I was a bit complacent this fall and left the Icom VHF radio in the boat for the winter. In January I charged the battery and again checked it in March. It was virtually dead so I charged it again. The stern switch was off but I determined that there was a second power lead running to the overhead e-box that was not wired into the disconnect switch. I started checking some things out and found that the VHF located in the overhead e-box has a draw of 65 mA even when switched off. I would assume that this was the cause of my weak battery. The boat is a 268 Islander with a hard top. I am going to install a switch now that I have discovered this error. I also believe that this wire is not fused by the battery box but is fused at the junction bock overhead.
Shouldn't this e-box feed wire have a disconnect and fuse in the stern of the boat?
Do you suppose that this feed wire was run post factory installation?
Should there be a continuous draw from the VHF?
Shouldn't this e-box feed wire have a disconnect and fuse in the stern of the boat?
Do you suppose that this feed wire was run post factory installation?
Should there be a continuous draw from the VHF?