70hp eating up my battery??

[salmonite]

so i have a 1993 70hp johnson that i had trouble with on the lake the other day. Ok so i get to the launch and i go to start it and and i got to trim it down and it goes down. Then i hear the tilt and trim motor continuously running... but not doing anything cause it seems to be all the way down. I disconnected battery and monkey with it a little. i get it to stop then it just seems to be working great so i go out and fish.. I troll a lot so i never shut down the motor but my gas hose about 4 hrs later come disconnected...Motor quits. I go to start my engine and my battery that i just charged is completely dead. i was like HMMMMMMMMM... i use my trusty pull cord and get it started again and go in. I did have my two downriggers hooked up to battery but not using them continuously the entire time.

So here are my questions...
Could i have a short or something in my tilt and trim that would keep pulling a charge off of my battery
Could two electric downriggers going up and down like 5 times a piece drain my whole battery?

Seems like i wouldnt have asked the question if my electrical system was not acting funny earlier in the day... would have assumed it was the riggers draining it...

Thoughts??????????

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

Check the charging system to make sure it is charging.
Check the electrical system for a draw.
Without knowing what the amperage draw of the downriggers it hard to tell if they are your problem.

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

ok so i dont know if the search button helps or confuses me more... My"rectifier" (i believe) should have been at least slightly charging my battery while trolling for 4 hours... Correct?
Next I found a brown wire with an end that looks like it is supposed to be hooked to a battery. I believe it is hooked to my bilge, i cant exactly see. Could that be the constant draw if it is not hooked up to a ground? also there is a mess of brown wires that i found with connection from wire to wire and two of the wires are exposed. could that be another problem for the draw on my battery?

I am such an amateur ..

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

You can check for a draw with a volt meter. Remove the negative battery cable, install one of the volt meter leeds to the battery cable end and the other one to the battery post. If you have a voltage reading, it means you have a draw. Repeat the procedure with any wire connected to the negative battery post.

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

You can check for a draw with a volt meter. Remove the negative battery cable, install one of the volt meter leeds to the battery cable end and the other one to the battery post. If you have a voltage reading, it means you have a draw. Repeat the procedure with any wire connected to the negative battery post.

so when you say install one of the volt meter leeds you mean to all negative wires and when you say place the other one to a post you mean to positive post or negative post? remember i did say i was an amateur!

Thanks so much!! i hate electrical stuff

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

Disconnect the negitave battery cable and all wires attached to it.
Connect the negitave leed from the meter to the negitave battery post.
Connect the other leed to the battery cable itself, if you have a voltage reading it means there is a draw on some thing connected to the other end of the cable. If no voltage reading there, then check each wire in the same manner and see if you have a voltage draw on any of the other wires.

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

Disconnect the negitave battery cable and all wires attached to it.
Connect the negitave leed from the meter to the negitave battery post.
Connect the other leed to the battery cable itself, if you have a voltage reading it means there is a draw on some thing connected to the other end of the cable. If no voltage reading there, then check each wire in the same manner and see if you have a voltage draw on any of the other wires.

perfect thanks

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

You're welcome, come back with more questions if necessary.

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

pm sent....

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

ok so i thought i had this problem licked but not so much... so i had a draw on my motor negative cable and i have no idea how to find the short.. any tips???

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

Is it on a single wire or the battery cable?

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

my main negative cable to motor

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

If it is on the cable only, no single wires attached, then your draw is on the engine itself. It would be helpful if you had a wiring diagram of your engine, do you have a factory manual?

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

i do not but i feel i will be getting one soon

 

[Daviet]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

It would be a good thing to have, it has all the troubleshooting sections and wiring diagrams to help you out. Make sure you use your model number to get the correct manual. I guess if your charging system is working properly, you could disconnect your battery when you are not using it.

 

[salmonite]

Re: 70hp eating up my battery??

yes absolutely but i would never want to be stranded just because of a battery if i couldnt get it started with a pull