One Side Electrical Problem

PlayDate said:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/srweb-pvt-prod-us-east-1-294962523550/static/owners-manuals/2006_320 Sundancer_320 Sundancer.pdf

Your Owner's Manual is excellent. I wish more older Sea Ray Manuals had this level of detail.

I think Craig had it right in Post #19. You have to follow the voltage and see where it stops. The charger is creating a false 12 volts on the Starboard bank. I would leave it switched off until you find out where the Starboard battery bank disappears. Also, the manual shows two separate battery switches (one for port, one for starboard) so I am still confused from your earlier post.
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As per my previous post to you, I do not have switches for port and starboard - just one switch for both. Very strange it's not wired as per your diagram.
 
Bt Doctur said:
This is what I think your dealing with. By activating the emer switch your getting battery power from the other motor
your missing the battery connection
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You would think it would work this way, but as my previous post, it does not. Two batteries in parallel feed one battery switch. I would assume that one switch is used to provide power to both the left and right battery buss, which in turn are used to start the right and left engine.
 
Thanks everyone for your help and thoughts on how to fix this problem.
To sum things up, since one switch is used to supply power to start both engines, and since the left engine starts fine, I know the power coming out of the battery switch is fine. Therefore the problem must be "downstream" of the switch. As per a previous post, I think the thing that needs to be done now is to trace the voltage through the system to find where is the problem. Unfortunately that is beyond my capabilities. I'll have to hire someone to do that. When that happens, I'll keep you all informed of the solution. I hope in the future you will not need that info, but it would be nice to have.
This is all I can think of for now. Thanks again for all your help.
 
For your consideration.....I believe you are confusing the battery switches.

Per the wiring diagram for your boat you have Port and Starboard battery switches. The "House/Helm switch" is the Starboard battery switch regardless how it may be labelled. The heavy red wire that comes from that switch goes to the Starboard engine starter.

The Port engine switch simply provides power from the Port battery bank to the Port engine starter.

It is highly unlikely your switches have been rewired to put both engines on the same switch. If they were, both engines would be starting off the Port battery bank.

Just my thoughts.....
 
To sum things up, since one switch is used to supply power to start both engines, and since the left engine starts fine

Nope, somebody jacked up the wiring

As per a previous post, I think the thing that needs to be done now is to trace the voltage through the system to find where is the problem.

Forget the voltage readings, follow the battery cable from the starter and you just might find it disconncted. Hate to pay $400 to have the battery cable connected to the battery

Now if it wasnn`t for the storm coming I could trade for a true walking foot machine
 
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Most failures are the result of operator error , sometimes just a bit of knowledge is dangerous
 
PlayDate said:
For your consideration.....I believe you are confusing the battery switches.

Per the wiring diagram for your boat you have Port and Starboard battery switches. The "House/Helm switch" is the Starboard battery switch regardless how it may be labelled. The heavy red wire that comes from that switch goes to the Starboard engine starter.

The Port engine switch simply provides power from the Port battery bank to the Port engine starter.

It is highly unlikely your switches have been rewired to put both engines on the same switch. If they were, both engines would be starting off the Port battery bank.

Just my thoughts.....
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That is exactly how I thought the system worked until I ordered a new switch and it only had 2 posts. Two batteries are wired in parallel, with one battery cable going to this switch. One battery cable comes out of the switch, and it's used to start both engines as well as other items on the helm station. Not what we would expect at all.
 
Bt Doctur said:
To sum things up, since one switch is used to supply power to start both engines, and since the left engine starts fine

Nope, somebody jacked up the wiring

As per a previous post, I think the thing that needs to be done now is to trace the voltage through the system to find where is the problem.

Forget the voltage readings, follow the battery cable from the starter and you just might find it disconncted. Hate to pay $400 to have the battery cable connected to the battery

Now if it wasnn`t for the storm coming I could trade for a true walking foot machine
Click to expand...
I agree the voltage needs to be traced, but that is beyond my capability.
 
Bt Doctur said:
Most failures are the result of operator error , sometimes just a bit of knowledge is dangerous
Click to expand...
I agree, but as I have said in a previous post, both engines started fine when I bought the boat 3 months ago. This problem has been developing for weeks - not like a light switch the either works or not. And, since the starting batteries are connected to one battery cable, and that cable starts the left engine just fine, it can't be a battery problem. I know it sounds crazy, but this is where I'm at right now. Just scratching my head.
 
I just talked with a mobile marine guy, and he's coming by tomorrow morning, weather/hurricane permitting, to take a look at the boat. I'll let you know the outcome. At least he sounded confident over the phone that he can fine the problem.
 
Yea keep us posted. Honestly all the fancy meters aside, in this situation all I would do is follow the power cable out of the switch and just using a test light see where the power stops showing up. The port system is working correctly so u can follow the wiring on that side first. Draw your own diagram of it, then trace it on the starboard and see if things are different. I think a test light is all u need to find this one.

Connect it to the neg side of battery. Touch it to positive side to confirm it lights up and is working. Then trace the positive side and touch the light to every connection. In an earlier diagram it had positive going to a post. Then to the battery switch. Then to another post. Then out. Trace this power through with the test light. Make sure the posts both are lighting up with the switch on
 
I’m referring to terminal posts “F” and “D” in the upside down wiring diagram on page 1 of this thread
 
I had the boat inspected today by a marine mechanic, and he spotted the battery cables - almost all of them - are loose in their attachment to the hardware that attaches to the battery posts. He cut away some of the covering right at the junction of the wire and the hardware, and sure enough we could see the battery cable wires move around as the entire cable was moved. So, the next step in the process, after this hurricane passes next week, is to get the battery cables in proper order, and then see if that was the problem.
 
Start at your batteries and remove and clean every connection point all the way and including the starter connections. Your issue is amperage, not voltage. With loose and or dirty connections you will not get the amperage needed to start motors and do other large load items such as lift hatch. When you connect both banks of batteries with the magic red button, you force more amperage through the system which is just enough to get things going. When you changed your batteries, you probably inadvertently disturbed a compromised connection that was good, but now has lost what "good" contact it had. This makes the most sense and I have seen this quite often. This is a no cost process and don't stop at what you can see, do all the connections from batteries to starter (on both engines). The mechanic I have had for 30+ years has a philosophy, "make sure all the simple stuff is in check before you start throwing money at it". This has always worked for me.
 
Korkie said:
Start at your batteries and remove and clean every connection point all the way and including the starter connections. Your issue is amperage, not voltage. With loose and or dirty connections you will not get the amperage needed to start motors and do other large load items such as lift hatch. When you connect both banks of batteries with the magic red button, you force more amperage through the system which is just enough to get things going. When you changed your batteries, you probably inadvertently disturbed a compromised connection that was good, but now has lost what "good" contact it had. This makes the most sense and I have seen this quite often. This is a no cost process and don't stop at what you can see, do all the connections from batteries to starter (on both engines). The mechanic I have had for 30+ years has a philosophy, "make sure all the simple stuff is in check before you start throwing money at it". This has always worked for me.
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I agree. This mechanic found all the battery wires were not securely connected to the battery terminals. However, he needs a special tool, he said it's like a bolt cutter, to apply enough pressure to reattach all the battery wires. Let's see how this works after the hurricane passes.
 
406320p-fusion-solder-terminal.jpg


We use to use these / just solder them on....
 
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