My boat had the inverter already installed when I bought the boat, so I have so surmise what it looked like before the inverter was installed. I believe the inverter was installed the same year the boat was first purchased, and may have been done by the dealer in Portland, OR.
Anyway, here is what I think the battery, battery switch, and some of the breaker wiring would have looked like before the inverter addition. Not everything is shown. For example, the fuse for the stereo memory is not shown,and the fact that the ground return is at the engine block is not shown. I also don't have a Windlass in my boat. But I do have a breaker with the same wiring that goes to the helm breaker panel.
Notice in this configuration the alternator is not hard wired to any battery. Some have stated that if you turn the battery selector switch, if will fry the alternator, probably by open-circuiting the output and the sense lead.
Here is what it looks like with the additional house batteries, the diode isolator, and the inverter added, plus the alternator rewired. Now the alternator does not go through the battery selector switch, and I know of no reason one cannot change switch positions with the engine running.
With the original configuration you could only charge the battery that was selected on the selector, and the sense line read that battery voltage to control the alternator output. With this configuration, you always charge both batteries with the alternator, regardless of the position of the battery selector switch. Also, the alternator is wired to read the voltage of the house battery. It is assumed that when you have spent the day on water, you will mostly have used house battery while the engine was not running, and it is the one that will need to be recharged.
Also notice that the bilge pumps and Mercathode have been moved from Battery 1 to Battery 2, as battery 2 has twice the capacity as battery one.
Another difference is that now the second output of the originally supplies converter is not used to charge battery set 2. It is not connected to anything. Now battery set 2 is charged by the Heart Interface Inverter, which is a significantly higher output and more capable charger.
This mid-90's wiring puts a lot of wire terminals at the battery post, where they may suffer from poor contact due to corrosion if not properly maintained. In the more recent boats, the leads hot from the batteries have been picked off at the battery selector switch input terminal. Same point electrically, but physically removed from the battery post. This makes a cleaner battery installation, without all the extra wires hanging off it.
This thread belongs in the electrical section.
Anyway, here is what I think the battery, battery switch, and some of the breaker wiring would have looked like before the inverter addition. Not everything is shown. For example, the fuse for the stereo memory is not shown,and the fact that the ground return is at the engine block is not shown. I also don't have a Windlass in my boat. But I do have a breaker with the same wiring that goes to the helm breaker panel.
Notice in this configuration the alternator is not hard wired to any battery. Some have stated that if you turn the battery selector switch, if will fry the alternator, probably by open-circuiting the output and the sense lead.
Here is what it looks like with the additional house batteries, the diode isolator, and the inverter added, plus the alternator rewired. Now the alternator does not go through the battery selector switch, and I know of no reason one cannot change switch positions with the engine running.
With the original configuration you could only charge the battery that was selected on the selector, and the sense line read that battery voltage to control the alternator output. With this configuration, you always charge both batteries with the alternator, regardless of the position of the battery selector switch. Also, the alternator is wired to read the voltage of the house battery. It is assumed that when you have spent the day on water, you will mostly have used house battery while the engine was not running, and it is the one that will need to be recharged.
Also notice that the bilge pumps and Mercathode have been moved from Battery 1 to Battery 2, as battery 2 has twice the capacity as battery one.
Another difference is that now the second output of the originally supplies converter is not used to charge battery set 2. It is not connected to anything. Now battery set 2 is charged by the Heart Interface Inverter, which is a significantly higher output and more capable charger.
This mid-90's wiring puts a lot of wire terminals at the battery post, where they may suffer from poor contact due to corrosion if not properly maintained. In the more recent boats, the leads hot from the batteries have been picked off at the battery selector switch input terminal. Same point electrically, but physically removed from the battery post. This makes a cleaner battery installation, without all the extra wires hanging off it.
This thread belongs in the electrical section.