Hello Fellow Cobaltians, New to boating and new to my Cobalt but have a nagging issue that dealer seems to be having trouble with. When we start our boat at the slip we get the "battery voltage critical" warning message yet our boat fires up right away on just one battery. Had the boat in for its 20 hour service last week (new 2016 model purchased 5/17) and asked them to check on the warning message and they came back with it was a stored error code and batteries tested fine. Well back out today and still getting the same message. Volts on dash show 13.7 volts when cruising and when starting up. But when we park and hang out our music shuts off and all we hear is the warning chirp that accompanies the warning. Going back in tomorrow for more service but does anyone have any ideas on what the issue is? Thanks
Thanks for posting the question, Kent. I'm not a battery expert so I'm hoping someone will jump in and help out. I assume the boat's still under warranty, have you tried contacting Cobalt? Maybe they can give you or your dealer some clues where to start looking. Could be a faulty circuit reporting a false code?
I'm not an expert by any stretch - I had erratic readings on my volt meter - and it turned out to be a bad connection. Cleaned all the terminals and never had issue again. However, you are in a little different position - Tonka gave the best advice - speak with your dealer since the boat is still under warranty - and don't take - can't figure it out as an answer.
Thanks for the feedback. Hoping dealer spends the time to figure it out; I get the feeling the first time all they did was check the battery voltages and since they were fine they said all was good. If they can't get it figured out today I guess a call to Cobalt will be my next step? Stay tuned...........
Your radio may be using one battery to stay programmed, even though you have the battery selector shut off. I had that issue until I realized the radio was draining the battery in between outings. One 3 week stretch drained battery #1, and #2 was fine. After we were running and selector was at "ALL" #1 charged back up. Also, a safety tip- if your battery has the ability to be topped off with distilled water or electrolyte, check regularly. I have another boat (Carver 3307) and had not checked fluid levels since I bought the boat. Went to crank the Port engine, and BOOOM! The battery had dried up due to in line charger, and the demand for power caused an explosion. So kids- check those levels.
Yikes! I had the same thing happen on my 2008 Sea Ray. I smelled a bad sulfur smell one day and looked in the engine room and found battery acid all over. It was a nightmare to clean up because the battery wasn't in a battery box to contain the mess. I poured baking soda everywhere to neutralize the acid then wiped everything down. It took all day. I agree with Walt...check you batteries often!
