David,
Even a brand new AGM battery, fully drained, may not take a charge
again. If your home charger doesn't give you any results, you may have a bad
one on your hands. Most batteries do come with warranties, so if it's not too
old, you may be able to make a swap with the retailer or manufacturer.
Depending on the amp draw of the alarm, yes, it could drain your
battery after a few hours. So could a bilge pump if the float switch gets
crusted into the on position (Happened to me once - now I use the sensor type).
As for the sensor, yes, it could have failed, but most times failure
means it won't sound when there's a problem, not continue to sound. I would
check all your hoses and the valve. Also check the bottom of the tank in case
there's a hole.
All the best,
Edd
Edd M. Schillay
Starship Enterprise
C&C 37+ | Sail No: NCC-1701-B
City Island, NY
Starship Enterprise's Captain's Log Website
On Aug 26, 2013, at 10:04 AM, David Knecht <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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
>
> <pastedGraphic.tiff>
>
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