put in new gauges, now battery is dead

[whosurpopi]

I just replaced all the gauges in my boat. They are honda gauges and include speedo, tach, gas, volts, and trim. Once I was done swaping out the gauges, the battery was so dead, the beep when you turn the key was warbled. I hooked up my jump box, and even that wasnt strong enough to start the boat. It did barely turn over but not strong enough to start. When I did the gauges, I swaped one at a time, so not wires got crossed. The boat was started right before the swap with no problems. Any ideas?

 

[gss036]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

I am not even close to knowing boat electrics, but just had mine in to the Honda shop today, the Hondas wire theirs different than Mercury. Mercury provides power from the tach and Honda power comes from the harness. I learned that much talking with the tech today while he worked on my problem w/bilge pump wiring.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

First question -- who put new gauges in what boat with what engine, and what HP and what year. Second question -- what makes you think the gauges are responsible? If they were, they are either not being turned off with the ignition switch, or something else is staying on when you think it's off. If the gauges were constant one, the gas gauge would provide a reading whether the key is on or off. The speedo is electric only in that it has a light, trim, would behave similar to the gas guage. If you have a temp gauge that too would provide a reading, although cool, if it were wired constant on.

Mercury provides power from the Tach?????? Interesting concept and very incorrect so I would be looking for a new tech or listening a little more carefully. Mercury, Honda, and all the others both provide power from the harness. What you probably heard is that the tach is powered by the electrical system (rectifier) to be specific. Thats where the pulses come from that the tach counts and turns that into an RPM reading. Both motors feed 12 volts and ground up the harness from the battery via the engine. +12V feeds the ignition switch and when the key is turned to the RUN position, +12V comes out the ACCESSORY terminal on the switch to feed the gauges and anything else you want to turn on and off by the ignition switch.

 

[whosurpopi]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

I put them in a 130 hp honda outboard, 2001 in a prosports nsf. I believe the gauges to some how be responsible (I am ultimately responsible) because five minutes prior to changing them, The boat started strongly, then once the gauge job was done (about an hour), nothing. I am starting to think that me pulling the dash assembly a little forward (about 7 inches, might have caused some kind of problem with the wiring harness. I also noticed that out of the five gauges, the gas gauge was the only one that doesnt jump a little when I turn the key.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

In your original post you said the battery was dead. Did you actually prove it was dead or did you just assume it was because the engine wouldn't start? By pulling on the harness you may have pulled a connection loose from the ignition switch. But first verify the battery is ok. If it is dead, then you screwed something up in the gauge swap. If it is not dead, then you pulled some wires loose.

 

[whosurpopi]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

I am going to take the battery out today and give it a charge. After the gauge swap, the engine would not turn over, so I hooked up the jump box to the battery. With this hooked up, the engine turned over, but not enough to start. With this, I would guess the ignition is still intact. The only gauge that there was any issue with was the speedo, since this had a jumper wire from one connector to the other. This seemed odd to me, but all the others were straight forward.

 

[compcrasher86]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

Im going to just put it out there cause it happened to me, make sure your battery terminals are screwed/bolted on TIGHT. I thought my battery was dead but my screws were just loose.

Im with silvertip here, check your connections, something probably pulled loose. Unless you shorted something out, your battery would not have drained that quickly

 

[whosurpopi]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

Just to update, My battery was shot. I put it on the charger for a couple of hours yesterday, and it wouldnt take a charge. Today I took it to advanced auto and they tested it and said it was bad. Put in the new battery, and the boat runs like a dream. 3 out of 5 gauges work (I was 1 for 5 before the new gauges) but I didnt expect the speedo to work, and I dont need the trim gauge, so everything is fine now. Thanks to all the responded, it was just a coincidence that the battery went during the gauge swap. The battery was about 3 years old.

 

[Skiwi]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

I think a spammer just pooped in our forum in the post above this one.

Sic 'em Moderator!



*edit* Hmm? gone now, please delete this post

 

[rwidman]

Re: put in new gauges, now battery is dead

............... Unless you shorted something out, your battery would not have drained that quickly

After fifty years or so fooling with cars and boats, I would have thought so too.

Not long ago, I stopped at the ice place on the way to the marina. After getting ice, the car would not start. Attempts to jump sart it failed and it was put on a roll back and brought home.

I tried to charge the battery to no avail. Took it to Sears and it was dead. A new battery solved the problem.

There was no indication of a weak or failing battery before this moment. The car started just fine, lights were bright, etc.