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Post by stellaluna on May 31, 2021 13:57:55 GMT
I installed a Victronic battery monitor on the house bank on my Jeanneau 409 sailboat but while it will read volts it will not read amps. A search on the internet suggested that there must be NO negative connections on the house circuit other than the one through the Victronic shunt.
I have a connection between the negative terminal on my house bank and my starter battery. Could someone explain why this is there and is it needed. When I disconnected it the engine would still start.
If it is required how should I connect it to enable amperage to be recorded on the house battery monitor?
I assume the negative lead from my solar panels should also be before the shunt?
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Post by zaphod on May 31, 2021 16:32:00 GMT
All negatives on the boat will be connected, at some point, but you should keep your engine battery negative off your house bank. It won't make a difference functionally, but it can cause confusion.
If your shunt is not registering amps then you may have installed it backwards. Also make sure you have powered the shunt with the small positive wire it comes with. There should be no other negative connections to your house bank. If there is, the current flow can bypass the shunt.
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Post by stellaluna on May 31, 2021 21:06:56 GMT
Very many thanks for the quick response. I will take the time to have a very close look to see what is going into and out of the bank.
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Post by Trevor on Jun 1, 2021 9:23:10 GMT
Hi Stellaluna,
The name of the battery monitor has me confused. Is the battery monitor a Votronic or a Victron or is it really from a manufacturer called Victronic?
The Shunt will need to be between the house bank negative and the negative distribution of the boat. It would be good to know the model of the battery monitor and the brand because it may have some connectivity requirements beyond a simple shunt.
Regards
Trevor
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Post by zaphod on Jun 1, 2021 14:18:02 GMT
Hi Stellaluna, The name of the battery monitor has me confused. Is the battery monitor a Votronic or a Victron or is it really from a manufacturer called Victronic? The Shunt will need to be between the house bank negative and the negative distribution of the boat. It would be good to know the model of the battery monitor and the brand because it may have some connectivity requirements beyond a simple shunt. Regards Trevor I just assumed he meant Victron since I could not find a "Victronic" in a Google search.
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Post by stellaluna on Jun 2, 2021 13:03:36 GMT
Thanks for the response and my apologies - it is a Victron BMV-712 Smart. I assumed the problem was with the starter battery. This is directly connected to the negative terminal of one of my 4 house batteries. I temporarily disconnected this cable and thought my house bank was completely isolated other than from the negative terminal going to the shunt. However, I still get no reading of Amps
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Post by Charlie-Bravo on Jun 2, 2021 14:08:57 GMT
The odd negative cable from engine to house batteries could be a previous owners idea, in that it would make 'jump starting' the engine from the house bank easier with just use of one jump lead to connect the positives. If this is the case, he/she might have also installed a heavy switch to join the positives as well so no jump leads would be required, something I have considered.
I leave the engine start battery mostly out of the battery monitoring gadgets, I say mostly as I use a victron smart sense bluetooth gadget on the engine battery just so the voltage can be seen on the phone app, but no connection to a shunt for amp draw , the engine battery has an easy life generally with just the engine starting to do, and seems to be fine if left alone for many lockdown weeks, the house batteries on ours are much busier, and if the fridge stops the beer gets warm! ..... so some monitoring is needed.
Not had any troubles with Victron gadgets, except when I didn't read the instructions fully, but I suppose they occasionally produce a dodgy one.
CB
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Post by zaphod on Jun 2, 2021 16:55:24 GMT
Thanks for the response and my apologies - it is a Victron BMV-712 Smart. I assumed the problem was with the starter battery. This is directly connected to the negative terminal of one of my 4 house batteries. I temporarily disconnected this cable and thought my house bank was completely isolated other than from the negative terminal going to the shunt. However, I still get no reading of Amps Have you confirmed that the shunt is not installed backwards?
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Post by Trevor on Jun 2, 2021 21:47:47 GMT
Hello stellaluna,
Fortunately a lot of information is available online for that unit. Also, Victron have a very active forum to discuss all things Victron.
I know this is probably ok but it is worth ensuring that power is applied to the B1 terminal of the smartshunt. I know you say it doesn’t read current so I am assuming that is does read voltage?
Does the Bluetooth phone app work ok?
If the phone app works it indicates the smartshunt must be powered ok.
Regards
Trevor
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