Intstalling a battery switch in a boat
I've gotten sick of having to switch batteries to keep both charged.
I bought a Perco switch a few years ago and am finally putting it in.
How does the wiring sound?
Pos Bat 1 to Switch; Pos Bat 2 to Switch.
Common Pos Switch to engine starter (currently the pos battery cable for a 1 bat set up).
Neg. Bat. 1 to Neg. Bat. 2. Keep current Neg. Bat. cable mounted from one of the terminals to ground. It shouldn't matter which.
There is no wiring on the switch for going to the alternator, so I won't be making any transitions while the engine is running.
Otherwise, looks pretty easy. What do you think?
I bought a Perco switch a few years ago and am finally putting it in.
How does the wiring sound?
Pos Bat 1 to Switch; Pos Bat 2 to Switch.
Common Pos Switch to engine starter (currently the pos battery cable for a 1 bat set up).
Neg. Bat. 1 to Neg. Bat. 2. Keep current Neg. Bat. cable mounted from one of the terminals to ground. It shouldn't matter which.
There is no wiring on the switch for going to the alternator, so I won't be making any transitions while the engine is running.
Otherwise, looks pretty easy. What do you think?
0
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Sounds very nice to me, although you could use a few more adjectives to punch it up a little, and bring it to a more organized ending.
No charge.
Doug0 -
Btt, now that folks are home from work... [:D] 0 -
Do NOT put the switch on the positive side. Put the switch on the negative cabling. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcloco
Do NOT put the switch on the positive side. Put the switch on the negative cabling.
That confuses and worries me. The directions I've read online all say to put on the positive side, which only makes sense given the negative ground. As it sits, with the switch on the positive sides, both batteries would continue to share a common ground, routed eventually to the grounding plate on the bottom of the boat, but the switch would serve to select which positive cable was connected to the engine (or both).
I'm not sure how you could wire it to have the switch on the negative side, as that would necessitate at least one and possibly both batteries being ungrounded and two ignition lines running to the starter.
Could you please clarify?0 -
Anyone puts the switch on the positive side.
Both negatives should get wired DIRECTLY to the engine-block, preferably one negative wire to one bolt on the block.
At least - that's how we do it here.
Also, put on one of those gadgets that puts the charge on the battery that needs it.
You can get one of those for two, three or four batteries.
So the charger/generator will charge the battery that needs it the most.
Negative on each battery is wired directly to the engineblock/ground.
The switch is placed on the POSITIVE side.
DO NOT switch while there is a bog load on.
Direct current is tough to switch off without an arc. So the less load you have when you switch - the better.
Alternating current is easier.0
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