Electrical help

[konrad]

I have been having a problem with my electronics shutting off every time I start the motor. They turn back on but I lose all my tracts on the GPS which is frustrating. I don’t know if it’s a surge causing it or if it’s a temporary lose of power. This only happens when I start the motor. Any ideas what causes this?

[JIm Smith]

Is your battery up to full charge, I have had the same thing happen in the past and that was the problem

[Steve Stinson]

I know this isn't helping your electrical problem any, but if your gps is a Garmin it should have a setting to save your track lines. Once you change it, you will have to go in and clean it out once in a while or it will fill up and quit drawing the tracks.

- Steve Stinson
President
NFGFC

[charlie tuna]

Sounds like your GPS is shutting down on "Low Voltage" during the cranking of the engine's starter motor. How old is your battery?

[JIm Smith]

ct great mines think alike

[HewesMan]

Sometimes when things like that happen there is a bad ground connection somewhere. Possibly at the battery. Look for corrosion.

[tin can]

Either a weak battery or a bad connection in the line to the GPS. I had a GPS wired through an accessory switch on one of my boats. It would do the same thing. Re wired the GPS to the battery and the problem went away. Anything you wire through (buss bar, swithc, fuse panel.....) creates resistance.

[konrad]

Thanks for the advice. The battery is less than a year old and it's not just the GPS that shuts off when I crank the motor. It’s also the live well, lights and stereo. Although the other devises shutting off is a problem it really doesn't bother me that much since they turn back on within a second or two. The GPS shutting off on the other hand is a big frustration. Especially when I want to reposition the boat and have to figure out the drift all over again. To my knowledge there isn't any corrosion on the ground but that is something that will get checked again today. What about those zinc things on the motor. It is still their but has started to corrode. I’m hoping for an easy fix but fear the boat is going to me to be rewired to resolve the issues.

[charlie tuna]

With all the information you just posted -- it narrows it down to the battery connections which is an easy fix. You have a fairly new battery, hopefully the engine is keeping it fully charged(?) I would remove the battery cables, one at a time and clean the surfaces of the terminals, coat them with a light grease and re-connect them. Voltage drop is "directly proportional" to the current in a circuit. With only twelve volts as a power source, it doesn't take much of a poor connection to drive your equipment crazy. And with today's electronics it can cost you some money.

[zload]

Zincs won't be involved with this problem but do protect the engine from electrolysis. I have a Garmin and it will do the same thing if the voltage is low. Even if the battery is a year old it may have issues if it has not been maintained/charged eletrolyte low etc., you may consider taking it to a local shop and having them load test it, may be a just starting to go bad.

I would check every connection + & - from the battery, through the fuse panel and switches all the way to the various components. The key indicator to me is that your pumps etc. are also shutting down, they are not particulary voltage sensitive so to me that is an indication of a significant voltage drop.

[fishinfool]

It is definitely a connection problem. You will probably find that it is a on the ground side of the circuit. Poor grounds have mystified many a troubleshooter.
Disconnecting each terminal and scrubbing with a wire brush, then applying a good corrosion inhibitor(Corrosion X, Corrosion Block, Dielectric grease, etc...), then tightly reconnecting them will more than likely solve your problem.

[tin can]

Yep. almost definitely a ground problem.

[konrad]

Thanks for the advise! I will check the ground wires tonight and clean the terminals.

[reelhandy]

I had the same problem and it was a bad connection in the twist connector at the unit that was causing it.