Boat Battery Problems

[Tom Roberts]

I have a rebuilt 1997 60hp Evinrude 2 stroke that I've used now going on 4+ years. It's been extremely dependable but during the coldest of the cold days, say in the teens and single digits, my motor many times will not start because of the battery. The battery is brand new that I bought at Walmart, I kept it on a charger in my garage, transported it to the ramp in warmth of my truck cab, and then when I tried to use it at the ramp, it wouldn't start the motor. We hand started the motor with a pull rope after several attempts and then after that the motor would start with the key. Now the weather that day was bitter. Single digits and wind blowing out of the north at around 15mph. But surely the battery wouldn't have gone dead in the few minutes it took to move it from the truck to the boat and hook it up. Now I admit I bought one of the cheaper Walmart marine batteries. Is there another problem with the motor that the cold is bringing to light? Would a more expensive battery been better? Any recommendations or suggestions?

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Anytime one restarts a warmed motor, it will turn over with less resistance than when cold. When the engine and starter motor are dead cold the amps required to turn everything over will be much greater. I would check the condition of the starter and or solenoid. The starter may be drawing way too many amps or the solenoid may not be passing enough thru the internal contacts.

If the starting circuit is sucking all the juice from the battery (on a cold start), there may not be enough left over when cranking to actually fire the ignition.

 

[Josh Schwenger]

I have a early 90s 2 cylinder 48 spl i have a similar problem with but it will do it at any temperatures its slow to crank. I ran a temporary ground cable and it seems to have alleviated the problem.

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Check your cables. Put a load tester on the battery. I would get in the garage and go through all the connections.

 

[gcs]

Make sure all your connections are clean and bright, check that your battery cells are full, top off with distilled water if necessary.
Then start checking everything else.

 

[Dean Temple]

Test the draw on the starter, being it doesn't get used much believe it or not it's worse then being used every day. Make sure cables are good and tight. Good luck.

 

[Tom Roberts]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will get with my boat motor mechanic and have him test/ check everything mentioned.

 

[Mark W]

If the battery is new and the boat now doesn't star in the cold, it could be a faulty battery. Might want to bring it back to Walmart and have them test it.

Mark