So before I burn my boat down.....

[Knot Waiting]

....maybe I should ask you guys. I'm currently in the process of installing a Blue Seas remote charging relay in place of my old 1/2/both/off battery switch.

My problem is knowing exactly where to run (what I assume are) the original house wires. Aside from the old battery wires there were four 10 gauge wires that ran into the old switch:

* RED - From engine harness
* RED/WHITE - From hatch lift
* RED & RED/WHITE - From the battery charger (boat has shore power) I can't tell where the go from there though.

The new Blue Seas switch only has one place for all of the house wires to hook to. Should I connect all of those 10ga OEM wires to that point? I'm mostly concerned about the charge not working properly, or worse yet, starting a fire. Thanks for your advice!


***Edited because I posted from my phone last night and it wasn't clearly described or formatted.

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

I probably should have taken a picture of the old battery switch to see how the house wires were routed. Although after looking at how this ACR & switch work I'm guessing that everything just gets hooked to the house contact.

Note: After browsing the forum this job seems to be the project of the week, lol

 

[Don S]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

The battery cable that goes to the starter on the engine is known as the start battery. Everything else belongs on the house circuit.

Assuming you have a 2 bank battery charger, one bank goes to the start battery the other goes to the house battery (or bank).
It has nothing to do with the ACR side.


EDIT:
Inverter wires and red wires from harness need further description.

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

There is a red 10 gauge wire that runs down through the main engine wiring harness and appears to terminate at the breaker (didn't pull the harness apart). It was wired into the old switch.

What I referred to as an inverter is likely just a label-less battery charger (blue metal box with a gauge on it). It has a red and a red/white wire coming from it that also ran into the old switch.

 

[Don S]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

There is a red 10 gauge wire that runs down through the main engine wiring harness and appears to terminate at the breaker (didn't pull the harness apart). It was wired into the old switch.

If that is the main 50A breaker on the engine, then it should go to the same terminal on the starter as the battery cable goes to. Not to the switch.

What I referred to as an inverter is likely just a label-less battery charger (blue metal box with a gauge on it). It has a red and a red/white wire coming from it that also ran into the old switch.

Sounds like only a charger, got a picture? What size wires are they? Are they DC output?

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

The wires are both 10 gauge. I'm heading out to continue working on it in about 20 minutes. I can grab a picture of it while I'm out there if it'll help. I'll also see if I can trace the engine wire in question back all the way.

 

[Don S]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

Yeah, pictures always help. Click one of that wire in the harness as well, and what breaker it goes to.
Makes things much easier when we are all talking about the same thing.

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

Understood. I'll re-check it all tonight and take pics of anything that still confuses me. Thanks for your help thus far.

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

Here's where I'm at so far. The house battery wire is not yet hooked up to the switch but that's not where the issue is. It's the four 10 gauge wires that run to the switch (all are currently run to the same terminal). Does this seem correct? I guess I'm most concerned about the battery charger. It was plumbed into the old switch but wasn't on one terminal.

 

[Don S]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

Really needed to see exactly which terminals those wires were going to, but this drawing should cover it.

EDIT: You need to add the ground wire and fuse for the acr.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

I will assume there is another wire (Black~Yellow) from the Battery Charger going to the battery ground that has not been mentioned.

If the Red and Red/White wires are because it is a two bank battery charger, they are going to be tied together when the ACR goes into combine mode.
This is probably OK and will just make the wiring redundant. Or Not! ???

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

Thanks Don! I don't know what program you use for those diagrams but it's awesome. Very easy to understand. The ACR is fused and grounded (next to the yellow start isolation wire and the fuse is the black box in the wiring harness to the left).

UncleWillie: Yes there is a black ground wire from the charger that goes to a grounding buss. Between it and the red red/white wires they are the only ones leading out of the unit.

 

[Don S]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

I will assume there is another wire (Black~Yellow) from the Battery Charger going to the battery ground that has not been mentioned.

If the Red and Red/White wires are because it is a two bank battery charger, they are going to be tied together when the ACR goes into combine mode.

If the charger red wires are connected to the battery side of the batt switch, then the ACR will have no effect with the switch off. With the switch on, then yes the ACR would combine if the house battery falls below the start battery.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: So before I burn my boat down.....

If the Charger red wires are connected to the Battery side of the Batt switch, then the ACR will have no effect with the switch off. With the switch on, then yes the ACR would combine if the house battery falls Below the start battery.

Don;
I understand what you were trying to say, but I think some of that got reversed!


If the ACR wires were connected to the NON-Battery Side of the Batt switch, then the ACR will have no effect with the switch OFF.
With the switch ON, the ACR would combine if the Either Battery Raises ABOVE the ACR Trip Point.

In the Drawing in Post #10; The ACR, Batteries, and Charger are all in parallel. The Switch position is immaterial.