Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Picked up my boat Saturday. The bill for changing the motor oil and lower unit oil was 285 bucks. There were come charges for gaskets and other nickel and dime stuff. The Merc Verado takes full synthetic for the motor oil and not sure about the lower unit oil. I had been quoted 360 bucks and after reading some comments from other posts and inquired when I picked up my boat and some how the bill became lower. I also had a recall on the power hydraulic steering. That was completed. Had issues with the trim gauge not reading fully down. That was fixed. The rpm gauge showed the motor was about 600 above what it should be and that was fixed. The main concern for me was a starting issue. The cause was cable connection. So that was fixed with a new 24 foot cable instead of a 6 foot extension connected to a 18 footer. So one would think that I was ready for my hour and a half drive home by water. Not so though. When I get into the boat I started the motor. All went well until I noticed that my gps and stereo would not turn on. So I let them know and someone comes down and looked at my battery switch and it was in the off position. When he turned it to 1 and 2 the stuff came on. Ok, that's good except I wondered if the motor should even start with batteries in the off position. He said yes. I said that doesn't make sense. But I accepted it. So now I'm ready to go. Have the whole family with me. It's a beautiful day. Ready for our hour and half boat ride that will turn into two and a half because we're going to take our time. I left the marina and I notice the neutral light is on and I'm in gear. I can't get the light to go off. I take it back to the marina. Guy comes down and tried to talk me into taking the boat anyway and he would send someone out to my house to fix it. I said no. My boat is already here at the shop and you guys can fix it next week. He tried and tried to get me to take it home. I told him that if the boat can't be fixed at my house then I'll have to drive it back to the marina and I don't want to pay for the fuel to get it there. It's about a hundred bucks at least for a round trip. So boat is at the marina and we'll see what happens.
Troy

I think I would ask them which battery is the starting battery. Then run you other stuff on the other Bat. Dealers can be frustrating at times but get it fix how you want it.

I shut my my batteries off, the whole boat is off including the motor. I guess you could rig a battery to be a dedicated starter and then rig two others to run accessories but I've never seen the configuration. If someone has a diagram showing this I'd like to have it.

So I guess you had paid your bill, before you decided to leave it. Think I would always use the visa to pay them. That would give you a little better leverage dealing with items that were not corrected to your satisfaction. On my toon when the switch said off both batteries were off. Do you have a smart craft gauge? They are sort of pricey but think your rig could benefit from one. Good idea asking the questions regarding price. I have had mine lowered asking similar questions, and pretty much always ask how long the job will take, so you can get an idea of labor cost right off the bat.

doc

Hi Dock,
I did use my Visa-for my protection. And I had paid my bill before I discovered the other issues. I don't have the smartcraft gauges. I just assumed that when both batteries are off then there is not any current flowing from them. Apparently as I discovered, the motor will start when both batteries are off. I have never tried to start the motor with the batteries in the off position. When I was leaving the marina I assumed the boat was ready to go (batteries on) so I started the motor. Then found out the batteries were in the off position. Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe the motor should have current when the batteries are in the off position to keep the computer and fuel pump "current". But I don't think the motor should start. I'm going to do some research on this through the week.
Troy

Slingshot,
I have two batteries with a switch. The switch is a rotary type. It has four positions. Off, 1, 2, 1&2. I don't know how it is wired. When I was at the marina Saturday the mechanic and I were looking at the batteries. I noticed a wiring diagram posted near the batteries. But the diagram didn't show anything wired from the rotary switch. It did show a direct connection from a battery to the motor. That's what made the mechanic believe that it was wired correctly. I'll find out this week from Mercury.
Troy

sorry for your frustrations. if the switch is wired properly, i would think "off" meant no current anywhere. as you well know, boats aren't like cars and may be left unattended for months at a time. no need for a small current vampire to kill your batteries, so the "off" should mean that the batteries are isolated and there is no possible current draw.

Jafo9 - That's what I think as well. Will confirm with Mercury this week.

Who installed the switch? It may have been done by Berkshire and not the dealer. We really enjoy our Berkshire, but would not buy a Merc again.

You didn't say if this was the original selling dealer that did your maintenance.

Your oil change takes 7.4 qts. and a filter. The lower unit takes approx. 1 liter of lower unit grease. A good mechanic can do the job in 1/2 hr. or less.

Pricey maintenance is what gives marine dealers a bad reputation for customer service. That's why so many people on this website learn how to do oil changes and basic service themselves. Just because this is a big Verado is no reason to shy away from self service.

It should be up to the selling dealer to make sure the batteries are hooked up correctly and the gauges work properly. That's why new boats have warranties.

I don't think that is unreasonable. Our local dealer is $231 for 6-cyl Verado O+F plus lower unit service.

Prices for just the 100 hour oil change kit on veradoclub.com is about $108 to do it yourself
http://www.veradoclubparts.com/category_s/24.htm

The battery situation just doesn't sound right. Talk to these guys at BEP if you really want to know how to do it. They are VERY knowledgeable.
http://bepmarine.com/home-mainmenu-8/pr ... tery-banks

My 4 stroke Merc. 60 is wired the same way and it was done by a very competent mechanic that has worked on my boat since 2007. It has the rotary switch and 4 positions. Asked him about it and he said it was to maintain the electronic memory and computer

slingshot wrote:I shut my my batteries off, the whole boat is off including the motor. I guess you could rig a battery to be a dedicated starter and then rig two others to run accessories but I've never seen the configuration. If someone has a diagram showing this I'd like to have it.

My PC has a dedicated start battery, 2 "house" batteries (1 plus a backup and I also use it for the dinghy motor) and another dedicated to the refrigerator. 2 - 2 bank charger/inverters and one PERKO switch between start battery and house battery #1 in case the start battery is dead. Have pictures but no diagram

My pontoon has two batteries and the same switch setup (Perko off/1/2/All) and with the Perko switch off I cannot start my motor. With the switch on any of the other positions it will start. But if the main power switch located on the helm is off, none of the accessories (GPS/Radio/lights) will work. I would assume yours is supposed to be setup the same.

-ron

I have 2 battery's and the same switch, off is off and my motor won't start! It will in the 1 or 2 or all setting. Off should be OFF as far as I'm concerned. My boat is now 7 years old with the original battery's! I don't want any children running my tilt up and down or starting the motor if I left the key in to go get something in the dock box. Just my