Radio blowout

[taylorjm]

So, bought our 2007 Bentley this spring, got it home, went to turn on the radio and it didn't work. Under the console, found the 10a fuse was blown. No biggie, changed the fuse, radio would turn on, but nothing would come out of the speakers. Oh well, we aren't big music fans, bought a $25 cheap radio, installed it, everything worked and was fine. We only put the boat in a couple weeks during the summer. Week in July, everything was fine. Put it back in this week, battery didn't have enough juice to turn the starter. Got a jump, started, all was fine. Discovered the radio wouldn't even power on. Fuse was fine, radio had power, but nothing on the display or through the speakers.

Ideas? I find it weird that two radios blew. It's also weird that the battery was a bit drained after sitting for a month in the summer (meaning it's not like a michigan winter that would kill a battery). I know the radio wasn't left on, I don't think we even used it in July. Any ideas what could cause a radio to blow? I know jumping a battery can cause issues, but I would have thought a fuse would have blown.

[Radartom]

Not sure about your radio, but my last boat was a Bentley. Every season I ended up putting a new battery in it cause it would die past being able to recover it, until I put this on

http://www.ezacdc.com/boat-wiring-produ ... h-systems/

First thing I did on the new boat was install the same setup. Turn it off once I park it, turn it on before launching it, and if I have an issue I can jump start myself.

[taylorjm]

[quote="Radartom"]Not sure about your radio, but my last boat was a Bentley. Every season I ended up putting a new battery in it cause it would die past being able to recover it, until I put this on

http://www.ezacdc.com/boat-wiring-produ ... h-systems/

First thing I did on the new boat was install the same setup. Turn it off once I park it, turn it on before launching it, and if I have an issue I can jump start myself.[/quote]

Good to know. Maybe they are known for phantom draining. I hate putting too nice of a setup in. Makes it nicer to steal! I was thinking about putting a dual setup under the seat in front of the motor instead of it sitting out on the deck.

[Bamaman]

Everything on a pontoon or boat needs to be put on a fused switch--other than the boat's ignition.

Every time my battery's run down, it's the depth finder I forget to cut off.

[WI-RiverRat]

Check your switches and also all of the common ground connections. I've never had any problems (knock on wood), but I'm meticulous in cleaning all electrical connections each and every year.

[Rick McC.]

I have an '05 Bentley that we bought in February of this year.

It came with a master battery switch, and two batteries.

I turn the battery switch off when we get back to our dock, and have not had any battery problems.

Due to our rainy season here, the boat's gone over a month between use a couple of times.

I have the same setup in my airboat, and it goes for several months without use every summer, with no battery problems.