Electrical Questions

U

us_jumpmaster

New Member
Apr 3, 2006
1
Missouri
OK - I'm not real smart on things and my owners manual is vague on the subject.
Before I plug into shore power, I am switching both batteries off. I thought I read somewhere that I had to do this. Once I plug into shore power, I turn on the main breaker, however I have no power to my cabin lights, stereo or water pump. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? Can I leave my batteries on?
Thanks for any help
 
Shore Power Etc.

The way I do this, but your boat might be different, however this is the safest procedure we know of. Hopefully this will answer your questions

1.) Turn off all systems including the engine.
2.) Turn off all breakers on the panel, including the master breaker.
3.) Plug in shore power cable at the boat.
4.) Plug in the shore power cable at the power supply.
5.) Make sure voltage meter is reading correctly in the boat.
6.) Turn on main breaker in control panel.
7.) Turn on the other breakers in the panel as needed.
8.) Do not run the boat engine while the shore power is on.
9.) We don't turn off the battery switch when we are plugged into shore power.

As for the other portion of your question. (Most boats are wired so that when the batteries are off the 12 volt circuits power will not work. However this raises a good point-If you leave your boat in the water with the batteries off, make sure your bilge pumps will still operate. If not change the wiring so they do.) If your battery switch is turned off and the breakers are turned off, the 12 volt circuits that are powered by the battery will not work. This may explain the circuits that won't work on your boat, if your email makes reference to the 12 volt circuits that are not working?

If this doesn't answer your questions, let me know?

Kevin Smith, Richmond VA
1991 250/270 Weekender, 454 ci, 330 Hp, Bravo II
 
When connected to shore power, it should also power your battery charger, so it's not a big deal to leave the battery switch on, and no fear of running down the bats. The bilge pump should be wired directly to the bats and bypass any switches, same for a mercathode if you have one istalled.
 
Guys, it would help you grasp the process if you understood how Sea Rays are wired and what the systems do.

There are 2 breaker panels....one for the DC or 12V circuits and systems and the other for AC or 120V circuits and systems. They are completely separate and the only place the 2 circuits interface with each other is with the converter or battery charger. A possible exceptioin may be a dual voltage refrigerator....read you owners manual to be sure how to switch voltage sources on them.

Anytime you plug or unplug from shore power, all AC circuits must be off and the main breaker open or off. The procedure to use when unplugging from shore power is to first turn off every individual 120V breaker at the panel then turn off the main breaker.....then go trurn off the shore power supply breaker and finally unplug the shore power cables from the boat.
Get back on the boat, start the generator, let it warm to operating temperature then switch the selector or main breaker from shore to generator, turn on the main breaker and finally power up all the 120V circuits you need.

The charger or convertor is isolated from the engine alternators so it does not hurt anything to run the convertor while the engines run, but it does not do any good either since the engine alternators are adequate to recharge the batteries.

All Sea Rays are wired with the bilge pumps hot all the time. The only way to turn them off is to either remove the batteries from the boat or clip a wire, so there is nothing wrong with turning off the battery switches when you leave a Sea Ray in the water. In fact, if you leave the boat in the water it is better and safer to turn off the battery switches.

The converter charges the batteries whether the battery switches are on or off.

All of the above is true for Sea Rays made after about 1995. Prior to approximately then, the convertor did not cycle all the way to "0" amps, but trickled down to about 2 amps and kept the charging current there at that level. If your boat has one of the old style converters, you should leave on about 2 amps worth of current draw or you run the risk of over charging the battery banks and boiling the electrolyte out of the batteries.

Hope that helps.....................
 
That's a new one for me.........I thought if you had a shore power system, a converter was standard equipment. I looked 01at the Sea Ray archives and its was not on the '96 250DA......the converter was optional.
 
So if I leave the boat for 4-5 weeks it is best I turn off the battery switches since there wont be a need for dc power anyway. Keep the shore power flowing to power the battery charger and air/heat system and or dehumidifier. This will keep my wacky boat alarm from going off unexpectedly. :smt038

Thanks Frank
 
Dancin Dave said:
So if I leave the boat for 4-5 weeks it is best I turn off the battery switches since there wont be a need for dc power anyway. Keep the shore power flowing to power the battery charger and air/heat system and or dehumidifier. This will keep my wacky boat alarm from going off unexpectedly. :smt038

Thanks Frank
Click to expand...
Ah yes...but..if your refrig. only runs on DC as mine does, I have to leave the batteries and converter on when I'm not there, (if I want to leave my refrig running).
-Mike
 
The only thing to add is that there are usually two AC circuits on the boat to split the load. On My 340 the a/c and the stove are the only ones on circuit 2, all other AC equipment is on cicuit 1. Each has their own plud and main breaker (in the transom locker in my case) and their own master switch for gen/shore. I do not believe they are connected in any way.
 
Alex.............I have noticed the 340's at our Marina have two shore power plugs. Is that because of the dual AC circuits?
 
There are 2 shore power circuits because the boat's demand is larger then one 30 amp cord can supply. Sea Ray balances the full load demand on the 2 circuits.

ALex is correct, the 2 - 120V circuits are completely separate.
 
Shining said:
Ah yes...but..if your refrig. only runs on DC as mine does, I have to leave the batteries and converter on when I'm not there, (if I want to leave my refrig running).
-Mike
Click to expand...

Mike,

Is your refrig the original one? If so, it should be dual voltage.

Jeff
 
Dave S said:
Alex.............I have noticed the 340's at our Marina have two shore power plugs. Is that because of the dual AC circuits?
Click to expand...

Correct as FW already pointed out. Each circuit also has its own AC panel, well they are separate sections of the AC panel.
You may be able to see in the attached pic of my 340 panel. The AC section has two gen/shore selectors and volt and amp meters. You can also see the the circuit 2 has only two breakers, for the a/c and the stove. All others are on circuit 1. These circuits relate to the two shore power inputs and breakers I have in the transom locker.

The DC panle below then has all the DC breakers, the voltage test switch, the batt solenoid energizers (Batt switches), the tank monitors and discharge switch as well as the remote genset start switches and one volt and amp meter for the DC load. The ignisiot switches and breakers are alos on the bottom of the DC panel.
 
My wife and I recently purchased a 99 340 Sundancer. We are not new to boating, but new to this size of boat. Our previous 230 did not have shore power and only a small cabin, not big enough for our family. We are learning a lot and taking out time to do it correctly. From what I have read above, I understand the unplugging from shore power and plugging in when we return. My question is, our panel contains Battery Switches (Main Battery Solenoids: Port & Starboard), should these be switched on when the engines are running to charge the batteries and use electrical 12V outlets (cigarette outlets)? The owners manual and other documentation on the boat are not clear.
Battery Switch.jpg
 
Yes you want them on when running the boat so your 12V systems work. No, these aren't charging your batteries. The charger does that. Mike
 
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