Qestion on Outboards and charging Battery

[bradvo]

Not having read the manual I will ask here. Should my Yamaha 4 stroke electric start be keeping my battery charged up?
It is a 2002, I replaced the battery that was in it last year with the same type inexpensive 35 dollar ace hardware bought battery. This spring it was giving me trouble and would only start when the charger was on it, so I walked up to WM in Gig and bought the One hundred dollar battery. Well now it was crapping out so I through a charge on it last weekend before heading out and starts fresh again??? So on a 4 stroker does it just draw until you need to charge again? I also have a fish finder / Depth sounder hooked up that does some drawing of voltage, which I turn off when not in use. Just wondering if I have something not working on the motor.

[Patriot]

There would appear to be something wrong with the engine's charging system. It most definitely should keep the battery charged.

For long periods of down-time (like winter storage) the battery should be removed from the boat and kept charged, either with a trickle charger or periodic (i.e. monthly) re-charges on a standard charger. If you don't do this, the battery will go bad very quickly.

Your cheap $35 battery may have simply fallen apart. Standard batteries are not built to take the beating that a marine application gives. Hit a hard wake and you can shake the plates loose. Marine batteries cost more because they are sturdier in construction. Also, deep cycle batteries take a long time to recharge after they are discharged. While your standard car battery can be recharged in a couple of hours, it may take a couple of days to put a full charge on a deep cycle marine battery, using a 6 amp charger.

[Pegasis]

Sounds like something's f-up with the charging system on your kicker. I have a 9.9 Yamaha 4-cycle high thrust on my boat. I run the echo sounder and GPS the full time I'm out fishing. Occassionally have tunes playing and haven't had a problem with the charging system keeping up, well at least doesn't allow enough discharge that I can't start the engine. Without the kicker running the battery is dead in about 6 hours. This is with the kicker at little faster than idle.

[bradvo]

That is what I thought, something messed up with charging system. Well I will play with it rest of summer then try for a winter tune and fix what is wrong- still under warranty.
Brad
Oh, thanks

[Go Aweigh2452]

When I used an electric trolling motor, I use to run my 9.9 to charge the battery I used with that trolling motor for my inflatible. You definetly need to look at the motor...

[Patriot]

Is this a little kicker motor, or is it your main power? I assumed main power, but others are assuming that you're talking about a trolling motor. Small outboards that are started by a rope do not have charging systems. They simply run off the magneto. Larger outboards--generally any motor that has an electric starter--will have a charging system. So if you have an electric starter and your motor lets the battery go dead, you have either a bad battery or a bad charging system--meaning alternator, rectifier, or voltage regulator.

[Numbknots]

Brad,

If you have a cheap VOM, put it across the batter terminals with the motor running and it should read about 13.5-14.5VDC if it has a charger?

I would highly recommend a "Battery Tender" for keeping your batteries topped off (without cooking them) Do be sure to charge them to capacity with a "real charger" first.

The problem with most "small" batteries is if they get used just for starting and nominal load then they never really get cycled.

Tim

[heymagic]

My 40 hp Yamaha only charges something like 12-14 amps at speed, less at idle. You should check the specs to see how much you have to start with. Does sound like a charging problem or something drawing the battery down while sitting. Ignition Off Draw -IOD- is the industry term. You should have less than 30milli amps draw at rest. This can be checked with many digital volt/ohm meters -DVOM_ hooked between either of the batt terminals and the cable. Many stereos have a small draw for the clock and station memory. A stuck relay, green wires can cause a draw or even a faulty stereo. Gene

[bradvo]

It is a 30hp yamaha with electric start, ( for tender) I noticed when the battery was going dead over the 4th the fish finder/depth sounder would not shut off- thought that was wierd-so I pulled the plug on it. I gave the battery a charge for around 1.5 hours last week and the tender fired right up. During vacation I will check with a meter to see what the votage is before turning on then check once motor is started.
Brad