Marine Starter Battery Size

John Fraser

Well-known member
My boat/motor is now six years old. I noticed in the late summer/early fall that the motor started a little sluggishly on the first start of the day. Subsequent starts after that seem fine and peppy. I'm continuing to notice this initial sluggish start and believe that the battery may not be holding a charge that well. With colder temps approaching, I'm nervous that it may not start one morning. The motor is a 2013 Honda 60hp four stroke and the current (original) battery is 525 CCA. The Honda manual says that I should have a minimum of 420 CCA. While looking into a new battery I talked to the marina that services my motor. They are a Honda dealer, but not the dealer that I bought the boat and motor from. They said that they put 1,000 CCA batteries on all of their Hondas. Aside form the extra weight in the stern, is there any disadvantage to using a battery with 1,000 CCA? The price they quoted me for the battery seems reasonable compared to what I just paid for the 550 CCA battery that I put in my wife's car.
 
John, i have a honda 40 hp and a honda 75 hp and use a 825 cranking amp battery in both boats have had no problems . If you getting to 4 or 5 years old with battery time to change anyway .
 
Have you checked the battery electrolyte? whenever mine gets a little low and the plates start showing Ill get a weak first start then its good for the day, I have to add water every couple months, top it off and it acts like new again.
 
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Thanks GCS and Carl. It's been years since I topped off any battery. Should I just add distilled water if it's low?
 
Yep, that'll do it.

I had a car battery get extremely low one time. The only indication was that it started to smell like chicken frying - seriously! Found out from someone that it's an indication that your battery is almost cooked and you better do something about it ASAP.
 
You are supposed to use distilled water, but I have always just used bottled water.
My sons car recently would not start after sitting for a day or two. After jumping it off two or three Monday mornings in a row, i checked the water level. sure enough, it was low. filled it up and haven't had a problem since.
 
batteries can go dead fast. recently stated my atv in cold weather with no problem. 2 days later it would not turn over. found the receipt and the battery was 5 years old. took it to fleet and they tested it and found bad cells. went dead that quick. not worth ruining a vacation or hunt trying to extend the life of a battery. more CCA will help especially if its cold were you are. good luck!
 
Had a 75hp Honda that always had issues with the cold, I went to a 1000 CCA battery and problem solved. That is all I run now. Even had it on my 60hp Yamaha. I have two on my 225 Etec during the winter months. I believe at either 0 or 32 degrees your CCA get cut in half simply due to the temperature.
 
Troy Fields said:
I believe at either 0 or 32 degrees your CCA get cut in half simply due to the temperature.

Not quite right, cold cranking amps is exactly what it says,,, cold.

Cold Cranking Amps is a rating used in the battery industry to define a battery's ability to start an engine in cold temperatures. The rating is the number of amps a new, fully charged battery can deliver at 32 degrees Farenheit for 30 seconds, while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts, for a 12 volt battery.[strike][/strike]


Yes, your battery will deliver MORE than the CCA in warmer temps.
 
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