G
gwhiznel
Guest
I've seen several discussions on battery configurations, but I still don't get it. Any assistance would be appreciated greatly!
I have recently purchased a 2004 Sundancer 320DA. It has two Mercruiser 350 Horizons, with v drives. It has a 5Kw Kohler Generator, and 4 batteries. It appears that there are two banks of batteries, located on the starboard side of the engine compartment. A Port & Starboard bank, with two batteries in each bank, apparently they are hooked up in parallel. Not quite sure what each bank services, or what type of battery is in each bank. I gather that certain batteries should be "starting" batteries (engines/generator), and others should be "deep cycle" batteries (house load). Here's the dilemma, both engines start up just fine, but the generator won't. When I've got the 12v service on, the batteries seem to discharge at a nominal rate. The generator starts right up when the battery charger/inverter is on shore power. Still haven't tried to start it with engines running.
Do I need to replace some/all batteries? If so what kind, and where to position these replacements. I've seen "dual purpose" batteries out there, but are they as good as specific batteries in the right location? I'm not an electronics wizard, so please keep any responses simplified. Thanks for trying to make sense of my ramblings, if you need further info, just let me know.
I have recently purchased a 2004 Sundancer 320DA. It has two Mercruiser 350 Horizons, with v drives. It has a 5Kw Kohler Generator, and 4 batteries. It appears that there are two banks of batteries, located on the starboard side of the engine compartment. A Port & Starboard bank, with two batteries in each bank, apparently they are hooked up in parallel. Not quite sure what each bank services, or what type of battery is in each bank. I gather that certain batteries should be "starting" batteries (engines/generator), and others should be "deep cycle" batteries (house load). Here's the dilemma, both engines start up just fine, but the generator won't. When I've got the 12v service on, the batteries seem to discharge at a nominal rate. The generator starts right up when the battery charger/inverter is on shore power. Still haven't tried to start it with engines running.
Do I need to replace some/all batteries? If so what kind, and where to position these replacements. I've seen "dual purpose" batteries out there, but are they as good as specific batteries in the right location? I'm not an electronics wizard, so please keep any responses simplified. Thanks for trying to make sense of my ramblings, if you need further info, just let me know.