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Old 10-07-2011, 15:43   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie91
Where would the shunt be currently hooked up to in the diagram?

Is this a diagram of all of the wires hooked up to the batteries?

What type of inverter do you have? Brand/Model.
Yes it is the diagram of all the wire hooked to the batteries.

The shut is not wired directly to any of this. They have taken cables and hooked them (somehow - it's very hard to follow in a small space with a million wires) somehow hooked into the Beneteau connection panel (where the main switches are to turn on and off the house bank, the engine battery, and the ground).

It's a Xantrex inverter. I think 1000
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Old 10-07-2011, 18:14   #32
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

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Originally Posted by Sailagain View Post
. . . So if I am understanding the situation correctly I should have someone remove the negative connection between the house 3 and the engine battery. Instead wire the negative from house 3 to house 1.

Remove the connection from house 2 to the Beneteau ground and put that on the shunt - and from the other side of the shunt - to the Beneteau ground.

And move the negative from the wind generator to the shunt as well.
Does that sound about right?
Thanks again!
Yes, you have the basic idea correct. Disconnect all of the three house battery grounds/negative cables and connect them only to the other house battery negative terminals if possible. So in essence, the negative battery cable from house battery 1 would go to the negative terminal of house battery 2. And house battery 3 would be wired to house battery 2. Then a single black battery cable would be run from the nearest house battery negative terminal to the shunt.
- - How you route the negative battery cables from one house battery to another house battery is totally a matter of which way is convenient and economical. You should end up with all three house batteries having their negative terminal hooked together with battery cables. Then from the most convenient house battery negative terminal you run a new battery negative cable to the shunt.
- - An alternative, if it is not convenient to run negative battery cables from battery to battery is to run them to the shunt instead. So it would be possible to have each house battery's negative cable connected to the same terminal on the shunt. So there are multiple options of how to actually wire the negatives together but they all end up connected to the shunt either directly or by a series connection from battery to battery then to the shunt.
- - The "other" side of the shunt will then have a battery cable run to your boat's negative bus bar/terminal/whatever. It is possible that the inverter 12VDC cables will be between the "other side of the shunt and the boat's negative bus bar/terminal/whatever. Heavy battery cable is not cheap, so to save cable the battery negative cable from the "other" side of the shunt to the boat's negative bus bar/terminal can be cut and then connected to inverter and then continue on its way to the ship's negative terminal.
- - It makes no difference where you hook up the wind generator's negative wire so long as it is between the shunt and the boat's negative bus. Normally it is attached to the boat's negative bus bar but if more convenient can be run to the "other" side of the shunt.
- - Same with the engine start battery which normally has its negative battery cable bolted to the engine somewhere. And there should be another battery cable that is attached to the engine somewhere that runs to the ship's negative bus bar/terminal/ or the "other side of the shunt.
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Old 11-07-2011, 03:20   #33
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So the engine batteries negative connection should first be attached to the shunt as well? And then to the boats negative bus? Just like the house bank?

Thanks again

And I am guessing the inverters negative connection (currently attached to 1 house and the engine battery) should just go directly to the boats negative bus. Not sure why they would attach it to the batteries like this. Crazy
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Old 11-07-2011, 06:39   #34
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

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Originally Posted by Sailagain View Post
So the engine batteries negative connection should first be attached to the shunt as well? And then to the boats negative bus? Just like the house bank? . . .

And I am guessing the inverters negative connection (currently attached to 1 house and the engine battery) should just go directly to the boats negative bus. Not sure why they would attach it to the batteries like this. Crazy
NO - The engine battery negative battery cable should be connected to the engine block.
- - Then there should be a separate battery-sized cable that is attached to the engine block and runs to the boat's negative terminal bus bar/terminal.
- - It is important that the Engine Battery be grounded to the Engine - first. The purpose of the Engine battery is to provide power to start the engine and a "good" clean ground connection between the battery and the engine is critical to this purpose.
- - Then from somewhere on the engine, a different battery cable will be attached and connects the Engine to the boat's negative bus bar/terminal blocks.
- - Think of the whole battery systems as 2 totally separate power supplies. The Engine Battery provides power to the Engine Starter to start the engine. So the Engine Battery negative terminal cable goes from the engine battery to the engine block. The Engine battery Positive cable goes to a battery switch and then to the Engine Starter. That is one complete system. **I am going to ignore the battery charging system for now, it can be discussed after the basics are understood.**
- - The House batteries #1, #2, and #3 make up a separate power supply that feeds 12VDC electrical equipment you have installed in the boat. The House batteries have all their Negative Terminal battery cables connected together and then connected to the Shunt as in the diagram I posted earlier.
- - In the diagram you will see that the "other" side of the shunt has a cable that goes to the boat's Negative bus bar/terminal.
- - You can disregard the auxillary battery shown in the diagram. Or you can pretend that the auxillary battery shown in the diagram is the wind generator. In that case the negative cable from the wind generator is either attached to the "other" side of the shunt or to the boat's negative bus bar/terminal - it does not make any difference which way it is done.
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Old 11-07-2011, 13:11   #35
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Sounds like you have a good idea of what needs to be done. I agree with the post above.

Just a few more things.

It would be nice to know where the wires that are actually connected to the shunt go. If you cannot figure them out, I would put them both on the shunt opposite the side the house batteries are on. That way all the current would flow thru the shunt.

You stated earlier that there is a AC battery charger. How does that hook up to the batteries? Is it part of the inverter or does it run thru a battery switch?
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Old 11-07-2011, 13:52   #36
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

- - It is important that the Engine Battery be grounded to the Engine - first. The purpose of the Engine battery is to provide power to start the engine and a "good" clean ground connection between the battery and the engine is critical to this purpose.

