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Electrical issue


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The last 2 times I have been out in my 99 Sportster I had to be towed back. On both occasions, it would start, we would go out on the lake and after a while it would quit running and no juice for the gauges or anything else. My volt-meter was showing 0, and It has condensation in it so I thought maybe it wasn't working. At any rate, if I left everythig off for a while the gauges would come back up weakly, but not enough juice to turn over, indicating a dead battery to me. Go back home put it on a charger, it shows dead, charge it up overnight, have it tested, shows fine. Pull the alternator, have it tested, bad. Replace, go back out on the lake, same thing...driving along and it just quits. My mechanic looks it over and there has always been a problem with the starter needing a few turns of the key to get it to turn over, so we pull that as he says everything goes through the starter, and it is needing replacement. Have new starter now and ready to go at it again..am I missing anything?

Edited by Texbu
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Pull the alternator, have it tested, bad. Replace, go back out on the lake, same thing...driving along and it just quits.

What quits, the engine? Is this while running or after you stop and then try to restart? If the engine quits while running, doesn't like a starter issue to me. If it won't start again after you stop, it sounds like the alternator still isn't working or you have a huge drain on your battery somewhere. Are the batteries new?

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I take it you checked for loose cables?

Canon plug loose?

Is the canon plug the kill switch? I took the battery cables off and cleaned them and the terminals, the re-tightened them.

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Pull the alternator, have it tested, bad. Replace, go back out on the lake, same thing...driving along and it just quits.

What quits, the engine? Is this while running or after you stop and then try to restart? If the engine quits while running, doesn't like a starter issue to me. If it won't start again after you stop, it sounds like the alternator still isn't working or you have a huge drain on your battery somewhere. Are the batteries new?

The engine just quit running as I pulled up my son. Battery drained, as no gauges would work. After a while it seemed to find a minor spark of juice because the depth sounder would flicker then it went off. They checked the Alternator and it tested bad, so I replaced & thought I had it whipped. Went out again and the same thing happened. New starter in and I'm hoping that did it.

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Pull the alternator, have it tested, bad. Replace, go back out on the lake, same thing...driving along and it just quits.

What quits, the engine? Is this while running or after you stop and then try to restart? If the engine quits while running, doesn't like a starter issue to me. If it won't start again after you stop, it sounds like the alternator still isn't working or you have a huge drain on your battery somewhere. Are the batteries new?

The engine just quit running as I pulled up my son. Battery drained, as no gauges would work. After a while it seemed to find a minor spark of juice because the depth sounder would flicker then it went off. They checked the Alternator and it tested bad, so I replaced & thought I had it whipped. Went out again and the same thing happened. New starter in and I'm hoping that did it.

Pretty sure a new or a bad starter is not going to effect this type of issue. The objective of a starter is two things. One is cranking your engine the other is providing a bus (connection point) from your alternator to your battery. Have you tried pulling off your red tether and manually holding in the switch? Sometimes the plastic on the connection of your tether stretches and doesnt push the switch all the way in resulting in no electrical power.

If this is the problem, wad up a small piece of paper and use it as a shim between the push in switch and the tether to get you buy until you can get a new one. :)

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You confirmed a bad alternator. Is it possible that the death of the alternator brought down the battery with it? I'm pretty sure batteries don't like to be brought down to zero charge like that and the last time that happened to my battery, I was unable to successfully charge it. It would take a surface charge and read full voltage but a couple cranks would toast it so in reality, it wasn't holding a full charge at all.

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If this is the problem, wad up a small piece of paper and use it as a shim between the push in switch and the tether to get you buy until you can get a new one. :)

kill sw. can be nfg/open even with the shim wedged in.

pull the two conductors from the switch and short them out to test it.

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I take it you checked for loose cables?

Canon plug loose?

Is the canon plug the kill switch? I took the battery cables off and cleaned them and the terminals, the re-tightened them.

Did you clean the other end of the battery cables too, check for tightness?

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kill sw. can be nfg/open even with the shim wedged in.

pull the two conductors from the switch and short them out to test it.

I think the engine will still crank if the kill switch is bad or open, just won't run. IIRC, that is how I used to fog my engine.

