Boat died…battery or alternator

[hdiamonds]

I have a 1999 Malibu sun setter VLX. The voltmeter has been reading lower the last two days.  Don’t always trust the gauge so I half way ignored it. But then this afternoon the voltmeter kept dropping to around 10 then 9.  Got back to the dock when the voltmeter read 8 and it was running rough.

is this a battery issue or is the alternator gone?   
 

We are on vacation on a lake and need this fixed quick.  
 

thanks. 
 

Hugh

Edited September 25, 2022 by hdiamonds

[justgary]

Most likely the alternator.  You should charge the battery fully and test it to make sure.  Also verify that all connections are clean and tight.

[tvano]

how old is that battery?

[minnmarker]

Alternators for Monsoon engines are available on Amazon Prime.

Change out is not difficult and can be done on the water.

[Bozboat]

This summer my dash gauge showed a drop to 10-11 volts, turned out to be water spraying out of the raw water pump onto the alternator, new gasket solved the water spray problem, alternator came back to life but that can’t be good for it. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Bozboat

[justgary]

35 minutes ago, Bozboat said:

This summer my dash gauge showed a drop to 10-11 volts, turned out to be water spraying out of the raw water pump onto the alternator, new gasket solved the water spray problem, alternator came back to life but that can’t be good for it. 

If it were under your pickup in a thunderstorm you wouldn't notice that it was getting soaked.  Dry is good if you can help it, but some of the parts are more forgiving than others.