Low-Vlt warning upon starting...

[Michael211_2000]

Yesterday when starting my RXT at the lake I noticed for just a second or two while the starter is engaged I'm getting a "low-vlt" warning message scrolling across my display... it goes away just as soon as the engine starts though. My battery is not quite 3 years old and I keep it charged with a Battery Tender Jr thru the winter months when I'm not using the RXT... the RXT had sat since the 1st of July till yesterday without the battery being charged nor engine run, I've been busy with work and buying a Spyder so yesterday was my 2nd outting with the RXT this year.

I put the battery on my Battery Tender Jr. when I got home yesterday, and before bed last night I checked and the tender light had turned solid green so I took it off. Today I pulled the battery out and took it to be tested at Walmart Automotive 1st.... their computer said the battery had full cranking amps but low voltage and the recomendation was to charge the battery. Huh? Why would it be low after I'd just charged it to full with the tender the previous evening?

I then took the battery to the auto parts store where I bought it in October 2010 and had them test it... their machine 1st charged the battery up to full charge (took it 15 minutes) then load tested the battery and pronounced it "Good".

So, I'm not sure what's going on here... is something draining my battery that fast when it's connected to the RXT? Or is the battery really not so "good" anymore? I presume if the RXT's charging system wasn't working it would have a warning message on the display all the time right?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

- Michael

 

[KK40384]

If the battery tested good then just clean all your connections real good and make sure nothing is loose. A dirty or loose connection will do weird things and will have you chasing your tail trying to make sense of it.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Get a meter and read the voltage when cranking the engine. That is the best test.


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[Dennis]

I'd be buying a new battery. Your 3 year old battery is trying to tell you something : "My condition is marginal"

You're lucky. Batteries usually dont give a warning. :cheers:

 

[Michael211_2000]

Well Dennis, I'm going to clean the terminals with a wire brush on a rotary tool 1st and put the battery back in and (weather permitting) go try it at the lake again later today... I won't kill the engine except near the boat docks, just in case it doesn't want to turn over again. If I see that Low-Vlt warning again then I'll replace the battery promptly... it's a $140 battery, I don't want to replace it unless it's really going bad. This is why I took it to 2 different places to have it tested, neither of the testers indicated the battery was bad and they were completely different testing machines so....

Thanks.

- Michael

 

[Coastiejoe]

Well Dennis, I'm going to clean the terminals with a wire brush on a rotary tool 1st and put the battery back in and (weather permitting) go try it at the lake again later today... I won't kill the engine except near the boat docks, just in case it doesn't want to turn over again. If I see that Low-Vlt warning again then I'll replace the battery promptly... it's a $140 battery, I don't want to replace it unless it's really going bad. This is why I took it to 2 different places to have it tested, neither of the testers indicated the battery was bad and they were completely different testing machines so....

Thanks.

- Michael

If your are going to clean connections the normal culprit isn't the battery terminals.

It is normally the grounds in the block. I work sand and clean all of them and use dielectric grease when putting them back on. The one by the starter fails pretty often.


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[Michael211_2000]

That's why I said "terminals" and not specifically "battery terminals"... ;-)

Yes as soon as I'm finished with my coffee I'm going out to my carport to take all the terminals I can reach loose and clean them (ie. the only reasonable way to reach the starter would involve removing the exhaust manifold, which is beyond today's scope of work so... going to clean what I can reach directly right now and then go "test").

Thanks!

- Michael

 

[Coastiejoe]

That's why I said "terminals" and not specifically "battery terminals"... ;-)

- Michael

Guess my point was, doing the job right kind of sucks. You are going to love the ground wire off the starter.



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[Michael211_2000]

And my point is: Start with the basics and work your way from easiest to check to hardest to check. I know exactly where the starter is and how to get to it but that's a windy/stormy day job not a calm mostly sunny day job. ;-)

While I already had the battery out was a great time to take loose the 3 ground terminals on the front of my engine case and clean them... there was some nasty crud there, I plolished it off and made the metal shiney with a rotary tool and it's wire brush attachement. Then put some lithium grease by fingertip over the area before re-attaching the 3 ground wires to the block, then did the same with the *battery* terminals and battery posts. It's all back together now! Now, time for some testing.....

- Michael

 

[Michael211_2000]

Well my "testing" went well yesterday afternoon, no further "low-vlt" messages it started right up in the water 3 or 4 times over 1 1/2 hours. Probably the engine grounds just weren't making good contact, as that's the only place I found any noticable crud. I'll check the battery voltage every couple days during this week and see if it drops while sitting under my carport (ie. checking for any self-discharging of the battery).

Before taking it to the lake for "testing" yesterday I took a multi-meter and checked the voltage... with the engine and everything off, the battery read 12.32V, once started and running I saw 13.78V (so I presume the charging system is working just fine). I could not see the voltage while engaging the starter while on the trailer (no way to hold both probes on the battery while pushing the start button I'd need a 3rd hand or something), but that wouldn't have been accurrate anyways as there's more load on the starter when the watercraft is started in the water than on the trailer.

Regards and thanks guys!

- Michael

 

[PeterC4]

I have found that with my 2011 GTX I have begun to have slow cranking, start-up issues. Once I get it going, it is fine. I too, looked at the terminals and found the (black), negative was very loose. I tightened it down and that, and the cleaning process, seems to have done the trick. However, I think that when I leave it idle for a week or two it loses its cranking power. Hopefully it will be fine for the rest of the summer now that vactions are in full swing.