Posts: 60
Location: Lake Minnetonka | I used to have the same problem with my starter battery draining while I stored it and then my Opti wouldn't start. The first thing I always thought was it was the battery, but didn't make sense because it was new.
So for awhile when I didn't know what was draining it, I used to disconnect the negative terminal on the starter battery while I stored it and it cured the problem. And if I was really concerned about it, after my trolling motor batteries were charged, I would disconnect one of the trolling motor batteries and add in the starter battery to the trolling motor battery charging circuit, and charge it.
Do you have an external puck for your GPS? Are your electronics connected to your starting battery? Are your electronics wired into a seperare switch or accessory button that allows you to shut them off?
This is what I found my problem was, and know of 4 other boats that had the same exact problem. If your electronics are run off your starter battery (most are), and you do not have a seperate switch to shut them off, that means they are still drawing power and still running even when you are storing your boat. The external gps puck is still trying to get a signal and connect to a satellite. (don't know if it is the same with internal GPS) This causes a slow drain of your starter battery while in storage, and then your motor won't start.
You can also test this by making sure your starter battery is fully charged, and then unhooking the power cords where they connect to the back of your electronics, and let it sit for a couple days. Then check the voltage on your starter battery.
Also, when you have time, you need to get inside your boat, and see if the power cord for your electronics are wired to a switch or accessory button so you can shut them off. If not, then you need to put in a switch, or wire them to an accessory button so you can shut the power off to them.
My voltage drops when I am trimming too, but not rpms, so was never concerned about it. So don't know about that one.
Edited by PostFrontal 7/5/2011 10:23 AM
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