Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

[Lowranger]

-1989 J70TLCEM- Installed a Blue Seas Dual Circuit Plus Battery Switch #5511E(Off-#1-Both) and Blue Seas ACR(Automatic Charging Relay) 7600 . With #1 selected, the two banks will be automatically connected when the voltage reaches 12.5. And disconnected(overvoltage) if voltage exceeds 15. The idea, when #1(starting) has recovered from startup duties, the relay closes and #2(house) gets hers. Electronics are on #2 and isolated. These settings are adjustable. It has worked splendidly until Sunday. I started the motor and quickly the #1 voltage spiked to 17.5+. I then selected "both" on the battery switch(make before break) to rein in the spike. The electronics blinked and the control box emitted a steady scream. This is the sound of an overheat condition(which I didn't have). I killed the motor. Returned switch to #1. Key on. Steady scream(motor still off). Selected switch to "both". Motor started normally with no alarms. Ran all day. Normal voltage on both banks. Charging normally. Tachometer normal. I occasionally stopped the motor and selected switch position #1. Key on, steady scream. Back to switch position #2 and all normal. I checked all battery connections(wingnuts, I know). They SEEMED fine. Does this sound like a defective battery, battery switch, or ACR ? Or should I more closely examine my wiring again ? Perhaps wire-wheel the #1 battery terminals ?

 

[Lowranger]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

clean all connections first
I'm not a fan of isolators, i learned this from CDI electronic guru

 

[Lowranger]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

UPDATE: Had starting battery tested. A-OK! Connections cleaned. At home on the hose I bypassed the switch and ACR. No change. Whether I start on #1 starting(group 24) or #2 house(group 31) or both together the voltage quickly climbs and at about 14.2 volts the steady alarm begins to sound and gets louder as the voltage increases. If I turn on the navigation lights(while combined) the voltage quickly returns to around 13 and the alarm ceases. Please note that out on the water my sonar/gps/vhf are on and simply combining my banks reins in the voltage. At home on the hose the sonar/gps/vhf are off and combining alone won't do it. However, turning on the nav lights is enough to get me back to 13 volts and silence the alarm. To briefly summarize, I'm overcharging and my alarm is sounding and grows louder as I approach 17.5 volts. Please help.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

Do you have a regulator or just an unregulated rectifier?

 

[Lowranger]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

unregulated rectifier

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

The constant horn signal at the control is for overheating or for fuel restriction. I believe that your increasing sound is just the result of increasing voltage. If you want to stabilize the voltage, you could add a regulator to your setup.

Are you using a VRO or pre-mix?

 

[Lowranger]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

Original three-wire VRO.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

Next time the horn sounds, squeeze the primer bulb and see if it stops. If you are using a portable tank, elevate it.

The horn should be wired to the tan wire and to the positve terminal on the ignition switch. Voltage fluctuation should not enable it.

There is a slot above the ignition switch where you can insert a key to test the horn. Is anything stuck in there?

 

[Lowranger]

Re: Johnson 70 Control Box Screaming

Next time the horn sounds, squeeze the primer bulb and see if it stops. If you are using a portable tank, elevate it.

The horn should be wired to the tan wire and to the positve terminal on the ignition switch. Voltage fluctuation should not enable it.

There is a slot above the ignition switch where you can insert a key to test the horn. Is anything stuck in there?

1) I will squeeze it 2) Baffling. At 14.2 volts barely audible. As voltage increases, so does volume. 3) No visible slot. I'm stumped. In the past I've routinely seen volts run to 15+ but never heard any alarm. Now, I'm getting an alarm at 14.2 that gets louder as the voltage rises. And it's going up to 17.6 volts. Is the alarm causing the voltage to skyrocket or is the skyrocketing voltage causing the alarm ?