Cranking battery problems

[CatClassic]

Hello everyoneStupid question. I have gone through 2 starting batteries within a couple months. Both times they died on water. This last time, It had charged all night and by my fourth start, it was dead. Im sure this battery was bad anyway, but twice kinda bothers me. My first battery was the interstate battery that came in boat. My second was evermaxx marine. The evermaxx had 895ca. The motor is 2006 220 Optimax. It seems to have always had a hard time turning over. It seems to “chug” real slow and then start right up. Do I need a battery with more cranking amps? Or may there be other issues? Thanks in advance for any advice.Michael

[oldtimer57]

I would check everything. 1. cables from battery up into powerhead where the + and – (big) cables connect to the starter and ground. Are the battery connections solid? Grungy connections have high resistance, which will hurt.2. Connect a volt meter across the battery and hit the starter. Does the voltage drop to 8 or less? If so either your starter is dragging badly, or the battery is bad.3. With everything off is the battery at +12.5 or so? If not, it is suspect.4. Put the muffs on, turn the water on, and with the voltmeter across the battery, have someone crank the motor. Does the voltage jump to +14 or so (at least +13.5)??? If not, then you are not charging and need to get your charging system looked at.It should not take too long with a voltmeter to figure out what is going on.If after step 3, the battery seems low, you might check for parasitic drain somewhere. Take the volt meter, switch to amps, and disconnect the + battery lead. Connect the red voltmeter (now an ammeter) to the + battery post, and the black lead to the battery cable bundle you disconnected. What does it read? 100-200 milliamps or less. You should be OK. More? You have something draining your battery. Could be anything from a compartment light that doesnt go off, to an electronic accessory that is “thirsty”, etc… Eliminate the drain and the battery will stop going flat on you.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200

[MOUNTAIN CAT]

Im sure someone else will jump on here with more advice. The alternator on your motor should be recharging that battery while running. I would check to see if there is an excessive amount of current draw from the accessories. Lights, pumps, etc when the motor is not running. How much of a load are you putting on the battery when the big motor is not running. Could be a bad alternator.Martin

[Bass Cat Boats]

The Optimax is killing the thing!!!!They require over 1000 CCA takes a lot of juice to keep the computer system running. And if you run color GPS/FFs, even more problem.You just dont have enough battery…..but I would check all the other things also.Tom(fishfafun)

[Bass Cat Boats]

fishfafun, that is due to parasitic amperage which the computer draws. The MCCA rating is covering a use of voltage while stored and keeping enough reserve to kick it off. We use standard deep cycles on all of our boats here with no issues. BCB

[CatClassic]

Thanks for the help so far I am fixing to start checking. The other day, I left everything off while fishing. No graphs, and I didnt even run livewells until big motor was started. The few times I got to start the big motor, we only ran a few hundred yards, so I dont know if it allowed it to charge battery any further. Also, when starting battery went dead, I switched to the TM battery and it cranked right up. There was still a noticable pull down in battery power when I turned the key, but it started right up.

[Author]

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