Bow Thruster Question

[HMBJack]

Greetings,

With my Sirius Radio playing, if I operate the bow thruster, the radio blanks out. Then, when the thruster is finished operating, the radio turns back on. So there is an obvious interuption of voltage starving the Sirius radio when the thruster (high amps) is operating.

Has anyone else observed this? And did you do anything about it?
Not a big deal but I was thinking of re-routing the 12V power leads to the SIRIUS from the back of the switch panel to another power source (away from the Thruster). Thoughts?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Maybe a weak battery? :hmm

 

[HMBJack]

Possibly - and only because this was after we pulled 11 crab pots in 200 feet of water with my Electradyne Pot Puller. Now, the batteries are new (earlier this year - wet cell deep cycle 27's) but perhaps the load required to pull 11 pots took them down a bit. As an experiment, next time, I'll run my genset for the whole trip and see if that makes a difference (Mr. Genset will keep the charger ON while we pull pots). Worth a try I guess. Thanks,

 

[HMBJack]

Thinking about this some more - I realized the crab puller has nothing to do with my Sirius radio blanking out while using the bow thruster. That's because my Crab pot puller is feed by an independent G27 AGM and not connected to the boat's house (or any) circuit in any way. So my problem remains - what is the root cause of my Sirius radio blanking out while I use the bow thruster? All were factory installed and my guess is someone else out there may have seen this as well...

 

[seasick]

Greetings,

With my Sirius Radio playing, if I operate the bow thruster, the radio blanks out. Then, when the thruster is finished operating, the radio turns back on. So there is an obvious interuption of voltage starving the Sirius radio when the thruster (high amps) is operating.

Has anyone else observed this? And did you do anything about it?
Not a big deal but I was thinking of re-routing the 12V power leads to the SIRIUS from the back of the switch panel to another power source (away from the Thruster). Thoughts?

Could be a voltage drop issue. You need to measure the voltage at the radio before using the thruster and during use.You may see a large voltage drop.
Was this always the case with the radio and using the thruster?

 

[HMBJack]

Seasick,

Thanks - I agree it is likely a voltage drop - bow thrusters, as we all know, are big consumers of electricity. And I do not recall this happening before. First thing I'm going to do is see if any of my batteries need water as I haven't checked them in a while (4 G27 Deep Cycles new in March of this year).

 

[seasick]

Seasick,

Thanks - I agree it is likely a voltage drop - bow thrusters, as we all know, are big consumers of electricity. And I do not recall this happening before. First thing I'm going to do is see if any of my batteries need water as I haven't checked them in a while (4 G27 Deep Cycles new in March of this year).

If it didn't happen before and it is a low voltage issue than it is probably a bad connection or a worn breaker/fuse holder. Even if the batteries were low, assuming the motor(s) are running, battery voltage should be at charge voltage. In addition, if running on dual batteries, I doubt it is a battery issue per se. A bad connection at the battery ( main cables, battery switch, main ground bus etc.) is possible. It's going to take a bit of trouble isolation t identify the source of the voltage drop. Assuming the the bow thruster is on a different breaker/fuse than the radio, the more likely fail point would be the common main ground or the common 12V buss that feeds the radio breaker and the bow thruster circuit.
Keep us informed of your progress.

 

[HMBJack]

I checked the water level in my 4 G27 Deep Cycles (new in March 2011) and they were all perfect.
We were out crabbing on Sunday and I even ran my genset for an hour while we were pulling pots and the condition still exists - Sirius radio blanks out maybe 2 times out 3 uses of the thruster. Hmmmm. Not a big deal as it's more of an annoyance and certainly not a safety issue. So now I'm thinking like you say - it might be a less than tight Ground connection since there seems to be plenty of 12V juice going to the thruster.
I even thought of running a separate "+" power wire from the battery (fused of course) directly to the SIRIUS positive power connection (i.e. bypass the panel all together). Maybe just as an experiment to see if this solves the problem.

 

[seasick]

I checked the water level in my 4 G27 Deep Cycles (new in March 2011) and they were all perfect.
We were out crabbing on Sunday and I even ran my genset for an hour while we were pulling pots and the condition still exists - Sirius radio blanks out maybe 2 times out 3 uses of the thruster. Hmmmm. Not a big deal as it's more of an annoyance and certainly not a safety issue. So now I'm thinking like you say - it might be a less than tight Ground connection since there seems to be plenty of 12V juice going to the thruster.
I even thought of running a separate "+" power wire from the battery (fused of course) directly to the SIRIUS positive power connection (i.e. bypass the panel all together). Maybe just as an experiment to see if this solves the problem.

If the problem is a bad or loose connection on the +12, that approach may help identify the problem but if it is a bad ground it won't help. Personally, I would measure the voltage at the radio side and see how much it drops when the thrusters are used. I wouldn't even run the motors or genset. If there is a big drop, work backwards towards the battery ( fuse/breaker, main breaker, battery switch etc.)

I agree is isn't a saftey issue but if something is looose, it could become one.
Keep us informed.

 

[HMBJack]

Checked the Sirius radio "+" connections at the main switch panel - they were tight.
I then bypassed the Sirius "+" wire to the switch panel with a long wire directly to the "+" terminal of the battery - condition stayed the same (radio craps out when thruster is operated). I then transferred the "+" wire of the Sirius to another circuit breaker - the sump switch - no love - same condition. Conclusion: Power to the Sirius radio and function of the circuit breaker seems fine.
Now I'm thinking it could be in the wiring/connections to the thruster itself. Due to the high amps, I'm not certain I want to mess with that. Also thinking it might be a (minor) ground issue somewhere. ? Hmmmm...

 

[ElyseM]

check all the grounds. also don't rule out a bad antenna. do you have the puck mounted up on the bow? if something dropped on it, it may be susceptible to any emf that the thruster throws off. just a thought. ron