I bought an ’86 Lund Tyee 5.3 a few months ago. It came with an ’86 Evinrude 110 outboard. The engine runs well – I have fun a few engine treatments through it. My question/problem, though, is this: The main battery is drained and needs to be charged after 3 or 4 trips on the water. Fortunately, I have not gotten stranded – yet. Shouldn’t the engine be equipped with an “alternator” (stator?) which keeps the battery charged?
It should be getting charged automatically BUT if the battery is old enough it wont take a complete charge therefor only lasting a few trips. Two things I would do. Take it into a auto parts store and have them test it and see if its still good. Or go get a new battery. If you get it tested or get a new one and it still does it, you may have more issues than just a battery problem.
Thats the first 2 things I would try 
The motor will charge the battery at WOT ( max RPM’s) to replace the amps that were lost at start.
Starting batteries are meant to give a quick blast of amps to start the battery and never fully discharge. Accessories like sonars, radios, livewell pumps, etc should not be run on a starting battery. If you have these items wired to the staring battery, you should replace your starting battery with a DP (dual purpose) starting battery or add a deep cycle battery for your accessories.
Get a volt meter and read the DC volts at the battery with the motor off, and then with it running. It should be about 1-2 volts higher with the motor running something like 14.5 volts and something like 12.5 volts with it off.
If the voltage goes up, the battery is bad if not have the alternator checked.
Sounds like the battery.
I am not so sure. I have 2 boats with similar problems. The first is a small jon boat with only lights and a depth finder hooked to the battery. For whatever reason the battery goes dead if I don’t disconnect the depth finder, even when it is turned off. So, since a few months ago I have disconnected the depth finder when not in use and the battery has been fine.
The second is my relatively new (1 year old) 90HP E-TEC. For whatever reason if the boat sits for a week or so the battery goes dead. Other equipment does run off of it, ad althought the stuff is off, I think something is drawing power.
I am not an electrician by any means but am told the source of the discharge is easy to check and my dealer is currently doing that.
I hope to pick up the boat tomorrow and will let you know what they find.
Unless you have the equipment connected to an accessory switch that you can completely shut the power off to accessories like a depth finder, radio, etc. they will drain your battery!! They draw power even when you turn them off with their own main power switches.
The accessories – bilge, livewell, lights, and a Lowrance, are hooked to the main battery. There are switches for all of these. I have never run more than the Lowrance or the nav lights for any length of time. I run the livewell only periodically. I try to run the boat wide open whenever I can thinking that this should recharge the battery.
You may have nailed it. All the stuff is connected to an accessory switch except the depth finder. Like my small Jon Boat perhaps that is the problem.
Thank you — I will let you know what the dealer finds when I pick up the boat and motor tomorrow, but my hunch is your are right.
The dealer found no problem with the power drain and put in a new battery; no charge.
Nonetheless, I think your analysis is correct and if this post is still alive I will let you know in a month or so how the dealer responses to the continued battery drain.
How old is this battery? Are you using a newer LGC 2000 or LGC 3000 puck module with your GPS?
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