Battery Dead on Water - 2012 Speedster 150

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

So this weekend I was with some friends hanging out in an area of Florida called disappearing island in Ponce Inlet. There were a lot of people around and it was a great time. I had several ladies around and one wanted to hook up her IPod to play some booty music. I have kicked up the radio for a few hours at a time in the past with no problems but this time I exceeded the limits of my battery.

I am making this post because I want everyone who has the 2012 Speedster to know that once you get past a certain voltage level, the boat will not even attempt to start. When I hit the start button the gages did a reset just like when you first turn the key on and then "Check Engine" displayed on the display. It kind of scared me because I thought that maybe something else was the problem. I have a little voltage indicator that I plugged into the cigarette lighter and it indicated that I had 11.5 volts. I was about 95% sure that there was nothing wrong with the boat but rather just a dead battery.

I have a Boat U.S. membership so I gave them a call to get a jump. They were out within 20min and we connected the jumper cables from my battery to his, the voltage indicator on my boat now said 13 volts. I hit the start button and it cranked right up. We disconnected, I signed his paperwork and off he went. He did tell me that if I didn't have coverage that it would have cost me $225 for the jump.

Watch your battery level everyone and keep in mind that if your battery is low on the 2012 Speedster, you will get a check engine indicator and not a low voltage indicator.

 

[LilMikey]

I had a similar problem after leaving my battery switch on for a few days. Seemed like it had juice, accessories worked fine, engine wouldn't even bark. We were just shoving off so I tugged it back on the trailer, charged it up, and all was good again.

I thought jumping was sketchy on these boats as it's easy to fry the ECM. Is there a process to go through when jumping to make sure you don't hurt anything?

 

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

It is easy to fry the ECM when jumping off a running car for sure because the voltage is so high. The Boat U.S. guy used a spare battery and I knew that was safe.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Yes, measure the jump start battery voltage before connecting to your ski, 13 volts isn't too much and less than 12.5 is too little.

 

[cheappc]

Great news it was the battery!

Im glad I had experience with my previous Sea Doo Sportster.. Unbelievably 95% of all my problems was due to the battery! Even when it seemed it was something else... (like I thought it was the fuel pump, or pistons or carburetors, rectifier), unbelievably they all disappeared once I had a great fully charged battery!

WaterManiac sounds like a great time, any pictures?

 

[griz400]

hey mark ... as long as you got the "ladies" back safe, all is well, hey, have you been back to caladesi island ??? we go most weekends there, sometimes passagrille beach / shell key

 

[LilMikey]

It is easy to fry the ECM when jumping off a running car for sure because the voltage is so high. The Boat U.S. guy used a spare battery and I knew that was safe.

Aren't car and marine batteries both 12 volt? How about those emergency jump packs? I'd like to bring one of those on board in case the battery dies on the water and it'll serve dual purposes in my FJ (we kill it at the beach sometimes).

 

[RFoster130]

Thats why i keep a jump pack with me. Even with 2 batteries. Ive actually used it to help quite a few other people on the water. They are well worth the investment.

 

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

Aren't car and marine batteries both 12 volt? How about those emergency jump packs? I'd like to bring one of those on board in case the battery dies on the water and it'll serve dual purposes in my FJ (we kill it at the beach sometimes).

If the car isn't running it would be fine. When the car is running the voltage can be over 14volts which is not good for the ECM.

 

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

hey mark ... as long as you got the "ladies" back safe, all is well, hey, have you been back to caladesi island ??? we go most weekends there, sometimes passagrille beach / shell key

Hey Griz, I have been there once this year about a month ago. Stopped at Caladesi, then north to Three Rooker, with a final stop a Shepards for a late lunch before returning to the causeway. I am sure that I will get back out there this summer, but probably not until August. There are a few good boating events going on the next two weekends closer to me.

 

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

Thats why i keep a jump pack with me. Even with 2 batteries. Ive actually used it to help quite a few other people on the water. They are well worth the investment.

How many amps is your jump pack? I was going to pick one up, but I don't want to get too small of one.

 

[WaTeRMaNiaC407]

WaterManiac sounds like a great time, any pictures?

Nothing this time. I don't take the time to shoot pictures and my Fiance, who always takes pictures, was not with us on this particular day.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

"When the car is running the voltage can be over 14volts"

Yes, the MPEM is easily damaged by excessive voltage, somewhere over 14volts. I don't know how much is too much(14v or 14.2345) but any device or power source which exceeds the threshold can/will damage the MPEM, as I understand it.

So, a freshly charged jump pack, if over the threshold, can damage the MPEM, thus before connecting the jump pack I would measure the voltage to make sure it's not too high.

Perhaps someone could chime in with a realistic voltage spec. I would imagine that a defective stator regulator could also cause battery voltage to exceed the MPEM threshold voltage as well.

 

[LilMikey]

I'd also be interested in hearing anyone's experiences on a reliable jump pack that consistently falls within threshold.