Not the best start

[nomad60]

The 75HP motor for my new boat finally came in the other day so the dealer installed it and I was told yesterday the boat was ready to go. So my buddy and I went and picked it up this morning and took it to the new marina here in Clarksville so I could start learning how to back up with a trailer (spent some time doing that up in the big parking lot), learn what to do before even heading to the ramp, and what to do right before launching. He had me back it down the ramp (took a while, but I got 'er done, eventually ) and after we got the boat in the water, we trolled out to the middle of the river so we could check everything else like bilge pump, live well pump, gauges etc. Once all that was verified and working, he told me to make sure the kill switch was set to run and that the lever was in neutral and then turn the key to start the motor. Beeps, and then nothing. No cranking...not a noise LOL.
We made sure once again that the kill switch was in run, and the lever was locked in neutral, and checked the cables on the battery (the motor tilt was working fine so I don't think it's a battery problem but what do I know).One odd thing though is, when I turn the key, the voltage gauge shows nothing at all...
To make an already long story a bit shorter, I ended up having to take the boat back to the dealer...but their mechanic was gone for the day and wouldn't be able to look at it till Monday. The mechanic told me this morning that after he installed the 75HP, he hooked up a water hose to test the motor and it started right up. The only thing done to the boat after that was; this morning he screwed in the hot foot after having me sit down to make sure it was comfortable, and from the factory, the tilt switch on the motor was upside down (i.e. - push up, the motor went down, push down, the motor went up so he fixed that.)
So my first day as a new boat owner didn't quite go as planned.

[bd-]

Originally Posted by nomad60

Beeps, and then nothing. No cranking...not a noise LOL.
We made sure once again that the kill switch was in run, and the lever was locked in neutral, and checked the cables on the battery (the motor tilt was working fine so I don't think it's a battery problem but what do I know).One odd thing though is, when I turn the key, the voltage gauge shows nothing at all...

Honestly, it sounds like your battery was almost dead.

bd

[nomad60]

I do hope it's something simple like that. Could it be that the battery had enough power to tilt the motor up and down but not enough to even crank the motor?
When I originally looked at the boat 2 weeks ago, the battery was totally dead...maybe they tried to charge it and thought it was good to go. If it was the battery that was causing my problem, I'm going to demand a brand new battery.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by nomad60

When I originally looked at the boat 2 weeks ago, the battery was totally dead...maybe they tried to charge it and thought it was good to go.

If the battery was dead for a long period of time with out having it charged back up then it will go bad and ultimately won't hold a charge.

Another possibility is that they did charge it but threw a quick charger to "shorten" the time and it didn't completely charge. To obtain a good solid charge and not a hollow one that looks fully charged but drains quick is a slow steady charge usually taking several hours.

I'd say you probably need a new battery if it was dead when you first looked at it because obviously they were attending to it.

[nomad60]

And the battery is exactly what it was. They put a brand new one in and it's good to go. Now let's hope we don't get too much weather from what's left of Isaac come this weekend.