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'78 E27 Atomic 4 wont start w/o shore power

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chrisoelder

Member II
Does anyone have a clue to why my 1978 E27 Atomic 4 (gas) will start right up connected to shore power but when disconnected won't even turn over? I have a feeling my batteries are bad. The radios, blower and most of the 12volt electronics run fine on battery power only

Thanks!
Chris
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
Battery does not have the amps to turn her over, you are starting from the charger. Also not good for the charger, I think.
 

chrisoelder

Member II
Battery does not have the amps to turn her over, you are starting from the charger. Also not good for the charger, I think.

That doesn’t sound good. Does that mean I need to get more batteries or maybe my current ones are bad? Sorry - beginner to this stuff

Extra info: with everything off and shore power disconnected she won’t turn over
 
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steven

Sustaining Member
first guess is just a bad battery.
Not unusual for the battery to run low amperage 12v appliances but not enough amps to crank.

I use a marine battery with 1000 cold cranking amps (cca).
Cost of a conventional flooded type is around $130 these days.

With "proper maintenance" it is claimed that these can go to 5 years.
But I don't even bother to think about it and just replace it every other spring (actually, I rotate it to become my house battery and use the new one for cranking).

--Steve
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
What's the battery voltage? Also make sure battery terminals and clamps are clean and making good contact. Including ground connection. Seems like it would take a pretty large battery charger to start an engine. Although it doesn't take much to start an Atomic 4.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
It sounds like you don't yet have a $20 multimeter, which will measure battery voltage and the other stuff in electrical troubleshooting books (such as Nigel Calder's "Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual").

If it's a flooded battery, check the fluid levels and use a $10 hydrometer to make sure all cells are more or less the same. If one is low, the battery is shot.

Sounds like a case of the car radio playing but the engine refusing to start. Enough juice for the small stuff, not enough for the start motor.

Feel free to ask on. I often have to ask the forum to take me by the hand on this stuff.
 
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Gary Holford

Member II
Ditto to the multimeter. Battery is likely shot, fully charged should be 12.6 + but if reads 12.06 volts it is at 50% and likely never coming back.
 

garryh

Member III
as above, pretty well for sure your battery is toast. Check with multi-meter and hydrometer. It would be an easy matter to borrow a good battery, even one from your car, and see if the engine turns over.
 

chrisoelder

Member II
Batteries were DEAD!

Sorry for the delayed response! Thank you for all the help and suggestions!

I grabbed my multimeter yesterday morning after posting and getting confirmation about my suspicion that the batteries were the issue.

My multimeter told me my #1 battery was at 8 volts and my #2 at 10. Pulled the batteries out and checked the wiring for any faults. The wires looked good and I headed to get the batteries tested and replaced. The guy at the autozone confirmed my voltage numbers and I grabbed 2 new batteries.

Got back to the boat, plugged them in and she started right up. Did a few tests and she purred perfectly. Had enough time left to enjoy a nice harbor cruise. It was a good day!

Thank you everyone for the help!
 
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