Battery problem? (Encore presentation)

[IanBat]

Thanks for the tip. Making rounds locally to figure out which store teams are the best--had gone to an RV store first before purchasing a fridge and unfortunately it wasn't very interested in discussing the boating side of the RV/marine coin. Boogers! I know that won't be the case everywhere, though.

Still networking at the marina, as well--to find folks like you all who seem to have reliable information and offer reasonable suggestions rather than bubble gum and chicken wire!

Having another think on this last night......The fridge you installed, is it in the saloon or the rear cockpit?

My 330 is a 93/94. The Saloon fridge only has the Breaker on the 240V (120V) panel, the 12 or 12/240V switch is in the fridge, and the power point for it is where I said behind it, which is what theCircuit Breaker on the control panel is controlling.

The rear cockpit fridge, does not have a circuit breaker on the 240V, only a 12V switch at the helm. I am presuming the original fridge installed by searay was 12V only... When I bought mine, the fridge had been replaced with an Engel, 240 / 12V. A power point had been installed in the side comings for the 240V to plug, and thie was added into the 'Outlets' circuit, so protected by the 'Outlet Breaker on the 120V Panel.

Only adding this as if it is the rear fridge you have replaced......I dont know if there is a 120V point there standard.........someone else here may be able to clarify that

 

[trflgrl]

Looks like the group thought is correct. Fridge is the salon/galley one. Under sink, adjacent to cavity in which fridge is installed, there are:

Black/red leads that we wired to black/red leads on fridge.

Four wrapped multi-wire leads. One to stove, one to microwave, one to standard 120 outlet external to cabinet, like for coffee maker, etc. Last goes into the box I mentioned where its black/green/white leads are connected via butt splices to what looks like a power cord that's been cut off. Going to get a cord and call that one solved.

Now on to battery diagnosis. Confirmed both selectors are off/1/2/both. First Mate en route with voltmeter. Will do what we can to see if one of the three batteries is limping/dead, and hopefully whether all 3 banks of charger are performing. Not posting pics right now--laptop acting funny and barely taking keystrokes.

 

[trflgrl]

Good news: all batteries reading in appropriate range. We didn't go upstream from there, just took a happy answer of eliminating one variable and moved on for the moment!

Stupid news: head flush worked for First Mate when he arrived. I doubt you can guess how ticked that made me, since I'd been there a bit already and it wasn't working for me. He knew darn well it had been having problems--we were both on the boat and without that feature for nearly a whole day before--but because it came back online as strongly as ever, he/we started doubting ourselves. He did it several times and it ran like a top. And then it didn't--it became intermittent for him, but for me it didn't work at all.

And he jokingly said, "Maybe I push it harder than you," so I put some major muscle into it and it worked. So we've decided that the switch is failing. If I give it my "normal" amount of pressure, it doesn't work; if I jam it, it works. (And guess what? He remembered that I told him a couple of days ago that I suspected it was switch/wiring/motor for the head itself, because it just didn't make sense to me that the fridge had somehow drained a battery so far that it couldn't power the head, yet it could continue to power the fridge and start an engine with no hesitation. He kinda said "You told me so" voluntarily!)

So two problems identified and we're happy campers. We're sure there are other things going on but we've both had our share of crapola in other parts of our lives so are taking a break from anything that's not a dire need--like being able to flush! We'll come back around to identifying which batteries start the engines and which is the house/what runs from what/possibly resetting connections if needed, as well as modifying our approach to battery selection switch positions for at dock and on water. I'm glad you noted that, IanBat, because I don't remember any of our friends doing so. They may be so deeply in the habit that it didn't occur to them to advise us on that! And we'll look into battery type--multiple friends are using deep cycle for engines and house, but I'm willing to entertain a different arrangement if it will save me time, money, or headaches!

So a big THANK YOU for the brainstorming and help in knocking out a couple of annoyances. I'll come back to this thread when we take next steps on the rest of our wiring.

 

[trflgrl]

...

 

[trflgrl]

Did yoga like I've never done before to get at the wiring to replace the head switch on 7/2....but no dice. And then there was a warm smell, and I followed my nose, and either the head motor was the problem in the first place or I shorted it out/burned it up/something while swapping the switch. Harrumph! First Mate and I left it alone for the holiday weekend but are going back into the trenches tomorrow night; hopefully we'll have a solid diagnosis.

 

[trflgrl]

Replacement switch is in working order, discovered and replaced a blown fuse, but concluded motor for head is indeed dead. But the good news is, we found and fixed a problem where the shower sump switch had been disconnected--somebody had cut the wires in the aft bilge compartment. Wire by wire, we're putting this thing back together!