All effed up!

The forums have been very helpful to me so far so here goes again. I had to jump my boat today to get it running. First time of the year so I thought nothing of it. It ran rough until what I'm assuming was the new gas got into the motor. However the check engine light is now on. I called a friend who gave it a look, but we couldn't get the damn thing started again until I got another jump pack from the Police. There are also weird things with the radio, ballast, and lights. When I turn any of them on, there seems to be a draw somewhere since the gauges drop to zero.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Oh and none of my trailers lights will work! After putting it in the water to unload it they came on, but once it dried out, nothing!

Sounds like you need a new battery

I had a friend tell me the same thing. Would a battery cause all that?

Yep, it can cause all of those issues you mentioned. Still running the original battery?

Original to when I bought it last year. I'm not sure if the previous owner ever changed it. Could that cause the check engine light too? Any thoughts on my trailer problem?

Yep, I vote new battery as well.

Yes, could cause CEL. Check the wires in your trailer swing tongue.

Ok. Thanks for all the help. A friend of mine thinks the negative cable it bad as well. The connector is a little corroded (no big deal) and the locking nut is stripped. Anyone have any idea how to run a new cable if you guys think I should?

you'd be surprised how a 'little' corrosion will go a LONG way. Causes weak to no starts and a myriad of electrical problems. I vote battery and check your ground, not only the battery hookup, but where it's grounded on the boat. You may want to check the water levels in your existing battery but the damage may already be done. For future reference, when winterizing; pull your battery, top off with distilled water, and keep on a trickle charger. You'll get many years out of your battery that way.

Thanks for all the input. I just spoke with Jerry at Boatmate about my trailer lighting issue. It appears as the the ground isn't making it through the tongue hinge and he suggests running a new dedicated ground to bypass the hinge. I guess this was a common problem prior to 2008(mine is a 2007). Has anyone ever had to do this before or have any suggestions to make it work without out looking like sh!#?

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Originally Posted by jyj1189

Thanks for all the input. I just spoke with Jerry at Boatmate about my trailer lighting issue. It appears as the the ground isn't making it through the tongue hinge and he suggests running a new dedicated ground to bypass the hinge. I guess this was a common problem prior to 2008(mine is a 2007). Has anyone ever had to do this before or have any suggestions to make it work without out looking like sh!#?

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A typical 5 flat will have a dedicated ground, run the pigtail on the trailer side to the frame and ground it. Should be able to find an existing screw, nut & bolt, or something to ground to. Same for truck side pigtail, ground it to frame. The 5 wire harnesses can be wrapped in tape or wire loom to prevent looking like sh!#

I once had a grounding issue on my 2003 trailer.

Turned out to be corrosion on a ground wire underneath one of the lenses on the side of the trailer.