help! 3 battery 2 engine 2 alternator 2 4-way selector switch and acr wiring

[r2digital]

hello, i have a 1988 searay with 2 454 mercruiser engines. I followed this diagram and now when i turn switch 1[port motor] to position 1 all functions as it should but as soon as i turn switch 2 to position 1 or 2 the starboard motor starts cranking by itself. Can any one shed some light on this situation possibly maybe a new diagram that will work on these motors.

Thank you in advance

 

[Skybolt]

hmm, can you post a better pic and info of what exactly you did? Your description makes me think you added t new battery switches? Please be more specific so we can help.

 

[r2digital]

what i was trying to do was have 1 battery per engine(2) and a third for the house battery to be controlled by the blue sea ACR. I followed this article http://www.diy-boats.com/2010/battery-switch-and-battery-connection-diagram-part-1/ scroll to the very last schematic with 3 batteries, 2 motors/alternators for a better pic. the equipment im working with is two seaflo 4 way dual selector switches that have position 1, 2 , all, and off, and a blue sea acr battery link

 

[BlewByYou88]

Sounds to me like you landed a main battery lead to the wrong side of the starter solenoid.

 

[r2digital]

since you guys are seasoned searay owners and you know the boats probably alot better than i do. do you think that diagram i followed is ok for what im trying to accomplish? or do you think there is a different/better way to do it? I didnt have time to really trouble shoot since it was dark. But what blewbyyou said is most likely the scenario, when that switch on the starboard motor gets turned to one of the positions the starter solenoid starts receiving +12v causing it to crank. I noticed the way the boat was wired from the factory was a bit odd in the sense the way things are tied in. I have my mobile electronics certification so certain things on the searay isnt quite the same as it is on cars. Previously before i even started the wiring job on each motor they had 4 awg wire going right off the starter solenoid and into the + battery post and then used that starter solenoid to power other portions on the motor.

 

[Skybolt]

So if you followed the diagram, you might have confused the from alt wires. The way this should be hooked up is bat1 pos to sw1 con1, bat 2 goes to sw1 con2. Then bat2 pos to sw2 con1, bat 1 goes to sw2 con2. The starter solenoid wires, usually 2-4ga wire go to the common on the respective switch.

The 12ga alternator wires are a totally different story. Since you have three batteries now and only two alternators. you need a battery isolater, which will allow you to charge the third battery. Don't over look this!

As to the engine constantly starting, as mentioned above, switch the solenoid wires. You most likely went to the wrong side of the Solenoid.

 

[Skybolt]

since you guys are seasoned searay owners and you know the boats probably alot better than i do. do you think that diagram i followed is ok for what im trying to accomplish? or do you think there is a different/better way to do it? ....

Yes, read my post above, sorry posted that while you were asking this question. There diagram will not allow for the third battery to charge correctly, if at all. You need to install a three bank battery isolator. That will allow the two alternators to charge the three batteries. I am not sure the size of your boat, but you should also upgrade your battery charger, if you have one, to one that supports three banks as well.

EDIT: added this link http://www.marinco.com/en/2532 look under the tech section and take a look at the diagrams there. I like to use Guest or Pro-mariner (newer versions only).

 

[r2digital]

the from alternator was definitely a little confusing so i ran new 8 awg wire from each alternator directly to the battery. Did i not need to do that? Should i go back to using the old wire thats there already? https://www.bluesea.com/products/7611/BatteryLink_Automatic_Charging_Relay_-_12V_24V_DC_120A this is essentially the same thing as a isolator isnt it? I would be able to charge two batteries from one of the two alternators either on the starboard or port side. Once the main battery reaches the designated voltage threshold it will then begin to charge the house battery using that same alternator. i also want to say thank you guys for taking time out of your day and helping me out, i really appreciate it

 

[Skybolt]

the from alternator was definitely a little confusing so i ran new 8 awg wire from each alternator directly to the battery. Did i not need to do that? Should i go back to using the old wire thats there already?

So this is a totally different question, that said, if you followed the BlueSea wiring that will work, but again different wiring that would need to be completed after the battery switches are in place and know to be working. Also this device is only going to switch one battery to the other. This also means not touching the Field wiring of the alternator.

