It seems to be every 2nd year I'm finding my battery is dead in the boat. Now the only thing that's changed over the years is that I have a more powerful stereo nothing big 100 W 4 Speakers. I try not to run the stereo too much when sitting mostly when moving but some. I love anchoring out of site and don't want to spend a couple days there so I don't like even like the thought of weak batteries

So am I killing the battery with the stereo or something wrong ? (I remember the old 1000 w pioneer stereo back in the day used to )

How can I check that my outboard is charging when it's running ? Volatge meter/Amp meter (I'm electrically chellenged)?

Any good outboard forums like this place out there ?

Thanks guys !

some stereos will suck the battery even when not in use. they draw current remembering all of your stations, presets and time. mine did the same thing until i wired it to a accessory toggle, where it only gets juice when i flip the switch. heard of this many times - quite common.

Use a volt meter. Check static voltage with the motor off. Start the motor and make sure the voltage above idle rises to at least 13.6 volts. Then shut it off. Remove the negative cable from the battery. Recheck the static voltage across the battery terminals. Now hook up your meter between the loose cable end and the negative battery post. If it reads close to the static voltage, you have a parasitic drain. Start disconnecting stuff until the reading on the meter drops.

Excellent, I never thought of that I figured if the face plate was off I'd be OK. But I think your correct .. switch going in on Saturday

I'd still like to test that outboard to make sure it's charging the battery when it's running though, if I knew how.

Right on ! Job #2 for saturday

Thanks guys !!!!