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Battery / Charger Wiring Question

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Kitsmark, May 24, 2009.

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  1. Kitsmark, May 24, 2009
    #1
    Kitsmark

    Kitsmark New Member

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    Hello All

    I recently bought my 1993 Chris Craft 380 Continental and I have been going through making everything ship shape. My question is about my Battery / Charging set up. I am running 7.4l Volvo's if that matters.

    I have 3 seperate Battery switches (Round Red ones) One for Port / Starboard & Generator. I have not yet even tried the generator but I want to hook up all 3 batteries correctly. I also have a Charger that has 3 smaller red cables and one smaller black cable coming out of it - 3 3 red cables end up at the batteries, but I do not see the 1 black anywhere.

    So first, hooking up the 3 batteries correctly. Should I run 1 Battery seperatley and the other 2 paralell? 2 Batteries for House / Generator/starboard motor and 1 for port motor? I have all the cables, its just which is the best way to work this?

    Second, the battery charger - I assume that one smaller red cable goes to each battery to charge, but why no black ground from the charger to each battery?

    All 3 batteries are interstate Mega Tron Deep Cycle. There also seems to be some sort of Isolator block up beside the Charger that has a bunch of red cables going to it. I am pretty sure that Block and the Charger are wired right, it just falls apart when the cables get to the batteries. ( One Battery was missing for the Generator and the small charger cable was cut and the other 2 cables from the charger were on only one battery. The other battery didnt seem to be getting charged from the charger, just the motor)

    Well, any help would be appreciated! I plan on tackling this tomorrow.
  2. NYCAP123, May 24, 2009
    #2
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    That single black is attached to a ground. Each bat is grounded so all you need from the charger is the red. The gen is probably wired to either the house (most likely) or one of the engine bats.
  3. Pascal, May 24, 2009
    #3
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    indeed the single black wire from teh charger goes to the ground / negative (common to all batteries)

    each red wire goes to a battery (your charger has 3 outputs)

    as to the rest, it's hard to tell without tracing the wires or looking at the wiring diagram, do you have it?

    on most small boats of that vintage, one battery is dedicated to starting one engine, and the other 2 are shared for house and starting the other engine.

    or you may have one battery per engine, and one for house, again hard to tell without having a diagram.

    you need to look at the battery switches and see what they're for. sometimes, boats have a paralell solenoid to paralell two batteries in case the starting batteries is too weak to start. IF not, some builders use a manual switch... so you need to know if the third switch is to be connected to a 3rd bank or act as a paralell switch.
  4. Kitsmark, May 24, 2009
    #4
    Kitsmark

    Kitsmark New Member

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    I have a Battery paralell switch on my dash. The 3 red switches that turn the batteries on/off - one for each engine and one for generator.
  5. NYCAP123, May 24, 2009
    #5
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Often they'll also use the 4 position switch (1-2-both-off) as well. The right switch for the job though is the on/off that you apparently have. On that boat you should get into the habit of turning the switches to off when closing up the boat at day's end in case something is left on. The charger and bilge pumps bypass the switch and will remain active.
    I'd recommend connecting the batteries as Pascal suggested, i.e. one for the port engine (you'll often hear people suggest starting the port motor first because common practice is to give it a dedicated starting battery; one goes to the Gen (so a house load doesn't drain it overnight after you've shut the gen; put the house with the starboard so you now have the gen and the port motor capable of recharging the starboard/house bat.
  6. Kitsmark, May 24, 2009
    #6
    Kitsmark

    Kitsmark New Member

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    Thanks guys, I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

    Also I plan on cleaning the Sea Strainers, other than shutting off the valves, any tips? They are glass ones and look very dirty. I am going to change the hoses on them to, they are all cracked.
  7. NYCAP123, May 24, 2009
    #7
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Don't worry too much about shutting the valves. If you forget you'll be reminded/:rolleyes:
    Check for corrosion or electrolysis at the valves and make sure all seacocks funtion smoothly. If those hoses are cracked they're probably not the only ones. Check all hoses and belts. Check the overboard discharge for the head, and the engine, gen and a/c intakes. Also check the intake for shore water.