Bad Battery or Panel Voltmeter ???

[ANYTIME]

We de-winterized Moondancer yesterday and the only potential problem we noticed had to do with the Electrical Panel DC Voltmeter.

After we removed the shrinkwrap, I turned on both battery switches and went into the cabin to turn on the breakers for lights, etc.

I noticed the DC Voltmeter only read 6 volts instead of 12+. The technician decided to see if there was enough juice to start the generator. It started okay. Then he was able to start both engines, both without any problem.

The voltmeter began to creep up and read 10 volts. The technician shut down the generator and both engines and used his battery tester (test batteries both with and without loads) and all three batteries read 13+ volts without a load, and 12+ with a load. The panel voltmeter still was reading about 10 volts.

This weekend I will either take a short trip or just run the engines at the dock to see if the Panel Voltmeter stabilizes with normal readings.

Other than this, the re-commissioning was uneventful and we are looking forward to getting out on the water. The weather is still a bit nippy, but with the canvas up, it was very comfy in the cockpit.

 

[garryowen]

if you truly only had 6 volts you wouldnt have been able to crank any of your 12 volt starters.

 

[Nehalennia]

Try starting the engine and throttle up to about 1000-1100 RPMs.
My old boat when I started it, sometimes would show less than 12V right after I started it. Once I bumped the throttle up, the Alternator woke and the voltmeter would show 14V.
Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

[wkearney99]

Use a volt meter and read the voltage at the panel meter. If the reading at the batteries themselves is 13v but the panel is 10v then I'd guess the panel and/or the wiring TO IT is bad.

When you check the batteries you may want to disconnect them and read them individually. It's possible in some setups to have batteries wired in parallel and have one of them be bad. Read them individually to be sure. If you want to check the wire to the panel then measure resistance across the wire, it shouldn't read any (assuming you're reading just the wire with nothing connected on each end). If there's any then there's possible corrosion or other problems with the wiring itself.

 

[ANYTIME]

After more time on the boat, here is what we have found so far (note there are three batteries, port, starboard and house, and the problems are with the house battery)...

1. Running the engines charge the battery. On Saturday, we ran the engines for a half an hour. The panel meter ended up reading 12 volts. (up from 9 volts). When I got back to the boat yesterday (Monday), the panel meter was back down to 10 volts. There was not even enough power to be able to turn on the TV that came with the boat.

2. The AC inverter (charger) is difficult to see without getting my 6'1" 240 lbs body into the engine room, so I couldn't read the small print next to the flashing green light. None of the documentation that Sea Ray provided with my NEW boat contained any meaningful information on it, either. Anyway, It was powered on and the AMP Meter was reading "0", telling me that it was not charging the house battery. (All this while the engines were off and the panel meter was still around 10 volts.)

3. Running the generator has no effect on the panel meter voltage reading, so I am assuming that it does not charge the house battery.

4. As the boat is still under the 1 year factory warranty (until 4 April - 3 days from today), I called the service manager and he put me in touch with the tech that has worked with me since I bought the boat. He will come out sometime this week to determine the problem.

I am now thinking that the AC Inverter (Charger) that normally keeps the house battery charged has failed over the winter while the boat was shrink-wrapped in the water.

 

[Miss B havin]

Sounds like you're going in the right direction. The panel appears to be correct at this point. My question is that you had just run the boat and charged the batteries, what's causing the draw? Warantee and service tech's are our friends.

 

[Asureyez]

Hi Sam:

Make sure the Tech checks the connections to the volt meter as well as to the battery charging buss (I think thats where the leads will go, see electrical diagram) That you are getting some voltage at the meter but not what the true state is, causes me to suspect the wire terminal connections. The terminal ends probably have become damp and corroded over the winter. The meters are rising as the connections warm up seems to me to be a tell tale of the issue.

Also, i can't imagine your genny not providing AC to the battery charging system, I'd get that question resolved ASAP.

Good Luck

 

[ANYTIME]

Sounds like you're going in the right direction. The panel appears to be correct at this point. My question is that you had just run the boat and charged the batteries, what's causing the draw? Warantee and service tech's are our friends.

I am not sure why the battery is going down. I didn't fully charge it as while running the engines in the slip, the carbon monoxide monitor activated in the cabin. It was a pretty still day, so I shut down the engines before the battery had time to get fully charged.

We have been getting a bit of rain, so perhaps some of the runoff that gets through the canvas made its way into the bilge and the bilge pump may have run for a while ??? I shut off all the DC devices on the Main Panel and turn off the two MAIN DC Switches whenever we leave the boat.

 

[ANYTIME]

Hi Sam:

Make sure the Tech checks the connections to the volt meter as well as to the battery charging buss (I think thats where the leads will go, see electrical diagram) That you are getting some voltage at the meter but not what the true state is, causes me to suspect the wire terminal connections. The terminal ends probably have become damp and corroded over the winter. The meters are rising as the connections warm up seems to me to be a tell tale of the issue.

Also, i can't imagine your genny not providing AC to the battery charging system, I'd get that question resolved ASAP.

Good Luck

Chad,

Wouldn't this be a symptom of a failed battery charging system? Perhaps I wasn't very clear. I have shore power on 24/7 at the slip.

 

[Asureyez]

If you have determined that the terminal connectors from the charger to the batteries are clean and tight, then a bad charger is more than possible. Check for a reset button on the charger as well.

Chad