Parasitic drain ?

[getfished]

Mercury 250 Pro XS 4 Stroke . Ser. # 2B733457 .. I was working in my bilge which required me to remove all 4 batteries. When removing the connections on my cranking battery I noticed an arc. It kind of made me raise my eyebrows a bit. When I was reconnecting everything back to that battery I noticed a clicking noise from the outboard . Sort of like a solenoid click. Does this motor have a constant small amp parisitic drain ? It would be nice to know. In most cases I will be using it often enough and using my charger also but would be interested to know if there is a constant nominal drain. What say ye ?

[EuropeanAM]

Yes, there is a minimal draw and if you're making/breaking the contact with the clean power or battery cables as you "tighten" cables, you might hear some clicks occurring.

Basically I suspect you were creating a "wake" event (which lasts only 15 seconds or so). Similar to when you activate the trim switch on the cowling.

[getfished]

Thanks. That's basically exactly what happened .

[mikesxpress]

The rigging manual that came with the engine shows the proper way to install a cutoff switch for the engine start cables and another for the clean power harness. I don't want any power to anything when I store/charge the boat.

[EuropeanAM]

The rigging manual that came with the engine shows the proper way to install a cutoff switch for the engine start cables and another for the clean power harness. I don't want any power to anything when I store/charge the boat.

Just an FYI, the rigging manual does not allow for ANY deviation or switching of the CLEAN POWER connection.

Clean Power Connections:

Mercury clean power harnessing must be connected directly to the positive and negative posts of the corresponding propulsion engine's cranking battery.