All electrical dead after reinstalling battery

regilm70

New Member
Sep 18, 2020
4
Pittsburgh, PA
Boat Info
2018 Sea Ray SPX 190
Engines
Mercruiser
Hi CSR, I need help. I took out the battery from our 2018 SPX 190, took it home and charged it. 2 days later I returned and reinstalled it. After reinstalling, I turned on the battery switch, but all the electrical system is completely dead as though there is still no battery connected. This same thing happened to me last year, and I ended up calling a service tech who said I had a circuit breaker tripped, which can happen when you take the battery out. He fixed it last year but I wasn't there to see how. this time I was very careful to follow all instructions, but got same result. The only breakers I can find are in the battery compartment and on the engine, I pressed both red buttons and they didn't seem to be tripped, and it didn't help. Does anyone know how to fix this?? I'm super frustrated. Thanks!
 
I bet you've got a breaker somewhere between the battery and the switch. On mine (wicked old, nothing like yours) the breakers are actually behind the panel that the switches are mounted to.

I'd bet someone with your same boat will be around shortly to point you in the direction of the breaker. Gotta be in there somewhere...
 
Feel all around the wire harness, it’s common to miss a small ground wire and not reattach it.
 
Feel all around the wire harness, it’s common to miss a small ground wire and not reattach it.

Thanks, I was worried about that, so I took before & after pics of the connections to be sure I didnt miss any. Below is my "before" pic, and i did reconnect it this same way.

battery.jpg
 
Hi CSR, I need help. I took out the battery from our 2018 SPX 190, took it home and charged it. 2 days later I returned and reinstalled it. After reinstalling, I turned on the battery switch, but all the electrical system is completely dead as though there is still no battery connected. This same thing happened to me last year, and I ended up calling a service tech who said I had a circuit breaker tripped, which can happen when you take the battery out. He fixed it last year but I wasn't there to see how. this time I was very careful to follow all instructions, but got same result. The only breakers I can find are in the battery compartment and on the engine, I pressed both red buttons and they didn't seem to be tripped, and it didn't help. Does anyone know how to fix this?? I'm super frustrated. Thanks!

Does your engine have a 90amp fuse? It's mounted on the starter if so.
 
Red to positive + black to neg - I have one time hooked the cables wrong accidently. When taking cables off remove black (neg) first to keep from sparking which can blow fuses or explode your battery. Taking pictures is a good idea but is you can't remember then maybe you should call on pros to do the job.
 
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Seems almost certain you tripped a breaker. If you have the owners manual it should be easy to figure out where it is with the electrical schematic.
 
Battery terminals are slightly different sizes to help avoid reversing the connections. Doesn't prevent you from trying - which could create a problem real quick.

As for the issue - Appears to be a 50amp circuit breaker inline after the battery switch based on schematic (in owners manual) - with references to the breaker being on a panel in the engine room.

Take some pics of the engine room and share them.. might be able to point something out.

Assuming this is your boat/manual - but they have two manuals available, depending on if you have outboards.

https://owners-resources.searayweb.com/owners-manuals-files/2018_SPX_190_Owners_Manual.pdf
 
The only breakers I can find are in the battery compartment and on the engine, I pressed both red buttons and they didn't seem to be tripped, and it didn't help.
It sounds like you may not fully understand the function of the breaker in the battery compartment. The red button on the battery compartment breaker TRIPS the breaker and if it was already tripped, it would just feel soft. Look at that breaker again - you should see a little arm that pivoted out from it's protected area. Push it back in.

I'm assuming you have the typical breaker that would have been used here.

FYI, there should be information about breakers in your owner's manual. If you're going to be doing some of your own maintenance, it might be a good idea to read the owner's manual from front to back. It will help quite a bit and give you some confidence in what you are doing.
 
Thanks everyone, a service tech from the Marina fixed it for me before I got down there today. He said it was indeed a breaker, which was driving me crazy because I already tried every breaker (and I did read the manual cover to cover!) -- until I read the post from Lazy Dave, making me realize he's right and I was not using the battery breaker correctly. That has got to be it! I'll confirm and post back here, thanks again all.
 
Thanks everyone, a service tech from the Marina fixed it for me before I got down there today. He said it was indeed a breaker, which was driving me crazy because I already tried every breaker (and I did read the manual cover to cover!) -- until I read the post from Lazy Dave, making me realize he's right and I was not using the battery breaker correctly. That has got to be it! I'll confirm and post back here, thanks again all.

Welcome aboard CSR.
 
Thanks everyone, a service tech from the Marina fixed it for me before I got down there today. He said it was indeed a breaker, which was driving me crazy because I already tried every breaker (and I did read the manual cover to cover!) -- until I read the post from Lazy Dave, making me realize he's right and I was not using the battery breaker correctly. That has got to be it! I'll confirm and post back here, thanks again all.
Good - glad it was something simple!

So... I had to go back and download your manual from SR's site to see if there was still information in the more recent manuals about breakers. Look on page 29 :)
 

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