Asureyez
New Member
- Apr 22, 2007
- 1,535
- Boat Info
- Sea Ray 460 Sundancer Hardtop 2001 - SOLD
- Engines
- Cummins 450 Diesels
God must have been speaking to me directly this past Tuesday Morning.
I was at my desk at 9:00 and had been working for an hour to more, and I began to get the idea I needed to go to the boat. I did have a lot to do there, but I'd planned to go later in the day once the sun was below 3:00PM. it is just too hot in the ER when the sun is high.
I couldn't shrug off the idea and so I went ... got there about 10 and climbed into the ER to plan my work, i was still in street clothes. As I thought through my tasks I smelled something and my mind was trying to place the odor when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, deep in the back of the ER and as i turned my head it flashed again and I linked the ID of the odor to buring wire. I ducked and went aft to see the battery charger for the BOW thruster sparking chunks into the ER and smoke beginning to billow. I thought OH Sh*t! And crawled out of the ER to the cabin and killed the AC to the charger and raced back to the ER with a 8 LB. fire extinguisher in hand. Killing the power stopped what turned out to be a total burn out of the 24V battery charger to the bow thruster bank.
I waited with FE in hand and watched as things cooled down.
I rapidly pulled the beast off the bulkhead wall and got it off the boat ... Which casused me to find out just how small I can make my 300LB frame.
PICs follow.
WHY did this happen? It seems that where SR installs these units, behind the overboard thru hulls for the common grey water discharge, bilge pumps and main engine exhaust by pass, there is just going to be some small amount of salt moisture being blown by the clamps. Over the years corrosion set in and increased the DC side resistance on the DC charger lugs until they simply burnt out. With the DC side resistance being so high the charger worked harder and harder to send current. The AC side burnt out its connectors ... total global meltdown!
The DC lugs were covered by an end cap and that end was shoved back as far in to the aft port corner of the ER as possible, well behind these through hulls. You can look for ever and not see trouble brewing.
Needless to say had I been a few minutes later ... Asureyez could easily caught fire and burnt to the waterline at the dock. I was there just in time to prevent disaster ... call it coincidence, providence or a call from God ... I picked up the call!
The ProTech/Pro Mariner charger folks were fantastic. They found me a stocking dealer in town, and I was able to get a $900 charger for 360 bucks. The factory offered me a 50% credit (unit was 5 years old) to a new one from them direct (which was more than I paid at the local distributor) But they were very helpful and the CS dept is super on helping with install and other issues on settings. A Big Thumbs up to Pro Marinier Chargers.
I was at my desk at 9:00 and had been working for an hour to more, and I began to get the idea I needed to go to the boat. I did have a lot to do there, but I'd planned to go later in the day once the sun was below 3:00PM. it is just too hot in the ER when the sun is high.
I couldn't shrug off the idea and so I went ... got there about 10 and climbed into the ER to plan my work, i was still in street clothes. As I thought through my tasks I smelled something and my mind was trying to place the odor when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, deep in the back of the ER and as i turned my head it flashed again and I linked the ID of the odor to buring wire. I ducked and went aft to see the battery charger for the BOW thruster sparking chunks into the ER and smoke beginning to billow. I thought OH Sh*t! And crawled out of the ER to the cabin and killed the AC to the charger and raced back to the ER with a 8 LB. fire extinguisher in hand. Killing the power stopped what turned out to be a total burn out of the 24V battery charger to the bow thruster bank.
I waited with FE in hand and watched as things cooled down.
I rapidly pulled the beast off the bulkhead wall and got it off the boat ... Which casused me to find out just how small I can make my 300LB frame.
PICs follow.
WHY did this happen? It seems that where SR installs these units, behind the overboard thru hulls for the common grey water discharge, bilge pumps and main engine exhaust by pass, there is just going to be some small amount of salt moisture being blown by the clamps. Over the years corrosion set in and increased the DC side resistance on the DC charger lugs until they simply burnt out. With the DC side resistance being so high the charger worked harder and harder to send current. The AC side burnt out its connectors ... total global meltdown!
The DC lugs were covered by an end cap and that end was shoved back as far in to the aft port corner of the ER as possible, well behind these through hulls. You can look for ever and not see trouble brewing.
Needless to say had I been a few minutes later ... Asureyez could easily caught fire and burnt to the waterline at the dock. I was there just in time to prevent disaster ... call it coincidence, providence or a call from God ... I picked up the call!
The ProTech/Pro Mariner charger folks were fantastic. They found me a stocking dealer in town, and I was able to get a $900 charger for 360 bucks. The factory offered me a 50% credit (unit was 5 years old) to a new one from them direct (which was more than I paid at the local distributor) But they were very helpful and the CS dept is super on helping with install and other issues on settings. A Big Thumbs up to Pro Marinier Chargers.
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