Electrical questions 272 Sailfish

steveg

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Kind of stumped. Several questions.
1) The Accessory/Starboard Battery is dead, charges up when plugged into the dockside power by the charger. When running for several hours, the depth finder, which shows volts, shows it dropping off all day. Starts at 12v and DF finally blinks out at 8v. This battery does not appear to being charged when the motors are running. The other 2 batteries are running a voltage or around 14V when motors are running. Accessory does not appear to be connected (+)to the other two batteries which are connected in parallel and each battery connected to one of the motors. So, is this battery supposed to last without being charged all day or am I missing something? In the schematic in the manual, the grounds are all wired together (all 3 batteries) but the accessory/starboard battery, RED + is not wired to the other two.

2) Where do the windlass and macerating pump get their power from. Seems to be connected to the accessory battery?

Thanks for any help. It has been a challenging year trying to get this boat right, sat on a lift for 13 years with minimal use.

Steve
 

SilverLining

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On my 2000 272, the starboard and accessory batteries are charged typically by the starboard engine(when switched to do so). The accessory battery powers the macerator as well as the windlass, refrig, etc.

Several years ago I thought I had a "dead" accessory battery after using it for downrigger operation for two days. I had installed a deep cycle battery for that application. Afterward, ran the boat for two offshore days(about 8hrs per day) without the downriggers and the battery did not get completely charged by the motor. Put the boat on the charger overnight and all was well.

Have you checked the condition of the accessory battery?
 

jjbskisail

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In addition to the condition of the subject battery it is possible that there is corrosion on the connections.
Corrosion can and will prevent the charging system from fully reaching the battery (resistance). Suggest you remove all connections and clean them using an abrasive (sandpaper). Ensuring that you have the wiring correctly reconnect all connections tightly and use dielectric at each connection to reduce the corrosion in the future. Over my 50 years of boating I have seen strange electrical happenings from "bad" connections. Good luck.
 

steveg

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Thanks for the replies. I believe the battery is trashed, after on the onboard charger for a week, it barely gets to 12V. Should be 12.7V. Not too sure how old the batteries are, we have had the boat for around 18 months. I now have to find the point of attachment for the macerator and the windlass power (+). Again, thanks. Steve
 

SilverLining

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Macerator pump.....powered from the power supply terminal block behind the switch panel.....I think it a 12 gauge orange/gray wire from the fuse block(accessory panel) to the macerator pump(if older Groco system). That system also has a 20(?) amp glass fuse in the on/off & indicator panel. That is the one which usually blows when the macerator pump gets hung up.

Am not exactly sure about the wiring to the windlass and solenoids......will be at my boat this week and will take a look.
 

ocnslr

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It sounds as though the battery you are asking about is not set up to be charged by the engines when away from the dock.

If you have Yamaha engines, then you should determine if the auxiliary charging leads from the engines were ever set up and connected to that battery.

Each engine will charge the battery that it is connected to through the selector switch(es), i.e. the one that it started on. But the Yamaha's can also charge a second battery, separately, with a built-in isolator. BOTH of your engines should have the Auxiliary Charging Lead connected to this "third battery" so either or both can charge it when running.

I have two starting batteries and a dual-battery house bank, and the auxiliary charging leads from the twin F150s are both connected to the house bank.

Had this system running this way for eight years, and just changed all four batteries last year.

Brian
 

River Rat

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Our boat has a measly group 24 multi purpose for accessories. Seem like even a relatively small boat like this, you'd want at least a deep cycle group 24....if not a 27 or 31. Guessing it would take all day to fully charge a larger deep cycle by motor, but certainly could bring it up to charge with a 15 -20 amp multi stage charge over night. Has anyone been able to fit 27 or 31 into the 27 sailfish. They all seem wedged in there pretty tight