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I think the engine will still crank if the kill switch is bad or open, just won't run. IIRC, that is how I used to fog my engine.

my memory sucks but i keep forgetting that.

i can never remember if the engine cranks w an open kill switch.

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I take it you checked for loose cables?

Canon plug loose?

Is the canon plug the kill switch? I took the battery cables off and cleaned them and the terminals, the re-tightened them.

Did you clean the other end of the battery cables too, check for tightness?

Well, one goes to the starter, and it is all good. I know I look like a knucklehead here, but it is one of those electrical mysteries...I'm going out again tomorrow, on Lake Bridgeport, which is one of the only lakes around that is not at flood level..and giving it another try..will report in afterwards..hope we fixed it with the new starter... battery checked out good and it is full and deeply charged.

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Good luck, going on vacation for three weeks. I'll look back and see how you made out. Oh, the cannon plug is the plug that connects the wiring from the dash area to the motor. It make removal of the motor easier. It can have up to 12 wires in it.

Edited by electricjohn
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Good luck, going on vacation for three weeks. I'll look back and see how you made out. Oh, the cannon plug is the plug that connects the wiring from the dash area to the motor. It make removal of the motor easier. It can have up to 12 wires in it.

Okay, just got towed in for the 3rd time..we got the towing, loading the boat without power part down now.. Thumbup.gif New alternator, new starter, same old problem. Boat started on the first revolution as usual, went out a ways and got it up on plane for a while, shut it down and went for a swim, got in and started right up. Went about 50 feet and it shut down. No juice going anywhere...gauges froze right where they were, tach at 1,000 RPM's temp gauge at 160, oil pressure gauge right where it was... Surprised.gif It's making me crazy! I got up under the dash to see if anything was loose or visibly frayed..nothing. I took the clip off of the kill switch and pressed it with my thumb while trying to start it..nothing. We towed it home and dropped her off at the boat shop. What could get hot electrically and then shut off all power? By the way, I tried the key at the boat place and all gauges zeroed out and we had juice again. Also while the starter was being checked out and replaced, the battery was tested and showed strong.

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You can find this problem using a digital multimeter. It's tough to find when everything is working. So when the boat dies, starting at the battery POSTS, measure voltage. Don't change key position or anything. If the battery measures ok, 12v check the cable ends around the posts. You have to move downstream, away from the source (battery) . Battery feeds the starter, from the starter through a circuit breaker to the cannon plug & up to the dash.

Battery ground cable should go to the engine block. Grounding for the dash can be improved by adding a 4ga wire from the batt neg terminal to the ground plate under the right side of dash.

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You can find this problem using a digital multimeter. It's tough to find when everything is working. So when the boat dies, starting at the battery POSTS, measure voltage. Don't change key position or anything. If the battery measures ok, 12v check the cable ends around the posts. You have to move downstream, away from the source (battery) . Battery feeds the starter, from the starter through a circuit breaker to the cannon plug & up to the dash.

Battery ground cable should go to the engine block. Grounding for the dash can be improved by adding a 4ga wire from the batt neg terminal to the ground plate under the right side of dash.

Thanks for your help! I have a multi-meter and will give it a go next time

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  • 2 weeks later...

We think we've got it figured out! The master engine breaker had gotten weak and would trip randomly, shutting down everything. It's irregular tripping fried the alternator (which I had replaced) and even the voltmeter according to the mechanics. Hopefully I can actually drive on to the the trailer after a full day on the water!

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We think we've got it figured out! The master engine breaker had gotten weak and would trip randomly, shutting down everything. It's irregular tripping fried the alternator (which I had replaced) and even the voltmeter according to the mechanics. Hopefully I can actually drive on to the the trailer after a full day on the water!

Sounds like you got it. Where's this breaker located just for reference?

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We think we've got it figured out! The master engine breaker had gotten weak and would trip randomly, shutting down everything. It's irregular tripping fried the alternator (which I had replaced) and even the voltmeter according to the mechanics. Hopefully I can actually drive on to the the trailer after a full day on the water!

Sounds like you got it. Where's this breaker located just for reference?

Mine is a 99 Sportster, and it's on the back side or rear of the motordown low.

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