2011 17sli : Dashboard power restored

PapaBear

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Puddingstone Lake (Pomona), CA
We have been gradually getting our little guy ready after over a year of storage.
Pontoons cleaned, trailer serviced, new vinyl wrap on fence and a complete engine tune-up. I also replaced the light on the Bimini top. So I finally take the boat to our little local lake and discover the battery I had charged the night before was was stone dead. When I used the portable jumper, the engine fired up but my instrument panel had no electricity.... We went out nonetheless and the engine sounded great.
Over the weekend I read everything on the internet about dashboard electrical failures and was stumped. I made an appointment with my boat mechanic who had done the recent tune-up and installed the new light so last night I gave the battery a full charge, but when I got to the mechanic this morning, the battery was dead.
We checked the fuse at the battery and the circuit breakers on the dash. Nada.
We put a jump on the battery and removed the engine cowl. That’s when we noticed that one of the relays on the 40hp Big Foot was audibly “clicking.” We tried replacing the relays, but the “clicking” continued.
When we readjusted the cables on the starter, the ground wire normally connected to the negative terminal post fell loose. When we reconnected the grounding wire, the “clicking” relay went quiet and the dashboard jumped to life. When he serviced the battery, he had not properly reconnected the grounding wire on the battery. I was so happy to “have been shot at and missed,” I gave him $40 and did not point out what we both already knew - he goofed.
BOTTOM LINE: No power at dashboard; battery losing it’s charge overnight; and “clicking” relay in engine - Check the ground wire at the negative pole of the battery.
Bon Voyage!
 
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