Rude not charging battery or electric leak

[Cranky Bait]

I am having a problem with either my battery not getting charged because my alternator is not working or I have an electric leak. What would you guys do to figure out what is going wrong? Please help before I need to spend a ton of money having a dealer analyze the situation. The battery is new and tried my friends also same problem.

Cranky

[JohnF]

Do you have a fish finder that can show voltage when you are running the boat?

It should show greater that 13volts when running, all the way to probably 14.4 when everything is turned off and the battery is charged. (this tests that the alternator is working) So again, you should see 12.6V (or maybe a little less) when the motor isn't running and something better than 13V when it is.

You could also have a bad battery. Take to a local battery shop and have it tested. Ask for (and look for) a load test. (I know you said your battery is new and that you tried a buddies with same results, but I thought I ought to put this here for completeness.)

An easy test for leaks is to simply disconnect the battery and see if the problem goes away. There are bunches of ways to track down leaks. An easy way is to turn off the master switch, remove all of the fuses, disconnect the positive wire that feeds the fuse panel from the battery, put one side of a lamp (testlight or such) on the positive side of the battery and the other side of the lamp get connected to the wire that feeds the fuse panel. Turn the master switch back on (should be no light at lamp) and start putting fuses back watching for the lamp to get real bright. Trace that fused circuit looking for the leak.

Others have had the draw in their motors. I think some of the older Yamahas (?) did something like this?

How long does it take to drain the battery?

John

[Cranky Bait]

The battery is ussually drained in a few days. I have a LMS350 and I am showing only 10.5 volts when the engine is running. Is this a voltage regulator issue? Do the alternators really go bad? I was wondering if I am draining my battery after running the boat all day.

Cranky