New battery losing charge quick help!

[Skigirl15]

Just put a new battery, and new stereo in our 94' Echelon. The previious battery kept dying, and our stereo went out. Now with this new battery the boat starts fine all of the time as long as we don't run the stereo. Whenever we run the stereo it seems to be draining the battery, and the negative battery cable gets hot. Does anyone know if this is a connection issue, or what we should be looking for to fix ths? It would be nice to actually be able to enjoy our stereo without worrying that it is going to drain our battery??

Thanks!

[DONTW8]

1. Too much stereo ?

2. Was the bilge recently filled with water ? If the starter motor and solenoid got submerged and stayed that way they develop an issue where there is a constant draw on the battery.

3. Get a good pair of heaviest duty 12 foot long jumper caples you can find.

4. Was your old battery actually shot ? Get it tested. It may be good. You can go to a dual battery setup.

5. It is OK to place an RV battery in parallel with your starter battery to gain amp hours.

6. There are many on this site who have a Perko battery switch. Some have 3 (or 4 ) batteries

[jjackkrash]

I am learning that the starter battery is made to start the engine and run things when the alternator is powering it. You need a second deep cycle (not starter) battery if you are going to listen to the stereo for more than a few minutes when the boat is not running. The bigger the stereo, the more batteries and charging gizmos you need. For a small stereo, a second deep cycle, a switch, and maybe a small shore-charging unit would do the trick. if you repeatedly drain the starter battery you will just ruin it.

Here is a recent thread on duel batteries and isolators.

[Skigirl15]

I think something is draining the battery and therefore that is the reason the negative is getting hot. My parents have a malibu and have their radio playing all the time with one battery. This isn't a big stereo and shouldn't be draining the battery like that. I am just wondering if you guys are aware of a connection that we couuld be missing etc? We litteraly play the radio for like 10-20 minutes and the battery is drained.

[coyote055]

High current flow causes the cable to get hot. One question is: does it get hot with the stereo off? If not, the problem is related to the stereo or the way it's wired. Is it possible that the power antenna wire is somehow grounded?

[68Slalom]

Is your alternator putting out the proper amps? The reason I mention that is because you may have just enough juice to start the engine but you don't have a full charge on the battery if your alt. is not pushing out the proper amperage and it's possible your regulator may be the problem.

[WakesetterE]

My guess is the alternator is toast and you are just running off the battery. Check the voltage of the battery with everything off. Start the boat, recheck voltage. Did voltage jump from 12.something to about 13.7? If the voltage doesn't change or actually goes down, you aren't receiving any current from your alternator. I bet your alternator died, and ruined the other battery. When a battery dies it doesn't hurt the alternator, but when the alternator dies often the battery is pulled down so low it cant recover and its toast.

Check to ensure all of your connections are clean and tight. Please let us know what you find!

Edited May 17, 2011 by WakesetterE