Not necessarily if he wants the Link to show the voltage of his reserve bank per the Xantrex wiring diagram. The negative of the reserve (auxiliary) bank goes to the I- side of the shunt.

Also might want to check the fuses.

The OP may be interested in this: Ammeters & Shunts 101
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Old 11-07-2011, 14:20   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie91
Sounds like you have a good idea of what needs to be done. I agree with the post above.

Just a few more things.

It would be nice to know where the wires that are actually connected to the shunt go. If you cannot figure them out, I would put them both on the shunt opposite the side the house batteries are on. That way all the current would flow thru the shunt.

You stated earlier that there is a AC battery charger. How does that hook up to the batteries? Is it part of the inverter or does it run thru a battery switch?

The wires that are connected to the shunt aren't connected correctly at all. They used some smaller wire and somehow tied in to the wires on the negative bus bar. None of them go directly from any of the batteries negative connections. Totally wrong.

I have an appointment with the owner of the yard that did the install on Thursday. They are going to have to rewire this whole thing (hopefully).

Thanks again for all your help! It was really very informative !
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Old 11-07-2011, 17:39   #38
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

That is probably your best solution. It would not hurt to print out the wiring diagram (post 16), bring it with you and mention that it is not wired per the instructions.

Good luck
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Old 11-07-2011, 18:04   #39
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Kudos to those who have been helping the OP with this installation, especially to Opie91 and osirissail! This thread is a perfect example of everything that's great about Cruiser's Forum, and the type of support and expertise that this forum can be about.

Fabulous!
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Old 11-07-2011, 21:29   #40
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Jackson View Post
- - It is important that the Engine Battery be grounded to the Engine - first. The purpose of the Engine battery is to provide power to start the engine and a "good" clean ground connection between the battery and the engine is critical to this purpose.

Not necessarily if he wants the Link to show the voltage of his reserve bank per the Xantrex wiring diagram. The negative of the reserve (auxiliary) bank goes to the I- side of the shunt.
Also might want to check the fuses.
The OP may be interested in this: Ammeters & Shunts 101
The Engine Start battery negative should be directly connected to the Engine. The LinkPro will be able to sense the voltage via the "auxiliary" voltage connection without a problem because the boat's Negative bus bar/terminal is also connected to the Engine via a battery size cable that runs from the Engine to the boat's negative bus system.
- - The primary, actually the only purpose of the engine battery is to start the engine. Connecting its negative battery cable to anywhere other than the actual engine introduces problems with additional cable resistance and/or problems caused by a bad connection or corrosion in the Engine to boat's DC negative bus bar/terminal or the "other" side of the shunt.
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Old 11-07-2011, 21:34   #41
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailagain View Post
. . . I have an appointment with the owner of the yard that did the install on Thursday. They are going to have to rewire this whole thing (hopefully).
Thanks again for all your help! It was really very informative !
Make sure you get the original documentation, installation manual and owners manual from the original installer. If you cannot then go to the website I listed and download the manuals and print them out so you have "hard copy" for the next installer to work with. You don't need another guy making the same mistakes again.
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Old 12-07-2011, 04:54   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by osirissail

The Engine Start battery negative should be directly connected to the Engine. The LinkPro will be able to sense the voltage via the "auxiliary" voltage connection without a problem because the boat's Negative bus bar/terminal is also connected to the Engine via a battery size cable that runs from the Engine to the boat's negative bus system.
- - The primary, actually the only purpose of the engine battery is to start the engine. Connecting its negative battery cable to anywhere other than the actual engine introduces problems with additional cable resistance and/or problems caused by a bad connection or corrosion in the Engine to boat's DC negative bus bar/terminal or the "other" side of the shunt.
So the problem deepens. wonder why the heck they have connected the inverter ground to the engine battery?!?! The boats negative ground is much closer to the inverter than the engine battery is! Ugh

Some yards should not be allowed near wires I guess. If they do end up at least fixing this (since with all your help I can tell them exactly how) I will definitely never be back to them.


Thanks again for all your help!!
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Old 12-07-2011, 06:31   #43
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Quote:
Originally Posted by osirissail View Post
Connecting its negative battery cable to anywhere other than the actual engine introduces problems with additional cable resistance and/or problems caused by a bad connection or corrosion in the Engine to boat's DC negative bus bar/terminal or the "other" side of the shunt.
I agree 100%. Short wire runs are best. Additional connections will cause more problems.

Sailagain, the last owner probably was the one who hooked up all that stuff the way it is. Once you get the wiring straightened out you will have much more control of your battery banks and your Link Pro will work.

Don't be surprised if they want a little more money to straighten out the wind generator and inverter wiring.

Good luck.
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Old 12-07-2011, 07:35   #44
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

Very much underwriting Bash statement, Opie91 and Osirissail: thank you! I have a Xantrex Link Pro and everything works except the wind input. 99% sure that I have the same issue and now I know how to tackle this. Thanks!
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Old 17-07-2011, 13:19   #45
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Re: Xantrex Link Pro

One more thing to consider in getting the Linkpro to read correctly, I might have missed it in the other posts but it looks like your unit was installed without using "twisted pair w/ shielding". Microphone cable works well, ground only one end of the shiel to the neg. terminal) on the current sense inputs from the shunt. This will help shield r.f. sources from messing w/ your unit.

Has anyone come up with a cheap, inexpensive way to link the unit to a laptop? $200+ for an add-on? Whoa!
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