Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Okay, I've got a Guest 15 amp battery charger mounted on the firewall in the engine compartment. Bought a connector and hooked up the shorepower to turn on the battery charger. Battery charger was humming along in "d minor". The little red light was on. After two days, both batteries still stone dead.

According to the wiring diagram I've got the charger is supposed to be wired directly to the batteries. I looked tonight and I can't see any wire connected directly to the batteries that could be from the battery charger. So I'm inclined to think for some reason it's been disconnected though I can't think of why someone would do that. Anyway, now I've got both my "auto" battery chargers on it and they are charging away.

Anyone got any idea of how it could be hooked up differently, or is it possible the charger can be making that humming noise and not worked correctly. I've got battery chargers that I bought in the late 70's that still work great, although not in a marine enviroment.

Any ideas???

P.S. Cuda, thanks for letting me know you can "muckle" that hatch cover up enough to get in there, I've got an empty kitty litter container holding it up.

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

you better cut that slot in the hatch lift ! ....Sounds like the charger was eliminated at some time ....you know after we talked the other day ....dont all formulas have the 12volt accessory plug in the dash ? They make small 1/2 amp chargers for those ...would be slow ....but hell Russ .....whats the rush ?????????? :D

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Mike, I was answering your post as you were answering mine. LOL. Cuda told me to just muckle on it and I was able to raise the hatch about sixteen inches, enough to get two "auto" battery chargers hooked up, now charging fine.

Outlaw should be up and running by next weekend. As long as Eddie Marine sends me the right brackets.

I wired in a second accessory plug. I want the "onboard" charger to work though, would make things easier. Guess I get to go wire chasing. Oh boy, oh boy.

OH yeah, almost forgot , LEAVE THE BOX OFF.....lol Russ

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Are the batteries coming up on the automotive chargers?

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

I have a terminal strip on each side of the boat right over the batteries. My charger is connected there , not directly to the battery. You might want to check the connections.

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Cuda: yes the batteries are coming "UP" just fine. Thanks again for telling me to just yank that sob up to get inside.

Mo: I have terminal strips also but appears to be ONLY a GROUND terminal strip, no positive ones. I will double check however. Thanks for the input.

I've never had a charger that "sounded" like it was working, and wasn't. That's why I'm thinking that some rubberhead disconnected it for some reason. I have some "cut" wires in my engine compartment with no idea where or what. I know a couple of them were wired to the low "drive oil" alarm which of course doesn't work. So that is something I keep constant track of, but never had a problem except when the prop seals crapped out. That and when the original resevoirs started leaking and had to replace with the newer style. Keep you posted. Thanks. Russ

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You might want to go ahead and wire some leads from your batteries to under your back seat.

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That's not a bad idea, at least that way I could use my "auto" chargers from the cockpit until I can repair/replace/rewire the onboard charger. Good thinking there Cooderman.....R

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That's why I make the big bucks! :drink:

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

If I rember correctly on my 302 you had to have the battery switches in the on position in order for them to charge.

Verify that with Cuda because he's got the boat now and Rumplemintz has killed my long term memory :drink: :drink:

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Outlaw,
I have the exact same problem with 311 battery charger. Humms away, red indicator light glows away, but not a trickle of charge comes out of it. Or, it's coming out but not getting to the batteries.

I gave up on mine long ago just figuring it was toasted. It's a nice charger, a Guest. Replacement cost is like 500 bucks.

So, if anyone has any info for Russ and Dave,,,,,,,,,,,,,, give it up please!!!!

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Bill, does mine have a built in charger??

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Yes the indicator light is uder the fridge in the cabin. It flashes when charging and is constant when charged. Or the other way around I can't remember.(Damn Rumplemintz)

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

I actually tried charging it with the battery switch in both on and off positions, no change. I checked for a terminal that the battery charger might be wired to and could not find any indication thereof. Going back to the original wiring diagram that Formula supplied me, it's supposed to go DIRECTLY to the batteries and it definitely ain't there.

Third: Can you tell whether your charger is hooked up and also, is it mounted against the firewall like mine is? I would assume so. Like I said, I've never seen a battery charger that hummed and didn't work. I figure it has to be in the wiring. However, I am going to try to dig in with a voltage tester and see if it's definitely got juice coming out of the charger over the weekend. Right now I'm getting my house water back running. Lost the pump motor and a break in the supply line from the well. The fun just never stops.

