Kohler Gen. remote start display kills battery?

[tbirdvet]

I had the dealer install a Kohler Gen which included a remote LCD start/stop panel. After pushing the stop button the gen. turns off but the display stays lit. According to the manual will stay lit for 48 hrs. before going out. I used the gen. several days ago and this morning I found the gen. battery dead. According to the dealer I should have turned off the gen battery if not returning for several days to prevent the battery going dead due to the display staying on. The dealer told me that the gen. battery only gets charged when the gen. is running since it is not connected to the engine/house batteries. I'm curious if anyone else has the same situation or do I have something wrong.

 

[Scupper Guppy]

I had the dealer install a Kohler Gen which included a remote LCD start/stop panel. After pushing the stop button the gen. turns off but the display stays lit. According to the manual will stay lit for 48 hrs. before going out. I used the gen. several days ago and this morning I found the gen. battery dead. According to the dealer I should have turned off the gen battery if not returning for several days to prevent the battery going dead due to the display staying on. The dealer told me that the gen. battery only gets charged when the gen. is running since it is not connected to the engine/house batteries. I'm curious if anyone else has the same situation or do I have something wrong.

Nothing wrong, this is normal. Get a separate charger for the gen battery to keep it charged.

 

[skolbe]

On my 320 - the generator starts off the house battery side - which is two batteries - I leave my charger on when at the dock. But when anchored I have never felt an excessive draw from the lights - Does your boat currently have 3 or 4 batteries?

 

[tbirdvet]

My boat has 4 batteries and a dedicated gen battery on its own circuit. The boat charger has two circuits (one for each set of 2 batteries). Since the gen. was dealer installed I guess they did not want to tap into the stock boat battery bank charging system. I found a battery saver system that monitors battery voltage and will disconnect the battery from the gen. when voltage falls below 11.8V. To turn the system back on I can use the provided remote control. I plan on installing next week and see how it works.

 

[skolbe]

I would change the way everything is wired to match the factory install. Then that battery would always be strong. It shouldn't take much.

 

[tbirdvet]

I thought to close out this item I would provide an update. Looks like the reason the battery went dead to begin with is that it was never fully charged before the dealer installed the generator system. I found that the gen. display will not kill the battery. Once the gen. is started it fully recharges the battery again and will support the display staying on for the next 48hrs. before turning off. Just to be safe I installed a battery minder that will serve as a backup in case the battery voltage gets too low to start the gen..