tightened.



If the ends are loose, not only do they corrode much more easily, I have seen the battery terminals actually melt from the heat of the starter current draw.



If the battery terminal ends are the type that just clamp to the wire, be sure they are secure and free of corrosion where they meet the wire.



If they are corroded, auto parts stores carry replacement terminal ends. Cut the end off the old wire (you'll need to get a BIG pair of wire clippers to do it right), strip about 3/4 inch to expose new wire and clamp on the new ends.







Have you taken the cranking battery to a parts store or someplace like Wallyworld so that they can load test it and make sure the battery is good / doesn't have an internal short??



me!

 

[BJ Laster]

Batts are fine. I took the one that came with the boat and switched it with the one that was in the Ranger. Both batteries are charged and its the same thing with both batts.



Thanks!

 

[Staci Matheis]

OK..... I'll go back and read your original post.....



(Which I should had oughta done in the first place.)

 

[Staci Matheis]

OK..... My thoughts continue to run along the same lines as everyone else.....



If you aren't getting power to the gauges or anything..... It has to be right at the power source.

Right at the battery.

Right at the terminals / terminal ends.



I used to get frustrated as all get-out working on electrical problems on my British-Leyland cars, BJ..... MG's and Triumphs were noted for lousey electrical ssytems..... When I thought I had exhausted all possibilities, I would walk away for a while.....



.....then go back and start my thinking all over with the very most basic things it could be..... like battery connections.....

 

[Larry Harp]

When me! mentioned brit cars I remembered that the problem with them usually centered around a bad ground. Now everybody will see how little I know about boats. Do they have a commmon ground or is there a positive and negitave runnning to each componnet? I can't imagine how you could have a common on a glass boat.



Harpo

 

[mike chip]

sometimes its not the terminal but the wire it self. gasses from the battery will seap up into the wire and "flow" down it causeing it to reduce power flow. replace the wire and connector to eliminate it from being the cause. I see this all the time at the golf course on equipment. Check the wire if it is a greenish color replace it.

mike

 

[BJ Laster]

OK OK OK...The true story....I don't know if this will have any effect on the diagnosis but it might. When I was fishing saturday an idiot in a ski boat pulled in front of me, I hit his wake and threw my bow in the air and it came down HARD. The engine was still running but I noticed my trim guage said it was trimmed all the way up..I thought that was odd. i then looked at all my other gauges and none of them were on. The RPM guage is stuck at 4 (or 4000). I turned the engine off then. I looked everything over real quick and didn't see anything that looked like it would give me any trouble. When I went to start it again I got nothing...engine was dead no sound when you turn the key, no guages...etc. I haven't wanted to accept the fact that hitting the wake would have anything to do with it..but now that i can't find the source I guess this may be the cause.



BJ

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

BJ,

You need to check all the wiring harness connectors. Sounds liek you may have jarred one loose on the impact. I have a few under my dash that can flop around and if the movement is great enough, can cause it to come partially apart. Happened to me this past weekend when I was messign under the dash to install the tilt and trim switch. Hit the plug and the tilt and trim switch was not working at all. Reset the plug and it worked great.

Hope that this helps.



Carlos

 

[Corey Carrico2]

Yep...what Carlos said. Your engine would not quit running if it lost the power but as soon as you shut it down and tried to restart it you are done. Check all the connections in the motor and under the dash to see if one came loose.

 

[BJ Laster]

all of them??? are you sure...i looked underthere when checking fuses for the bilge pump about a week ago...ITS A JUNGLE UNDER THERE!!!...if i have too



BJ

 

[Dave Muniz]

I'm with Carlos, I have a Tournament TX-17 that has a wiring harness plug right behind the dash. Anytime I'm under the dash messing around I loose all the guages. I just make sure that plug is tight, jiggle it around a bit and everything comes back.



Give that a shot.



damuniz

 

[Andre Sloan]

Sounds like you've diagnosed that the battery is good. Sounds to me like you may have dropped a wire off of the ignition switch(Positive feed wire) or off of the ground block. If you have a battery master check that too. Need a volt/ohm meter, clip the black to ground and start at the switch checking for power. Work your way back toward the battery. Be sure to check all wiring harness connectors. Make sure power goes in one side and out the other. Good luck.