Battery Wiring Diagram - Help

[SailingChance]

I am starting completely from scratch. New everything. Wiring, batteries, switches, etc. I have 4 6v house batteries I will be wiring to make a 12v bank. I have a second bank consisting of a single 12v starting battery. I have made a diagram (sorry if it is tough to follow).

Can someone out there with real experience check this an make sure I am not going to screw it up! I have a 3-bank 40 amp charger and my inverter will only run off the house bank. I am focused primarily on the DC systems right now. I can't seem to figure our how to get my alternator to both banks? !!

What am I missing and where. Keep in mind, I'm not always hip to lingo.

[Badsanta]

I would get rid of 1-2-all switch and use an echo charger for the starter batt

[HappyMdRSailor]

Chance.... I am by no means an expert... But your diagram looks great to me... Here's what I would do with your dilemma... Others may have better ideas... To charge the start battery, add either another battery switch isolating the start battery + from the "C" on the main switch, or a "battery isolator (=one way diode)" from C to the start +

Does your switch not have a 1, 2, and "both" selection? If so, you can revise from above .... = (you're a smart guy)

Make sense?

Cheers!

[Stu Jackson]

Good start on the diagram, but for starters to answer your question: "Engine" should be separated into two things: Alternator (for alternator output: "AO") and starter. The AO should go to the house bank, the starter gets fed from the C post of the switch.

You may be interested in these links which answer all your questions:

Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams This is a very good basic primer for boat system wiring: Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams

This is another very good basic primer for boat system wiring: The 1-2-B Switch by Maine Sail (brings together a lot of what this subject is all about)
1/BOTH/2/OFF Switches Thoughts & Musings - SailboatOwners.com

After reading those, ask away.

[Kettlewell]

Re: Battery Wiring Diagram - Help
Good starts, but for starters to answer your question: "Engine" should be separated into two things: Alternator (for alternator output: "AO") and starter.

You may be interested in these links which answer all your questions:

Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams This is a very good basic primer for boat system wiring: Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams

This is another very good basic primer for boat system wiring: The 1-2-B Switch by Maine Sail (brings together a lot of what this subject is all about)
1/BOTH/2/OFF Switches Thoughts & Musings - SailboatOwners.com

After reading those, ask away.

^^This^^

[btrayfors]

Here you go.



Bill

[Andina Marie]

An echo charger as suggested above has very limited output (15 amps I believe) and would require rewiring the alternator to charge the house battery.

A Combiner100 for half the price will handle the output of a 100 amp alternator so you can leave the alternator on the starting battery. If your alternator is rated over 100 amps, the Combiner160 will handle a 200 amp alternator.

The Combiners are also bi-directional so your shore power charger will also maintain the starting battery.

Installation is elementary, one cable on battery switch terminal 1, one cable on battery switch 2, and a light gauge cable to negative.

Charging then becomes fully automatic and you only need to use the selector switch for things like emergency starting if the starting battery died.

[DeepFrz]

Installation is elementary, one cable on battery switch terminal 1, one cable on battery switch 2, and a light gauge cable to negative.

This is so not right. Read the fore mentioned links and follow their good advice as well as btrayfors.

[Teknav]

Do you really want to do this wiring on your own? As an EE, I wouldn't recommend it! Please pay a licensed marine electrician, for his knowledge and time. There are also legals repercussions to consider, if your wiring is not up to "code"; your insurance company will deny you benefits/coverage, should your boat catches an electrical fire. This is not the time and place to experiment. Mauritz

[Andina Marie]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

This is so not right. Read the fore mentioned links and follow their good advice as well as btrayfors.

Hmm, you say "This is so not right" but no explanation of what is wrong? Combiners have been available for 20 years, you connect one power lead to each battery and connect the negative. What is wrong?.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

This is so not right. Read the fore mentioned links and follow their good advice as well as btrayfors.

Interesting, I did read MaineSails link above. He states that the "factory wiring" of 1-2-both works simply. An upgrade would be to use a battery combiner, an additional optional upgrade would be to run a wire directly from the alternator to the house bank.

So the simple solutions discussed above do work. Maine Sail does go into why other methods are less prone to human error, and have other advantages, but he doesn't say that the simple does not work.

I managed to sail for a couple of decades with a 1-2-both switch without blowing any diodes or flattening the start battery.

I'm not against making things easier, but I don't insist that every other way is wrong.