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

On my 302 the battery switch has to be on to charge a battery (it charges whatever is connected IE: 1, 2, or both)

Bryan

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Doesn't have a charge meter?

I've been thru a lot of marine chargers over the years, and will only spend my money on full electronic three stage units now.

If your guest is humming, though, the transformer is getting juice. Might have a bad diode or something, but should be an easy fix.

As far as how it is wired? Follow the wires and see.

My 311 is wired direct to the batts, before the disconnect switch, just like the trim pumps.

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If the charger has a removable face, with out taking it out, look for loose or broken wires where they go into the charger. The first step I would think is to check the output right where it exits the charger. But that's just me talking. Good luck

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Damn, this is rather embarassing, just shows how much time I spend in the cabin.

Okay, at risk of further embarassment, where do I plug in the power from the house? :eek:

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Cuda, you probably have "shore power" and you'll need a $ 45.00 connector to connect the 30 amp male plug to a 110 volt recepticle. Assuming you already have a big yellow Marinco shore power cord. At least that's the way mine is. My shore power plug is located behind the port side cockpit sliding door storage compartment, all the way to the rear mounted on the cockpit side of the firewall. It's a 30 amp male plug that has a little hinged swing up door, then you plug a 30 amp female with a twist and threaded locking collar to keep it secure.

Took me fifteen minutes to find the damn thing when I went looking.

Also, in the storeage compartment above the fridge is where my 110 volt switches are located. If you have a fridge I'd guess you'd have to have shore power.

I completely emptied the boat out for the first time in four years over the last week or so and found stuff that I have no idea what it is or what it's for.



p.s. New Stainless Marine thru hull tips will be arriving shortly. Won't be giving me any more chit about being to quiet. Russ

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

MCTN: the wires enter one of those black coiled plastic wire wraps right at the charger so I have to go digging. I just looked at the batteries and only starter, bilge pump, trim pump wires are there. Nothing else. Russ

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Cuda,

In the port side storage compartment there is an adapter to plug in the shore power to a 15 amp service plug. (same compartment as shore power cord)

Not only do you not go in the cabin, you evidently dont go in compartments either. :D

I wish I had a first mate like Debbie, all you have to do is drive :D

By the way, the ignition keys are on the dash below the steering wheel just in case Debbie starts it for you too :D

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Outlaw,
Had a friend of mine who's good with DC stuff check it out. Appears to be wired to the batteries as shown on the schematic. No obvious wiring problems found. Only thing I noticed is that the charger is directly below the starboard K-Plane pump/reservoir. (Yeah, it is located just under the backseat bulkhead just like yours) The caps on the reserviors leak a slight amount and some fluid ends up on the charger. I'm thinking maybe some hydraulic fluid got into the charger through the top vents in the charger case. Maybe that shorted something in the charger. I dunno,,,,,,, just a guess by a knuckle-draggin' mechanic!!!!

I'm thinking I'll pull the charger and take it to an electrical repair shop of some sort and see what they can do.

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Thanks Bill! You should come up to Palatka next month when we're meeting with the Donzi group.

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Ask Russ who checked and refilled the oil when he was running a card stop on the SOS poker run this year. Debbie and her daughter were both under the hatch checking and filling the oil while I drifted and chatted with Russ. :drink:

They were better than a Nascar pit crew. They each had an engine they were responsible for. When was the last time you saw DE Jr check his own oil! :D

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Okay, throw in the Vette, and I'll trade Debbie to you for Jen. It's the least I can do for a buddy. :p :cool:

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Third, my charger is mounted on the firewall but not directly below the trim tab reservoir. I'm going to track the wiring this weekend and try to find out what's up. I also want to put a voltage meter on the charger to see what's coming out. Russ

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Call the charger mfr for a troubleshooting guide. If it fails, check with the mfr to check their repair/upgrade policy. ProMariner offered a great upgrade trade policy and when mine went tits-up I upgraded to their electronic unit for about half of what mail order price was.

Same with an old Ray Jeff unit I had on a houseboat.
And an old Unimetrics dual station VHF that went down (boat sunk) was completely factopry refurbed for a $25 fee.

Never hurts to call and ask.

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

Cool Mcollinstn!!!!!!!! I'll give Guest a call and see what happens. Squeaky wheel gets the grease (or a new charger :D ).

Re: Onboard Battery Charger Question...
 

I'm with you on that one. Anybody got a number????