If you ran the alternator field wire back to the battery then you bypassed the switches. Typically the alternator wire goes to the battery side of the staring solenoid if an isolator is not present, but most sea rays come with that even in your (our) years. This device you are trying to use will only switch batteries for you, so running the charging (field) wire back to the battery directly will not allow the "Switch" to happen on the BlueSea device. While this might work if hooked up correctly, it is a whole lot more wiring then if you just used the correct device for this. Isolators are not much more then what you spent on the BatteryLink. The BlueSea BatteryLink is meant for a single engine with two batteries with priority charging. Not quite the same as an Isolator.

EDIT: The ARC should work if hooked up correctly without the alternator wires being moved. You should also hook up a priority switch for the ARC. Keep in mind that ARC's are not the same as an isloator. They will keep the batteries in parallel most of the time.

EDIT2: Keep in mind that using an ARC you will still be charging both batteries at the same time which is not good for your alternators either.

Sorry for two edit's ...

 

[BlewByYou88]

Looks like you made this more confusing that it needed to be. You should not have run any additional wiring from the alternators. All you should have had to do is add a wire coming from the common of one of your Batt Switches to the ACR. If I'm reading right, you after only using Batt 3 as a house battery, and not a starting battery.

 

[Bt Doctur]

A lot of work for a confusing situation.Return everything back to the original configuration
stbd motor gets is own battery, nothing else. You need one unmolested motor and charging system to get home. Battery switch for the stbd motor,"C " to starter, #1 to stbd battery, #2 post to #2 post of the other switch

Port motor starter cable to "C" of second battery switch, port battery cable to "1" of second switch . alt feed disconnected and a wire is run from the alt to the "A" post of the isolator, #1 output of the isolator wire goes to the wire you removed from the alt.
#2 output from the isolator goes to the + side of the house battery. All negative battery posts are connected together
Switch settings are as follows:
Normal setting both switches on #1 position
To emergency start, both switches to "Both" No matter what motor is running it will charge both batteries to aid in starting.
House battery and engine battery charge with the port motor

 

[r2digital]

again, thank you everyone for bearing with me on this situation. i appreciate everyones input and help. Bt Doctur i understand your post fully except i think youre assuming im using an isolator. the part im using is a blue sea battery link, its very similiar to an isolator but doesnt have alternator inputs which is why it starts to get a little confusing. This is the manual for it just so you can see what im working with http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/instructions/980011740.pdf . I think buying an isolator in the first place would have made things a lot less complicated lol

 

[Skybolt]

... the part im using is a blue sea battery link, its very similiar to an isolator but doesnt have alternator inputs which is why it starts to get a little confusing. ... I think buying an isolator in the first place would have made things a lot less complicated lol

So just to clarify something, an ARC is nothing like an Isolator. When the charging BOTH batteries will be charging off of one alternator at the same time WITHOUT isolation. This is not a good thing for your alternator. An isolator allows more then one battery to be charged by one or two alternators without harming your alternator.

As far as the alternator wires go, they should be left the way the factory has it and the alternator will charge what ever battery is selected by the battery switch. That is the easiest way to approach it. Otherwise you need to get switches that support the alternator being hooked directly to them, so the field gets disconnected first before the battery is switched. This type of switch allows you to switch the batteries while the engine is running, otherwise NEVER switch the batteries while the engines are running.

Also, Sea Ray uses the starboard engine to power the house in those years. Taken off of the battery side of the starter solenoid. Just an FYI.

 

[r2digital]

just want to thank everybody again that took their time to help me out. I just wanted to say that i was able to successfully locate and resolve the problem of the starboard motor cranking by it self whenever the battery selector switch was engaged. Turns out that all my wiring was correct in the first place. But on the starter solenoid there is a small metal divider between the two contacts and the the orientation of the terminal is extremely important. I didnt realize that the terminal was touching this divider since its hard to see in there and that was causing the motor to keep cranking(I marked the location with a red circle, and the divider im talking about with green). I think i read some where that starter motors use GND to start and +12V to stop the starter motor or something like that. So that was the issue in my case. I havent been able to get to the boat any quicker to take care of this problem due to the hot and humid weather we've been having here on the east coast. Anyway here are a few pics of the switches and wiring. I built a little shelf to mount the switches, ACR, and the battery charger on. Its almost done but not quiet, still some tidying up to do.