Too many electronics ?

[mx beach guy]

Am I killing my power w/ to many electronics, We had a
power failure out about 30 miles on the 2120 /150 4 stroke
05 model. Here what happened .Running a helu fan .garmin 498,
lowrance 525 ?,live well,2 ea vhf, stereo "no amp" 5'' lcd tv part time,

Btm fishing on a hole no anchor using motor to hold on
spot in & out of gear to hold on hole an motor quits.
Put in neutral an turn key an no crank.Turns over
but just didnt sound right.I could tell it wasnt spinning fast enough
Turn off all electronics an volts were 12.2 on gauge still wouldnt
start. batteries are new an are above the recommened amps
per yamaha. So got a little nervous an switched batts to both an
tunned over motor for what seem like a minute am nothing.
Tried again an it started slowly picking up an finally cranked
When I first tried to cranked it the !st time I did raise the fuel trottle
to feed it the gas an I remember the guy at the dealer told me
not to do that when cranking.Maybe I get to nervous when I lose
power out that far.Could this be caused from low batt power?
Anyone else get nervous when loosing power or is it just me?

 

[TomS]

How do you have things wired? Are all your electronics and accessories wired to the same battery as the engine and set by the battery switch? Or do you have a 'starting' battery and 'house' battery, etc.. basically how is your switch wired?

If the accessories are on the same battery as the engine, and the engine was running the whole time you were fishing, it doesn't make sense that the engine would suddenly stop. The engine should be putting out enough power for all your gadgets while its running, without bringing the voltage level down enough to stop the engine.

Along those same lines, if you have a separate house and starting battery, running down the house battery by running you accessories should have no effect whatsoever on the starting/engine battery.

Give us a little more info and we'll try to help you out.

-- Tom

 

[mx beach guy]

Tom
All the wiring is done by the factory,2 batteries / a batt switch
#1-2-both 1&2 I'm sure its wired the same either will crank or run
the electronics.Normaly I use #1 a half day then go to #2 the other half.

 

[ReelTimeCapt]

MX Beach Guy: IMO - Just doing the rough math, here's what I see:

1. F150 Alternator Spec = MAX Output is 60-amp/756-watts

2. Your Approximate Power Consumption =
a. helu fan = 3.0 Amps Typical
b. garmin 498 = 3.0 Amps Typical
c. lowrance 525 (sounder?) = 3.0 Amps Typical
d. live well pump = 10.0 Amps Typical
e. 2 ea vhf = 10.0 Amps Typical
f. stereo "no amp" = 2.0 Amps Typical
g. 5'' lcd tv part time = 1.0 Amps Typical
h. Yamaha Gauges and ECU = 10.0 Amps Typical

3. Grand Total Power Consumption = 43 Amps

4. Conclusion - You may have pushed against the limit of what your F150 Charge System was outputting at the time and if all accessories and systems were drawing MORE than your Alternator and Battery could supply AT THAT TIME, then the Voltage Drop would have dipped below what the F150's ECU needed to keep the engine running.

Check with your dealer's service department, but I believe the F150 automatically shuts down when a low (below 10V) voltage situation exists. If so, consider going to a deep cell battery on one side and make sure it is fully charged before your departure.

Best Regards,
RTC <><

 

[Porkchunker]

The F-150 60 amp rating is probably at an rpm well above idle/trolling speed or the rpm needed to hold a position. Wanna bet that at idle, that alternator puts out less than 40 amps?

I have two group 31 batteries dual purpose (cranking and deep cycle) in my 2510 with twin F-115s. Those F-115s (35 amp alternators) can barely keep up with the radar, GPS/chartplotter, FishFinder, and VHF when trolling. At 600-900 rpm, they kick out barely 13.2 volts. When they are bumped to 1300-1500 rpm they increase to 14.4 volts. More than once, I've had to run one of the motors above idle (push in the little black rubber button on the side of the binacle, and move the control forward until 13-15 hundred rpm is reached) in order to keep up with the drain by the electronics. During the day, I've learned to turn the radar off to conserve energy.

My worst trip was when I used the raw-water washdown pump to circulate water in a trashcan used for live bait. Once anchored up, I turned everything off but the VHF and the pump, and ran the motor for 15 minutes out of each hour.

Methinks it is time for a third group 31 battery in the house bank...one that gets a good charge before I leave the dock.

 

[warthog5]

Ah, I don't think so.

Alternator Output @ W.O.T. 35A

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/pr ... specs.aspx

That's another thing that Yamaha has been lacking on.

My DF-140 Suzzy's are 40A Alt.

The DF-150 Suzzy's have a 44A Alt

They put out 80% of that at 1000 RPM.

I have to bring the speed up in neutral on my STB motor when I retrieve 600ft of line with the Windless. Other that that it's not a problem.
I have 4 Optimas on the boat. 1 for each motor and 2 paralleled together for the house battery.

 

[esfishdoc]

OK... breaking it down to the basics:

Check water in all cells and top off with distilled water. Clean all battery connections even if they look clean.

Richard

 

[mx beach guy]

Thanks
For all the great info I really think I was going past
the amps it was supplying.Tell me what would be
a better battery to get reguardless of cost. I was using the washdown
the circulate the livewell.
mx beach gu

 

[DaleH]

Thanks
... I really think I was going past the amps it was supplying.

I dunnoh, like Warthog, I'm not convinced you exceeded your ampacity capacity. To me, we need to know more info.

For example, the on-line Yamaha owner's manual, click here, says it needs a battery of MINIMUM 675 MCA or marine cranking amps. You have yet to tell us what battery size and brand you are running. While I am a firm believer in dual-purpose starting/deep cycle batteries, I do know that the brand I use - Exide - only puts out 625 MCA in their Group 24 size.

So you 'could' have too small a battery installed per the Yam manual ...

But I wouldn't necessarily charge ahead and blame your amp draw, when it could the battery wasn't sized properly to begin with. Also, I believe the amp draw was over-stated. GPS, depth/fish finders, and VHFs on stand-by only use 1 amp or less, even though the first 2 are fused @ 3. A VHF draw 7.5 amps on transmit, but way less than an amp on stand0by.

The other thing, there are 2 sets of wires under the stator, one keeps the motor itself running, the other power external electrics. This last one is a 35 amp alternator, but we don't know 'where' it outs out it amps, as Warthog said. 'Most' older alternators didn't put out much prior to 2000 RPMs, but the new Honda puts out 30 @ 1000 RPMs.

I'd fully review your existing batteries and their ratings before doing anything.

 

[mx beach guy]

I checked the battery it a 675cca-840mca

 

[DaleH]

Dumb question ... but ...

Are your batteries connected via WING NUTS:?: ?

If so ... step #1 ... THROW them away and replace with nylok fasteners, i.e., nut with nylon locking insert. Also, I put 1 std crimped-type SS lock washer on the post before any connection, then put the main OB leads, then another lock-washer, and then any other accessory/battery connection. Lube all well with dielectric grease and torque the nuts tight.

Loose battery connections can cause the batteries NOT to be charged, as like water, electrical flow will take the path of least resistance.