290enticer

Bought a powerquest 290 enticer last winter and still familarizing myself with all the bells and wistles, I have had a 24' baja before and familiar with the electrical system, but this twin engine is different......I have two cranking batteries and a house battery. It also has a ac/dc converter that can charge two batteries. It is hooked up to one of the cranking batteries and the house battery. The house battery appears to only be hooked up to the amp and the converter, my questions is this, shouldn't the house battery be hooked up somehow to the engines so when im going down the river with the battery switch set to "all" it will be charging both cranking batteries and the house battery??? I am not familiar with the electrical system with 3 batteries. I was thinking that i could switch to house battery when camping so i wasn't drawing from the cranking batteries but don't appear to be hooked up that way. Maybe so though, like i said still familiarizing myself with the new boat!! Any help or some info would be greatly appriciated!!

STV_Keith

You might want to look into what is called an ACR - Automatic Charging Relay. Lots of people make them. I personally like the Blue Sea Systems brand.

My boat has a starting battery for each engine, and a two-battery house bank. The house bank is on it's own ON-OFF switch. Each engine has it's own OFF-1-2-ALL switch. I can combine each engine on both starting batteries if needed.

With the ACR, each engine is wired through the ACR to the house bank. This isolates the house batteries from feeding back to the starting batteries; however, when the starting batteries are fully charged, the ACR starts putting the charge to the house batteries.

290enticer

is this also called a combiner?? So this acr is really a switch, it allows the charge current to come from the alt and charge the house battery but will not pull from the cranking batteries, like a diode? one way valve??

290enticer

from your description, this is exactly what i need, from what i see, there is no charging to my house battery while away from the dock or plug.. don't want it like this!! do you have to acr's ? one on each cranking battery going to the house?

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the ACR is also called a combiner. They are nothing more than a relay switch that connects 2 batter'ys together using smart technology. When it sees a charge on either side, the ACR combines both batteries so that both receive a charge. When the voltage drops, as if motor shut off or battery charger turned off, the ACR opens and isolates the batteries. Works basically just like a diode but better, no voltage loss that diodes use. Today's technology, isolators (diodes) are yesterdays.

You use just 1 ACR connected between 1 start and the 1 house battery. Leave the other start battery motor sep.


Buy the Blue Seas 120A ACR battery switch kit for around $120. That 1 dual circuit switch replaces 2- 1/ 2/ OFF/Both switches.

If you just buythe ACR and keep your battery switches, don't run them in both mode. Defeats the ACR purpose.

290enticer

us1, my house isn't hooked up to the battery switch at all, only the cranking batteries. So, I just need one acr coming off of one cranking battery to my one house battery. If i can see a wiring diagram i can better understand whats going on. Why would it defeet the purpose of the acr if i run my bat switch on both?? I usually run on both so both cranking batteries will charge...actually my bat switch says...1-2-all-off. Thanks for the info!!

290enticer

oh...I only have 1 battery switch..

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Ok, I see now, just 1 switch.
Yes, just run the ACR between 1 start and the 1 house battery. You can run in 'both' position. That will combine all 3 batteries when either/or both motors are running, then will isolate the house battery from the 2 start batteries when motors are off.

When overnighting, switch to either 1 or 2 position so as to not run down both start batteries since your cabin power is more than liky pulling off 1 of the motors. Whatever you have on the house battery, stereo amp??? will be only thing to pull off it.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

What is connected to the house battery? More importantly, what do you want connected to it?

For clarification..
Do you have an Invertor/charger unit that both charges and provides AC power, or is it a 2 bank battery charger only?

Your 1/2/All/Off switch.... so both motors are connected to the common stud, with the 2 starting batteries each going to 1 and 2 studs? No way to separate the motors then.

STV_Keith

Twin engines usually have one battery switch per engine. This gives you the ability to use either (or both) starting batteries for either motor. As US1 said, connect the ACR between the engine and house bank. In my scenario, I have one ACR per engine, so if either (or both) are running, they will charge the house bank once the starting battery has been charged. The Blue Sea ACR's have that specific circuitry built in - to only charge the house once the starting battery is up to full capacity.

See my picture above...there are two red 1-2-all-off switches, one for each engine. Then, the gray on-off switch is for the house bank to the house (stereo).