K.I.S.S.

Willhound

We all know what that acronym means, right?
All last season I wondered if my on-board charger wasn't working right, or if I had a bad battery. Both my original volt meter and the little accessory socket meter I have were only showing about 13.4 volts on the charger and about 12.4 on battery.
This year when I reinstalled my batteries I used a piece of emery cloth and really went to town on all the cable ends and posts. My hands were black when done. But the cable ends shone like new copper pennies. Couldn't find my di-electric grease but I had some PTFE grease and used that.
Plugged the charger in the other day and it immediately shot up to 14.5 volts, climbed to 14.8. Let it charge for the day, all the while letting the stereo play while I worked on the boat and when I turned the shore power off at the end of the day the volt meter showed between 12.8 to 13.4 depending what bank I was on. I recall now that last year I just used a wire brush to clean the cable ends. Couldn't find that either, it's likely with the grease, but don't care if I do. Just doesn't do the same job. The cables looked pretty good last year, but not as good as this year..
It has been mentioned on here a hundred times, but if having any electrical or battery issues, start with the connections.

Michael T

Poor or bad grounds cause more gray hair.

Aqua_Aura

Checking and cleaning connections should just be an annual check in the spring. High maintenance little buggers. 

rasbury

good point all...worth taking the time for a cleaning!

Willhound

Boat was finally splashed yesterday. Got down to marina last night to tie off and set fenders the way I like and was able to start her up. Still showing 14.7 v at the helm on the charger, 13.7v at helm while running at idle from alternator and 12.8 batteries only. Couldn't be more pleased for the 20 minutes it took me to shine those little beggar connections up.

Spyderweb

@Willhound good work.  Are you saying the emery cloth worked better than wire brush, or that last year you only cleaned the cable end, and not the post?  Or you just did a lot better job this Spring?

Willhound

@Spyderweb I only used the brush last year and year before. They looked good, but no comparison to the emery cloth. Way better.

Aqua_Aura

There is also the protectant spray that you can put on the electrical connectors to prevent corrosion after cleaning.