Cabin Lights Dimming, Even While Connected to Shore Power

highlife34

highlife34

New Member
Aug 27, 2012
82
Michigan
Boat Info
2006 290 Sundancer
Engines
5.0L Mercs with B3 Drives
Hi, I have a 3 bank battery system and shore power on a 2006 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer. After having the cabin lights on for a while (an hour), the lights dimmed and the CO2 detector started going off (low power). I thought being connected to shore power allowed charging of batteries? Maybe the charger is not connected to charge all 3? I had a fridge and cabin lights on only.

Any thoughts?
 
Silly question, but it has to be asked... did you have the main shore power on AND the charger turned on?

It should be connected to all. Follow the wires from the charger and you'll know for sure. Then look at the charger and see how much charge it's putting out - while it's "on" charging, check the voltage at the batteries. It should be around 13.5V to 14.5V. And, how old are the batteries? Have them charged up and load tested.
 
Our 380DA has a switch on the AC Panel labeled something that is NOT intuitive. I think the switch/breaker for the charger is labeled "AC Converter". I thought it was something to do with the dual zone air-conditioning until our batteries were obviously not being charged. Then I figured it out. The Manual I received with the boat is pretty unhelpful. Basically, you could boil it all down to a flash card. (1) Is the device plugged in? (2) does it have power? (3) is the switch on? (4) Is there a blown fuse or a tripped breaker?(5) If device still not functioning see authorized Sea Ray Technician.
 
Yes, I did have the the Main switched on as well as the battery charger on the main panel. Green light was on. Lights indicate the charger is on, I guess I need to check voltage at battery to determine if its working correctly.

Thanks

QUOTE=Lazy Daze;784207]Silly question, but it has to be asked... did you have the main shore power on AND the charger turned on?

It should be connected to all. Follow the wires from the charger and you'll know for sure. Then look at the charger and see how much charge it's putting out - while it's "on" charging, check the voltage at the batteries. It should be around 13.5V to 14.5V. And, how old are the batteries? Have them charged up and load tested.[/QUOTE]
 
highlife34 said:
Yes, I did have the the Main switched on as well as the battery charger on the main panel. Green light was on. Lights indicate the charger is on,
Click to expand...

Just in case there's some confusion... The green light on the main panel only indicates shore power, not that the charger is on. Lights on the charger would, obviously, indicate that it's on. It was unclear what you meant by "lights indicate the charger is on".
 
Let me clarify, green light on panel is on indicating shore power is connected. Switch on panel for battery charger is on, and lights on charger are on. The Amp meter on charger shows zero, but maybe that's because there was no draw at the time I looked at it? I recall now that when I first took ownership this summer, the radio quit after about an hour. Didnt think it was due to battery as I was plugged in and charger was on.
 
Two more questions... First, do you have 120v lights that run on shore power? And if so, do they still work and last while plugged into shore power? My boat has some 12v lighting, with some of the fixtures also having a separate 120v bulb in them (mostly overhead lights).

Second, but somewhat unrelated... Do your lights stay on longer after you've been on a good run with the boat? Thought being that if the battery charger isnt working, your batteries should get a good charge from your alternator after a run with the boat. If they arent lasting long from either source, then maybe it is one/several bad batteries. If they are wet-cell batteries, have you opened the top fill ports on the batteries and checked to be sure that the fluid in the cells is covering the plates? If the fluid in them is low, you may need to top them off with distilled water. Low fluid in the batteries will surely limit the amount of charge and discharge they provide.
 
highlife34 said:
The Amp meter on charger shows zero, but maybe that's because there was no draw at the time I looked at it?
Click to expand...

Correct. Unless the charger is malfunctioning. But if the batteries are truly low, then the amp meter should be showing much higher than 0. You could also remove the negative cables from the batteries and test each one individually to see what the voltage is - just a quick-n-dirty test is all that's needed to help see what's going on. Are the terminals clean (corrosion free)?
 
Most of our boats have the CO monitors wired to the port battery bank and hearing those things beeping is a direct cause to check the voltage on the port bank. Like Dennis is suggesting, do check the batteries independently of all shore power hook ups. Bring your focus to the batteries and why they are not fully charged (either in need of replacing or converter is not working properly).

Jim is giving you a great hint is asking if the lights are strong after a good run on the motors as this is telling you the alternators are charging batteries but apparently the batteries are not keeping that charge.

House lights dimming and CO monitors beeping are telling me the port bank is my place to look first. I believe (again as Dennis says) you will find your issue to be the batteries on that side or their ability to receive and keep a charge...really no big deal.

Man you guys are smart and the wealth of knowledge here is better than any hundred dollar an hour info you could receive from a tech on the dock. You have the answers to your questions jumping out at you right here, right now.

Good luck (but you won't need it with these guys helping you)

Capt. R
 
you could also have 1 bad battery dragging the rest down.
no matter how good the charger a bad battery can work it to death.
 
Most often this problem is traced back to a bad battery, with the second most likely culprit being a bad charger. I would immediately do a load test on all the batteries. You can buy one online or at your local harbor freight for less than $20. Lastly, a friendly suggestion that you do NOT take the boat out until you resolve this issue. If you want to run the motors as suggested above, might want to do it in the slip.
 
Thanks all for the great advice! I think buying a load tester makes sense. After reading through these replies, I have a feeling the port battery is suspect. When I switched over to "All" the lights immediately came full on. I did have an occasion where the port engine would not turn over and I had to start the starboard side first and use the emergency start feature. Worked fine that way. Hope to resolve over the weekend.

Could someone post a quick run down of the test process?

1. Hook up load meter to battery (or posts)
2. Should read somewhere around 12-14 volts?
3. Should I start engine to see what the voltage drops to?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
mwph said:
I'm no expert but if you already have a good multimeter, this may get you started...
http://youtu.be/tsJUuLu1cw0
Click to expand...
multi meter can tell you voltage or voltage drop but will not tell anything about load carrying capacity
a battery with a bad cell will test 12.4v-12.9v static but drop to 8-10v at the first sign of a load :wink:
 
mwph said:
Won't the meter with the min/max function record that low reading as the load is applied?

...."I only ask to learn".
Thanks
Click to expand...

The load meter is designed to put a serious load on the battery, which is known and comparable between tests of different batteries. Reading the meter with some lights on won't really tell you anything useful IMO. Autozone lends them out I believe, but they are not that expensive and well worth having for any boater because of the critical nature of batteries to boats.

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT...411143955&sr=1-1&keywords=battery+load+tester
 
I understand that lights, no matter how many, wont provide much information in this case, but starting or attempting to start the engine surely should. Am I way off base here? How much more of a "serious load" can we put on the battery? Does a true load tester provide much more resistance than that?

Thanks again.
 
mwph said:
I understand that lights, no matter how many, wont provide much information in this case, but starting or attempting to start the engine surely should. Am I way off base here? How much more of a "serious load" can we put on the battery? Does a true load tester provide much more resistance than that?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

The load meter puts 1000 amps on the battery. A healthy standard starter motor will pull perhaps 25% of that during a normal start cycle and the load is momentary as opposed to the meter where the load will be placed on the battery for typically 5-10 seconds according to manufacturer's directions. Unfortunately, there is no other way to replicate the load test in the same way. Ask around your marina -- I bet someone will have one...
 
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