2000 EFI 200 - Battery problem?

[JohnM64]

Will post S/N later today when back at house...its already on here somewhere from previous posts.

Problem: Yesterday AM got low voltage alarm on bow mount hbird 859. Mid morning the EFI shut down while on plane, thought powerhead let go. First two tries to crank were like it was seized, noticed helm graph lost power. Tried cranking 3rd time , fired right up, idled a bit than ran it just fine. Voltage on dash gauge pushing 13 +, hbird voltage at helm fluctuating, but not getting past 12v. Tested battery voltage once home at 11.8, dual pro charger flashing on cranking bank. Battery is lead acid marine cranking grp 27. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[JohnM64]

SN 0T067993

[leonreno]

11.8 is probably a dead battery, have it load tested to know for sure. Could be charging system also, but charge the battery if it will charge then have it load tested.

[EuropeanAM]

Good advice.

Suggest:

-Full charge battery.

-Have battery LOAD TESTED.

-Verify CLEAN, Properly Stacked Connections at battery (engine cable FIRST, remaining lugs Largest to Smallest, finish with a Stainless Locknut)

-Test run and confirm battery voltage with engine running (1 minute and 5 minutes after starting). Recommend a DVOM be used for this, AT THE BATTERY.

[JohnM64]

Thanks Don and Leon. Results after testing:

Pulled battery from boat, charged with portable. Reading 12.54 v at full charge. Load tested at Advance Auto Parts, seemed to pass but not full reserve. Not entirely sure of this test...

Battery back in boat, no additional charging. Battery voltage at 12.53 v at rest.

Started outboard, reading 14.7 v at battery at 1 minute. After 5 minutes running, seeing 14.65 v at battery, 14.4 v at helm hbird, 14.2 v at bow hbird.

Shut off outboard, all electronics off, rested 5 minutes. Battery at 12.53 v, helm hbird at 12.2 v, bow hbird at 11.8 v.

Outboard still off, all electronics off, 10 minutes resting. Battery at 12.41 v, helm hbird at 12.2 v, bow hbird at 11.8 v with low voltage alarm.

This AM, approx 12 hours after last test, battery voltage at 12.54 v. Charger was off this period.

Battery is less than 6 months old, liquid levels good, all connects clean and as directed. On board charger is a new Dual Pro 3x10 Sportsman. The Dual Pro was initially showing 3 flashing red lights on this bank when trouble began last weekend.

What do you think? Thanks again.

[EuropeanAM]

What was the actual testing results at Advance (ie: 942 CCA, 1241 CA, etc)?

You've obviously got a significant voltage drop at your bow graph... may need to run a dedicated circuit.

Cranking battery should not ever exceed 14.6 VDC on this setup- so keep a VERY close eye on that voltage (14.7 is technically "failing"... but given the possibility of meter variances I'm not going to tell you to do much right now for 0.1 VDC).

[JohnM64]

Thanks Don.

I did not get an actual result at Advance.....just a "well, might be ok"......I'll leave it at that, and work towards a more comprehensive test.

Whats bugging me:

I am very curious as to why the EFI shut down while running, and was able to readily start. I've never had any engine of any type do exactly that, and it has me a bit concerned. Thoughts?

[EuropeanAM]

The Cummins-Style ECU that your engine uses has an Over-Voltage protection feature (whereby it simply shuts itself down if voltage nears 15 VDC). So watching that voltage carefully is important in this case.

Note that in the case above, the engine would normally restart immediately (and might repeat the cycle).

[JohnM64]

Thanks Don.

The over voltage protection makes sense why it would stop cold. I'll get a real load test on the battery this weekend and re run the voltage testing with EFI running.

Something is strange as the bow Hbird has never had the low voltage alarm. Will advise on results.