debs
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by debs on Jul 15, 2015 8:14:34 GMT
Hi. 2007 Sun odyssey 40DS. I have recently had to replace my engine and bow thruster batteries which were both hi spec and well within their lifetime. On all boats I sail on I have isolated the engine battery when not in use. The boat is kept in a marina with shore power and the battery charger left on. The domestic batteries are left on for the auto bilge pump. It appears when isolated the engine and bow thruster batteries do not charge and I am being told not to isolate them. This goes against my logic. Has the charger been wired incorrectly? Is there possibly something draining them. I don't know if it was factory fitter or retr fitted.
Your thoughts please
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Post by ianpowolny on Jul 15, 2015 11:46:43 GMT
Debs, We've had our 2008 45DS for nearly 4 years now and have only tried isolating the engine start battery a couple of times. We don't isolate as standard but then we tend to be on shore power most of the time even on the hard in winter - dehumidifier and 500w heat running. We've only changed the thruster batteries so far and that was a couple of months ago like for like. When at anchor we don't bother either. It all seems to work fine. Is battery isolation due to old technology and with the new chargers, isolating the engine battery isn't necessary?
Ian
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Post by erkan on Jul 15, 2015 13:43:50 GMT
Debs, I have a 2003 so40ds. The charger has 3 outlets (for house battery, motor and bow thruster). And there is a battery isolator. It controls the charging amps seperately. By the way, I thougth the last 40ds was produced in 2003. Am I wrong?
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Post by windward54 on Jul 16, 2015 3:34:50 GMT
I isolate the house bank from the engine battery and from the generator battery by using a couple of Blue Sky Automatic Charging Relays (ACR). Our charger connects to the house bank, and the house bank feeds the other two batteries, but only if the voltage reaches the charging voltage. The charging voltage can be reached either by a charger or by an alternator. Ten seconds after the voltage drops, either by unplugging the boat or by shutting off the engine, the ACR isolates the banks.
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debs
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by debs on Jul 17, 2015 5:29:38 GMT
Thank you for your responses. I'm still a little confused. I cannot see the point of the isolator switches if it means the battery does not charge and in fact slowly discharges finally killing it. Guess I'm gonna have to lift all the bedding out and see exactly how it's wired.
Oh and typo on my part I shortened by lovely girl she is a 42DS
I would love to hear any other thoughts on this matter
Cheers
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Post by windward54 on Jul 17, 2015 14:11:47 GMT
Thank you for your responses. I'm still a little confused. I cannot see the point of the isolator switches if it means the battery does not charge and in fact slowly discharges finally killing it. Guess I'm gonna have to lift all the bedding out and see exactly how it's wired. That's the beauty of using the automatic charging relay (ACR). The batteries are in circuit whenever it senses a charging voltage, and isolates the battery bank when the charging voltage is gone. I never have to double check switches. www.bluesea.com/products/7610
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Post by rxc on Jul 20, 2015 19:24:16 GMT
I strongly recommend the ACR battery combiners. Much bettter than isolation diodes which have a severe voltage drop. I have read about electronic battery combiners with lower voltage drops, but have not seem any for sale.
The important issue is that all the batteries will get charged at full charger(alternator, wind, or solar panel) voltage with a battery combiner, but when the charging source stops, the batteries are separated, so that you do not drag down the starting battery (for example) because it is powering the lights and refrigeration.
I also have one hooked to my batteries as a sensor. When the batteries are being charged, it starts up a small fan to exhaust any battery gases out of the battery space. This one is a unit sold for use by people with camper trailers, to make sure they do not deplete the battery in their autos when they are running the equipment in the trailer. Very reasonably priced. I did this because I noticed a bit of corrosion on battery terminals and wiring connectors that I think was casued by H2SO3 off-gas mist. I have also installed battery caps that contain this mist, to try to keep the battery area from corroding.
One other thing that I have done differently from the recommended setup of the combiner is to have the engine alternator output wired to the house battery, instead of to the engine starting battery. This is to cut down on the current flow thru the battery combiner. Engine batteries recharge very quickly after an engine start, while house batteries can take hours to recharge, so I try to avoid running all those amp-hours thru the combiner.
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Post by Anwen (Deep Joy) on Jul 27, 2015 8:14:37 GMT
Debs,
I'm assuming that you have the standard Jeanneau installation with a Christec battery charger? This should have separate outputs for the house bank and engine/ bow thruster batteries, and the latter should be wired direct to your engine starter battery. This means that your battery should be charged when you are on shore power whether the battery isolator switches are in the on or off position. If this is the case, and your batteries have died, I would first check the wiring and then the battery charger.
When we first took delivery of our old SO32, the battery charger was left disconnected at the factory, and we managed to flatten our house battery in short order. Whilst it was very apparent that there was a problem because it related to the house battery, It is possible that something similar has happened with your boat, and you have been reliant on the engine alternator to recharge the engine battery.
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Post by so40gtb on Aug 5, 2015 4:23:31 GMT
The OEM battery chargers died on both our '01 SO34.2 and '00 SO40.
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