thunderbird1
New Member
How does the standard Mercathode system work? Does the system run only when the battery switch is on? On my boat it is protected by a 20 amp breaker, suggesting that it sucks lots of power?
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thunderbird1 said:How does the standard Mercathode system work?
thunderbird1 said:The link implies that the Mercathode system varies it's power consumption based on the amount of energy in the water. For those of you in the know, does this sound correct? The link also says the Mercathode system should be connected directly to the battery, which I do not believe is the case on my boat. I'll investigate further this weekend.
thunderbird1 said:How does the standard Mercathode system work? Does the system run only when the battery switch is on? On my boat it is protected by a 20 amp breaker, suggesting that it sucks lots of power?
asimpkinsjr said:thunderbird1 said:How does the standard Mercathode system work? Does the system run only when the battery switch is on? On my boat it is protected by a 20 amp breaker, suggesting that it sucks lots of power?
Merthacode works this way according to the manuals and to the Sea Ray rep...because I had some concerns about electrolysis issues...
for the mercathode to work the battery must be in the "Both" position. The way Sea Ray installs the mercathode if the battery is in the 1 or 2 position the system does not work, only in the both...the right way to install would have been wire it right into the harness.
Dave S said:asimpkinsjr said:But a cursory look at the wiring diagram in the manual suggests you are right. I am headed to my dealer today to get this straightened out. How could Sea Ray let such an important thing like this fall thru the cracks??? :smt013
I am looking at a pdf downloaded copy of the manual for the 2006 260. If you look at the electrical wiring diagram, page 6.24, you will see that there are a group of circuit breakers run from a common bus. The top item is the Mercathode system. Others items are bilge pumps, etc.
There is an electrical bus that powers this group of breakers. The bus is fed by wire numbered 101-6, and it is red. It goes to the battery switch where is connects to the battery switch terminal that is directly fed by a red 4/0 wire from battery 1. There is no disconnect between the battery and this connection point.
From the Mercathode circuit breaker, the power is on a red/vio wire going through connector A7A, pin 1, then on wire 936-14, red/vio, to the Mercathode system. So the Mercathode system should be powered all the time by battery 1, regardless of the position of the switch. It also is indicative of why battery 2 should be your 'house battery'. If you run down your house battery while on the hook, you don't want your Mercathode system to stop working and your boat to sink from a water leak and dead bilge pump battery.
Some of the pdf files that I have looked at are very compressed in size,and I would image the printed copy is too. Especially in the area of the battery switch, it can be almost impossible to read the digram correctly the first time you see it. In other cases, but not this particular diagram, Sea Ray put the numbers 1 and 2 overlaying the switch. Where they put the number 1 is sort of in the middle of the switch, making it look like a wire connection or the switch wiper. That makes it very hard to correctly interpret the diagram.
Dave S said:asimpkinsjr said:thunderbird1 said:How does the standard Mercathode system work? Does the system run only when the battery switch is on? On my boat it is protected by a 20 amp breaker, suggesting that it sucks lots of power?
Merthacode works this way according to the manuals and to the Sea Ray rep...because I had some concerns about electrolysis issues...
for the mercathode to work the battery must be in the "Both" position. The way Sea Ray installs the mercathode if the battery is in the 1 or 2 position the system does not work, only in the both...the right way to install would have been wire it right into the harness.
Oh great...............I have always turned off my battery switch when I leave the boat. :smt021
There is nothing in the 260DA owners manual (in the Mercathode section) that tells you to leave the battery switched turned on or in the both postion. But a cursory look at the wiring diagram in the manual suggests you are right. I am headed to my dealer today to get this straightened out. How could Sea Ray let such an important thing like this fall thru the cracks??? :smt013
Dave S said:OK........here's a short update on what I learned so far. I was able to talk to a Tech on this matter today. He assured me the Mercathode System is hardwired to one of the batteries so it makes no difference if the battery switch is off or on. He says they double check this on all new boats and he told me how to check mine. The purple wire going to the mercathode block (mines mounted on the engine itself) is the hot wire. With the battery switch turned off, use a multi meter or a test light between that wire and ground ( use the engine block itself for the ground). If it's hot with the switch turned off, then you know you are directly wired to the battery. I plan to test mine this weekend and will report back once I have done so.