First Time Out..DID NOT START!!!

First time boat owner here...Took my newly purchased Triton TR-186 out for the first time last weekend, and was really looking forward to the day ahead! Prepped the boat, loaded, and launched! Turn the key over and a dead battery!!! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/mad.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/crying.gif Was working fine last time out, just wondering why I had to go to the Marina and get a new battery installed? Now that the Wal-Mart battery is out, should I be trickle charging before going out on each trip? Does my alternater charge the battery? Any help would be appreciated!

Tight Lines

Unless you are running a lot of accessories all day the motor should keep up your battery. My current boat has a charger for the starting battery so i plug it in with the TM batteries. I have not had problems without the charger but its a good item for piece of mind. You may have a slow drain on the battery from an accessory. Do you have a main disconnect. I assume the boat is used, if so you probably just had one of the famous NEVERSTARTS from walmart. Some people swear by them but i have had nothing but bad experiences from them.

may sound dumb....but was your kill switch hooked properly>?

You say you had to install a new battery. Did the old one have a bad cell? It wouldnt take a charge?

Did a load test on on the battery at the Marina, and it showed bad battery! Of course it was the Everstart from Wal-Mart! When I was thinking the kill switch was probably in the "on" position from the last time out. So if I have a 2 bank on board now for the TM batteries, I should maybe upgrade to a 3 bank, or serperate charger for cranking? I have an Interstate in there now, it's what the marina carried, so I should be good!

I'd upgrade to a 3 bank and be done with it. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif Don't forget to check the water levels in your batts.

I charge my crankin battery just to be safe, although I do go 3-4 days where I have no electric available to charge it (or the TM batteries for that matter so I do try to conserve the "jiuce' in those cases). My crankin battery will usually indicate app app 70% charge before I charge it.

Make sure you turn off the master power switch when you put it away.