Fault

martin1314

Hi guys, 

 Have developed what seems to be an electrical fault in my 265. 

When I put the key in the ignition and turn it to the on position all the gauges come up okay and battery is showing just over 11v so no issue there.  I then turn the key to kick the engine over and I hear a faint click and everything goes dead! 
Then I get nothing with no power anywhere, you leave it for a few minutes the the power comes on again once you turned the key a few times then it does the same all over again................. HELP!

it has done this a few times now and after a while it then kicks the engine over and starts no problem but this can take a while and I have no confidence it will start at all now.

I think it could be a loose connection somewhere but haven't a clue where to start looking. 

dalek

I would not be so sure this is not a battery issue. These symptoms are typical of bad battery or battery connections. Try measuring the voltage on the battery posts and the battery terminals when the boat goes "dead".

LaRea

11 volts?  That's too low.  It should read over 12.6 to 12.8 volts when fully charged.  What does it say when you are connected to a battery charger, or when the engine is running? 

Start by removing the battery cables from the battery, cleaning the connections, and then re-tightening.  (Take a photo before removing anything.) 

Ian

Was thinking the same - 11V too low. Put a meter on the battery instead of relying on the dash gauge and see how low it dips when you hit the start and fades out. As @LaRea suggested, once you get it going check the voltage then, should be up near 14V if charging off the alternator, same with a charger connected.

Dream_Inn

11V is pretty much a dead battery!  here is a good link about batteries.  Go down to the "state of charge" section.  11.3V is 10% left of your battery.  12.06 is 50%.

https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/batteries-and-charging/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html

skennelly

I agree 11v...something is wrong there.  But other things to check.

Connections to the ignition switch behind the dash.  Those are friction connections and mine would slip off and boat wouldn't even try to start, but gauges would work ect...I tightened up the connections with a plyers and never a problem again.

martin1314

dalek said:

I would not be so sure this is not a battery issue. These symptoms are typical of bad battery or battery connections. Try measuring the voltage on the battery posts and the battery terminals when the boat goes "dead".

Hi, it has 2 new 120h installed last year so hopefully it's just the connections which I will still and clean this weekend

martin1314

LaRea said:

11 volts?  That's too low.  It should read over 12.6 to 12.8 volts when fully charged.  What does it say when you are connected to a battery charger, or when the engine is running? 

Start by removing the battery cables from the battery, cleaning the connections, and then re-tightening.  (Take a photo before removing anything.) 

When it fires up I get well over 12 volts so I'm hoping it's just the connections and I will get onto it on Saturday and see what happens......... fingers crossed

martin1314

skennelly said:

I agree 11v...something is wrong there.  But other things to check.

Connections to the ignition switch behind the dash.  Those are friction connections and mine would slip off and boat wouldn't even try to start, but gauges would work ect...I tightened up the connections with a plyers and never a problem again.

Cheers mate........ I'll check all the connections behind the dash (it's a mass of wires lol) and see what happens. I'm going to start with the battery connections and take it from there...... thanks for your help

martin1314

icoultha said:

Was thinking the same - 11V too low. Put a meter on the battery instead of relying on the dash gauge and see how low it dips when you hit the start and fades out. As @LaRea suggested, once you get it going check the voltage then, should be up near 14V if charging off the alternator, same with a charger connected.

Thanks mate! When it's running all is fine so I'm guessing it's a connection issue and I'll have a go and see what happens 

Dude_Himself

11V but it runs ok - a battery likely lost a cell. Otherwise a short run would see the voltage come up to 12V. Depending on battery type, 12.2V is fully discharged (12.5V is around 50% ans 12.8V is fully charged.

ajj001

I had similar this year on my '94 265. The connection on the battery isolator switch on deck (big red handle on port side) was a bit suspect. Gave it a "jiggle" and all was ok.

Ian

@martin1314 - how did you make out?

Wildboating

Martin,   Does your boat have an onboard battery charger?  Are you staying plugged in?   If not I would suspect something is drawing your power down after using the boat and it sits for a few days.  

martin1314

Thanks guys!......... I found the problem (by accident) the isolator switch in the engine bay is faulty. The setting are "Off, one, two or Both" when you fiddle about with it and hold it to say in between off and one it's fine and all works okay. 
I'm going to take it off and clean all the connection and I'm sure it will be fine once again. 

Once again thanks for your time and input and all very informative to a new boating guy like me lol. 

PS, the weather is still awful here is Central Scotland so it's not been the best of seasons so far. 

Martin

martin1314

ajj001 said:

I had similar this year on my '94 265. The connection on the battery isolator switch on deck (big red handle on port side) was a bit suspect. Gave it a "jiggle" and all was ok.

Hi, see below my response