| I am beginning to feel that I have bad karma with my new boat. First the good news: based on all the advice I received, the Universal starting issue seems definitely fixed- since I cleaned the ground connection, it has started smoothly every time. The only strange thing is that all the directions I have read say that you should continue to push the glow plug button while pushing the start button. However, on mine, the engine will not turn over unless I release the glow plug button. Also, the GPS restarts each time I start the engine, which may mean there is still some electrical issue, but neither is a serious problem at this point. Also, the black smoke etc. is largely gone since I cleaned the bottom and prop as best I could. The shaft and prop were completely crusted with barnacles, so clearly my Pettit zinc coat did not do its job. I may try Velox next spring based on the advice of a local old timer. So yesterday I go went to the boat and found that my #1 battery is completely dead. This is the battery that is wired for the auto-bilge pump switch and propane fume alarm (that is all I know of). The batteries are 2 month old Power-tech AGM group 27's. I could not get much of any charge after a day of running the engine for a few hours totals. Questions: 1. do new batteries fail at some rate? 2. Will an AGM charge from the alternator if fully discharged? If so, roughly how long would it take? I brought it home and tried to use my smart charger and that is not charging it at all (the charging light does not come on). Perhaps related- I twice was on the boat briefly during the week and found the Xintex propane fume alarm going. Both times I checked the propane system and the tank shutoff was closed and all switches were off. So I don't believe there were really propane fumes in the cabin. So could the sensor have failed? Could the alarm going for many many hours drain the battery (I don't think the bilge pump is doing it). David Knecht Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT |
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