disconnect battery???

[jbosch]

Hi all,

Is it necessary to disconnect your battery either manually or via a battery switch when your boat isn't being used? I used to disconnect my battery whenever it was not on the water, but when I bought my etec last year, I was told that I didn't need to, so I haven't been doing it. I don't have any place to mount a battery switch, but don't mind breaking out the wrench if I need to, since wingnuts aren't acceptable. Does anyone know of a battery switch that mounts right off of the post of a battery instead of one of those big rotary types?

Thanks,
Jared
'07 115 etec

[lkhartwl]

why do you want to disconnect the battery in the first place? if you are afraid of drain down get a battery charger with a trickle fuction and hook it up. taking it off and on could probably hurt the computer chips in the motor and also if a problem happens or a code happens you could erase the code hense causing worse problems for the service tech when he does any upgrades or such.

[DoferGofer]

I don't have a new fangled E-Tech or a computerize controlled outboard engine . . . and I don't see the need to disconnect your battery unless the computer is drawing a significant amount of current to discharge the battery between usages.
If this is the case which, I don't believe is valid. I would add an on-board charger instead of a battery disconnect switch.
That being said, I disconnect my battery terminals once a year, at the end of boating season to clean and re-lube "ALL" connections including the on-board charger.
Then everything is put back together and the on-board charger is plugged in at least once a month over the winter to keep all three batteries up to snuff!
I forgot to mention, my batteries are going on four years old and still kicking, I have never ran the trolling motor batteries down, never ran the starter battery down and no fail starts at the launching ramp.

Regards,

[loulouton]

I personally switch off the electrical circuit after when my boat is unused. The EMM drains a little bit power even when the engine is off. I was told (or I read it, can't remember) that if you don't use your engine during more than 20 days you must disconnect the power.

[loulouton]

I finally found where I read to switch off the battery when engine is not used during long period of time.

see here bullet point # 15 : http://www.stonylake.on.ca/fallmaintenance.html

[Chunder]

You should disconnect your battery when not using the motor for a long period of time, I believe the silicon diodes in the rectifier have a .2 volt leakage
Chunder

[jbosch]

Thanks everyone. I use the boat weekly, so I probably won't bother with disconnecting it. I always thought that you had to disconnect it to prevent corrosion of some sort, but since nobody mentioned that, I guess it's not true. I'm not so worried about the volt leakage.

Jared

[DoferGofer]

Cleaning my cables and connections once year has worked for me on my boat.

[ChampioNman]

A little Vasoline on your post wont hurt either .