Battery switch question, and wire near drain plug?
06-26-2010, 08:13 PM
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Battery switch question, and wire near drain plug?
I have an old 89 formula 223 and have a question about the battery switch. I picked up the boat last year and went out three times and both batteries worked fine. I kept them charged off and on with my battery tender this winter to make sure they didn't go dead, they are deep cycle marine batteries. One of the batteries died on me after the first couple times out this year. I'm wondering if I'm using the battery switch wrong? Battery "1" works fine, battery "2" is dead. I never use the "all" setting. If I'm running the boat on 1 will it still charge battery 2, or should I always be using the "all" setting to charge both batteries when driving? I have to take the battery in to have it tested to see if I have a drain on one side, or if the battery is bad. When I used it last year and the begining of this year I just alternated 1 or 2 to make sure I used them the same amount. How should I be using the switch?
My next question involves what looks like a ground wire down near the drain plug. It's a small wire with a metal loop to go on some type of bolt. As your looking down the motor compartment from inside the boat it's slightly to the right of center and runs down near the bottom by the plug. I noticed the wire when I removed my drain plug and re caulked it. When I had the plug off the boat I also noticed one of the three screws that holds the plug housing was a machine screw. When I put it back together It didn't appear the machine screw was even long enough to enter the engine compartment and I couldn't find any nuts or washers in the engine compartment that looked like they came off it? I'm thinking someone just swapped in another screw somewhere along the way? It got me thinking if maybe the un-attached wire should be attached to the plug as some type of ground? I'm not sure where else it should go. Everything has been working fine in my boat except one of my trim tab sensors is goofy and constantly cycles like it's being used. The actual tab works fine and I just use it in conjunction with the other side to determine where it's at. Could this wire have something to do with the tab sensor? Also there's some type of CO2 (I think) monitoring alarm under the steering wheel but when I plug it in it just sounds the alarm constantly, so I've never used it, those are the only things that don't work on the boat. I'm just wondering if anyone had any ideas what it might go to? I'll try and get some pics up, maybe that will help too.
My next question involves what looks like a ground wire down near the drain plug. It's a small wire with a metal loop to go on some type of bolt. As your looking down the motor compartment from inside the boat it's slightly to the right of center and runs down near the bottom by the plug. I noticed the wire when I removed my drain plug and re caulked it. When I had the plug off the boat I also noticed one of the three screws that holds the plug housing was a machine screw. When I put it back together It didn't appear the machine screw was even long enough to enter the engine compartment and I couldn't find any nuts or washers in the engine compartment that looked like they came off it? I'm thinking someone just swapped in another screw somewhere along the way? It got me thinking if maybe the un-attached wire should be attached to the plug as some type of ground? I'm not sure where else it should go. Everything has been working fine in my boat except one of my trim tab sensors is goofy and constantly cycles like it's being used. The actual tab works fine and I just use it in conjunction with the other side to determine where it's at. Could this wire have something to do with the tab sensor? Also there's some type of CO2 (I think) monitoring alarm under the steering wheel but when I plug it in it just sounds the alarm constantly, so I've never used it, those are the only things that don't work on the boat. I'm just wondering if anyone had any ideas what it might go to? I'll try and get some pics up, maybe that will help too.
06-27-2010, 04:36 AM
#2
you need to have the battery switch on "All" to charge both batteries .... 1 charges only 1 .... 2 charges only 2 ...but if you leave the switch in "all" when not running it will pull off both batteries ....there is a device called a Combiner that will charge both batteries while underway and then seperate them automatically when the charging system is not charging...
The screw on the drain plug is indeed a Bonding screw where the green bonding wire goes ..... There should be a gas fume alarm in the bilge (engine room) and the panel for it is usually on the helm ...the sensor is prob bad .....m
The screw on the drain plug is indeed a Bonding screw where the green bonding wire goes ..... There should be a gas fume alarm in the bilge (engine room) and the panel for it is usually on the helm ...the sensor is prob bad .....m
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