Battery Drain

[fishinwrench]

I have been having the same problem with my humminbird 1197. But not with my lowrance x17. After a fully charged new battery, it just takes a litte time and the voltage on the hummingbird to drop to 11.6 or lower. I have to charge the starting battery almost every day where if I only use the x-17 I can go a week before charging. I cant get anyone to tell me whats the problem.

Do both of those units take the same 5A fuse ? If so the difference has nothing to do with the LCR's

I suspect you are going by the voltage indicators within the units themselves, and not by a seperate digital VOM or dash voltmeter. The charging system of your outboard should keep your cranking battery up enough to compensate for LCR demands, even if you only make short 3-5 mile runs.

[captmac]

FW .. have a evinrude 225 HO. really appreciate the help 01 if memory serves

[Wayne SW/MO]

Most voltmeters have a 12V amp reader on them. Disconnect the negative and bridge the gap with the DC amp meter probes. It will tell you what the draw is, and if you disconnect as Wrench said it will tell you which, if any, are heavy.

[fishinwrench]

FW .. have a evinrude 225 HO. really appreciate the help 01 if memory serves

That is a 35+amp water cooled charging system, and one of the best in the world I might add. But that engine does require a battery rated at 900 MCA or better. The Exide Nautilus 1000 (or equivalent) is the perfect igniter for that outboard. You should not be having the problems you are experiencing unless something is amiss. Hard to diagnose over the message board though.

You definately need to make sure the charging system is performing properly, because rectifier/regulator meltdowns are pretty common when problems are ignored...and they will melt everything on top of the powerhead (pack, timer base, stator, and regulator). I just recently repaired the results of a DOUBLE meltdown on twin 200's after the battery switch was shut off while underway at 3500 rpm.....Very costly !

[naru70]

Do both of those units take the same 5A fuse ? If so the difference has nothing to do with the LCR's

I suspect you are going by the voltage indicators within the units themselves, and not by a seperate digital VOM or dash voltmeter. The charging system of your outboard should keep your cranking battery up enough to compensate for LCR demands, even if you only make short 3-5 mile runs.

What if I only make 1 to 2 mile runs? I had to replace the stater last year.

[fishinwrench]

What if I only make 1 to 2 mile runs? I had to replace the stater last year.

Rgardless, you should be able to run 2 LCR's constantly and an intermittant livewell pump (50/50) for 6-8 hours and still have plenty if juice to light up the outboard.

When the stator was replaced did they test the rectifier/regulator afterwards to make sure it didn't burn up when the stator did ? If not you're eventually going to be buying another stator, and batterys will either not recieve charging amps,,,or too much and boil dry.