Electrical Short

[Bonker43]

Hi Guys, I have a Trophy1802 with a 115hp 4 stroke mercury engine. Somewhere on my boat there is an electrical short which drains my battery in about 3 or 4 days. The only item drawing power is the CO2 detector which draws almost nothing. No other electrical devices are presently hooked up. Can anyone offer some suggestions on how to look for the short? Thanks.

 

[spring time]

could be a bad battery. put a volt meter to the battery and see

 

[Goathorns]

A load test of the battery may be in order here. How old is it, what charger have you been using, how is the level of electrlyte above the plates, and acid strength.
Hope you aren't using a deep cycle lighting battery to start the engine.
Perhaps the Merc itself is causing a problem. Maybe the alternotor is not charging. Have you talked to your Merc dealer?
If you think everything is shut off, try lifting the connector off of the battery. there should be no spark unless current is discharging.

 

[fytfire]

I wouldn't say you have an electrical short more like a parasitic draw. Unhook your ground cable from your battery and place a voltmeter between the negative post on your battery and the cable itself. Make sure everything you can think of is turned off and have your meter set to 20 amps. If you are still drawing power,start pulling fuses until your meter drops and the corresponding fuse will tell you what circuit the issue is in. Hope this helps.


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[Oh Sure]

I also have a Trophy 1802 with 115 Merc 4 stroke. Had the same issue but didnt go down for 7-9 days. Mechanic checked it all out and informed me it was the CO2 monitor and YES it will drain your battery in a weeks time. And thats with the switch in the off position. Now if I sit with more than a week I just pull my cable off the battery and when reconnected all is good.

 

[Sharphooks]

That C02 monitor absolutely will kill a battery with its parasitic draw. I have one in a camper---same deal. I pull the fuse when I know my camper is going to sit.

A Blue Sea ACR unit also has a parasitic draw and over time will compromise a battery---I installed an on-off switch on the ACR ground wire so I didn't have to worry about it.

 

[the fog ducker]

I wouldn't say you have an electrical short more like a parasitic draw. Unhook your ground cable from your battery and place a voltmeter between the negative post on your battery and the cable itself. Make sure everything you can think of is turned off and have your meter set to 20 amps. If you are still drawing power,start pulling fuses until your meter drops and the corresponding fuse will tell you what circuit the issue is in. Hope this helps.


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couldnt have said it any better
perfect troubleshoot

fd

 

[Bonker43]

H Guys, Thanks for all he direction. I did the load test and found there is quite a draw. I will start pulling fuses today starting with the CO2 detector. Is it possible due to the age of the detector (5/6 years) its failing and drawing more power than it should? I've had the boat for 4 years and this problem only started last season. Thanks again.