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Seeking Feedback On Engine Issue During 1st Outing

DiamondDave952

DiamondDave952

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I have a 2021 Benny with a Yamaha 115 that I purchase new from my local dealer. Never had an issue with motor until today when I took it out today for the first time this season. The motor started normally and I was on my way. I waved off my friend who was driving my truck and trailer as he started back to my cabin to drop it off and wait for me at my dock. About 10 minutes of running, the motor quit; I tried to restart it but the engine wouldn't start. Called my friend to bring back the truck and trailer to the boat launch. A fellow boater stopped by with a jump pack and I was able to start the engine but after a minute or so of idling, I disconnected the jump pack and started to move the throttle forward and the motor stopped. The jump pack was low power and couldn't start the motor the second time. My first gut feel is I have bad batteries (I have two batteries because of the Ultra Legs setup). Both batteries were mfg. in 2/2021 (according to the sticker) and always trickle charged over the Winter. I had both batteries load tested today at a local garage and was told, 1 battery was good, the other battery was a little low in the CCA (battery was rated at 800 CCA, the battery measured 755 CCA). Now, I am second guessing myself if it's even a battery issue given the fact that the motor originally started and appear to run normal. The voltage meter on the dash read around 12V and I was able to trim my motor and operate the Ultra legs. Looking for feedback from the community of what could be the issue or where to look. Thanks for any input and/or suggestion.
 
Pbakk said:
Would the motor turn over at all the second time?
Click to expand...
Yes. Motor turned over the second time with the jump pack. As soon as I disconnected the jump pack from the battery, I proceeded to put the motor in gear, it died. Could not restart the motor after that because the jump pack was drained.
 
I would think bad/dying/dead batteries can't keep electric things working like the fuel pump... as noted by Illinois change batt and see if any change.
 
Something's up with those batteries or the fuel pump! Started, ran for 10 minutes and shut off. Did the motor turn over when you couldn't restart it?!? Or was it literally dead? Then you were able to restart it but it shut off again after disconnecting the jump pack. The puzzling thing is you said those batteries tested okay.
 
I brought my pontoon to my local Bennington service center to have it checked out since the engine is still under warranty and also the piece of mind knowing the engine is solid. The service advisor I spoke with was very helpful and shared some good insight that I would pass on to the community.

My issue wasn't related to my batteries as they checked out fine. Rather it was how I had stacked the negative cable connections. I was told some time back in my life that I should "sandwich" the eyelet connections between the thicker cable connections so that the eyelet connections don't get damaged when tightening the terminal screws. That's where I messed up, as there was a chunk of heat shrink tubing on one of the eyelets that prevented a solid connection to the battery. Instead, I was told the motor cables always get connected first so there is solid contact with the battery followed by the accessories cables. Also, clean off the cable connections of any oxidation/corrosion. He suggested using green Scotch Brite to wipe down the cable connections at the start of each boating season before connecting them to the battery. Make perfect sense.

I also asked his opinion when running dual batteries with a battery switch; is it best to run battery 1 one weekend and battery 2 the next weekend or set the selector switch to 1+2 so both batteries are charging. His opinion (and the mechanic who was there also agreed) to alternate back and forth between battery 1 and battery 2. His reasoning is you always have a fresh battery available to get you back home.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm glad it was a minor/simple thing and not a motor issue. Happy 4th of July everyone!
 
Happy 4th to you too! Glad you got it worked out! Agree with the battery usage. On the way out we'll use battery 1. At the end of the day on the way back we'll use battery 2. Works out!
 
gonna guess its an alternator to be honest... once running, it should charge batteries and create enough power to keep things running. i'm assuming that engine is fuel injected, and if the jump pack got you going again its cause the alternator is likely not creating enough power to run the system, and the extra power was coming from the batteries...
 
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