ProMariner Install question

[Turk182]

I purchased a ProMariner 3 bank 1230P to replace the original 3 bank ProMariner 30 amp charger on my 1992 Sea Ray Express Bridge. When going to replace my old one I noticed that the charging leads from the charger are wired into my selector switches instead of direct to the batteries ( 2 crank and 1 house ). Should I just do a swap and change nothing, or should I remove those wires going to the switches and replace them with new ones with inline fuses and connect directly to my batteries?

 

[paulswagelock]

Almost all charger manufacturers want them wired direct to battery. Better for the sensing circuit.
It will work as is, but likely not preferred.

 

[dtfeld]

If its available, look at your Owners Manual and follow that.

On mine, the schematic shows the charger leads going to the battery side of the Solenoid switch, so that's how Sea Ray intended it to be wired. I don't see a huge issue with it.

The more important aspect with the new chargers it to make sure you have it set up for the type of battery you have installed.

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

The chargers work their absolute most efficient, when connected direct to the battery.

 

[Stee6043]

I changed nothing when I installed a 1240P this past year. I believe both the selector switches and a set of breakers (behind the selector switches) are wired between the charger and the battery in my OEM configuration.

 

[Blueone]

Should I just do a swap and change nothing, or should I remove those wires going to the switches and replace them with new ones with inline fuses and connect directly to my batteries?

Ask Promariner directly...they have very good customer service. there used to be someone on here from pro but can’t remember his name

 

[juggernaut1]

The chargers are there most efficient when the cable is sized appropriately for the cable run.....otherwise you will have voltage drop which is no big deal except the batteries will take longer to charge.

I had to upgrade my breakers and cable size from charger to the switches when I upgraded from the stock 40 charger to the Promariner 50 amp charger to mitigate voltage drop when on the hook using the generator.

 

[dtfeld]

The chargers work their absolute most efficient, when connected direct to the battery.

How is this not direct to the battery??? The charger cant tell the difference.

This setup does add some length to the DC conductor so the total length from the charger->solenoid->Battery need to be considered to minimize voltage drop, but swapping 1 30 amp charge for another should be plug and play.

 

[Creekwood]

I purchased a ProMariner 3 bank 1230P to replace the original 3 bank ProMariner 30 amp charger on my 1992 Sea Ray Express Bridge. When going to replace my old one I noticed that the charging leads from the charger are wired into my selector switches instead of direct to the batteries ( 2 crank and 1 house ). Should I just do a swap and change nothing, or should I remove those wires going to the switches and replace them with new ones with inline fuses and connect directly to my batteries?

Wait a minute! They are probably wired to the battery side of the switch, meaning that they ARE direclty connected to the batteries. Rewire the new one the same way. Just use the old wiring. When I did mine I had to change the ring connectors on the wiring because the new charger dhad less space than the old one.

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

How is this not direct to the battery??? The charger cant tell the difference.

This setup does add some length to the DC conductor so the total length from the charger->solenoid->Battery need to be considered to minimize voltage drop, but swapping 1 30 amp charge for another should be plug and play.

If there is a battery temp sensor involved, then connected to the battery side of a switch, is not battery direct.

 

[dtfeld]

If there is a battery temp sensor involved, then connected to the battery side of a switch, is not battery direct.

Temp sensor should be installed directly on the on the battery. As far as the charging circuit...it is a direct connection electrically

 

[paulswagelock]

Almost all charger manufacturers want them wired direct to battery. Better for the sensing circuit.
It will work as is, but likely not preferred.

From Promariner:
You would want to wire the charger, as described in the manual, directly to the batteries. The charger works by sensing the voltages of the batteries and a direct connection gives it the best reading. The other issue is that the fewer connection points you have, the fewer the places where resistance could create heat and cause issues. With a direct connection there are fewer things that can go wrong.

 

[bbwhitejr]

On my 260DA, when I replaced the OEM Guest Charger with a new ProMariner 1240P, I wired the new one just as the old one was wired-charger to battery switch to batteries. The Temp wire was wired directly to a battery. All of my cabling was sized to handle the 40amps from the factory and the electrical shematic said I had 40 amp breakers. When the breakers would occasionaly trip, I took things apart to find out in fact that the breakers were not big enough.

Things worked to perfection and still are today after 4 years.

Bennett

 

[Creekwood]

From Promariner:
You would want to wire the charger, as described in the manual, directly to the batteries. The charger works by sensing the voltages of the batteries and a direct connection gives it the best reading. The other issue is that the fewer connection points you have, the fewer the places where resistance could create heat and cause issues. With a direct connection there are fewer things that can go wrong.

That might be good guidance for an install of a charger where there was no previous charger and Promariner does not have any idea what wiring may or may not be on the boats that buyers will install them in.

But I don't think Sea Ray did it wrong when they installed the chargers on all of the cruisers they have built in the last 30 years. The wiring from batteries to the battery switch are sized to carry full starting load amperage. A max 30 amp charging current is not going to result in any measurable amperage issues, or voltage drop or heat. Maybe an extra connection failure point, as you said, but I don't think that is any different from the new one you would have right at the battery.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Battery switch vs direct to battery... I think this is one of those "best practice" things. But the difference, in reality, is close enough as makes no difference. In best practice, it's "best" to keep the connections to a minimum and to have wire runs as short as possible. And that's probably where PM is coming from - it's easier for them to recommend 'direct to the battery' than to talk about all the different variables and scenarios... and then answer questions from someone who says their charger doesn't work, only to find out after an hour of troubleshooting on the phone with them that they used a piece of old lamp wire that was laying on the bottom of their dock box to extend the charger's wires.

Sea Ray has wired battery chargers direct to batteries on some boats. But that's because the placement of the charger and the batteries makes it easier - while in other cases, it's easier to just go to the battery switch.

ASSUMING good (clean/tight) connections, there should be no issues wiring through the switch.

 

[ttmott]

The charger's temperature sensor is a separate wire and must be connected to the battery post.
The charger/converter should be connected to the battery switch on the battery side of the switch. Some switches have a dedicated lug for the charger on the switch. Consider the battery cables are 000 gauge or 0000 gauge from the battery to the switch and the charger/converter cables are 8 gauge or 10 gauge; there is essentially no difference connecting the charger to either the battery posts or the switch from a sensing or voltage drop perspective. The chargers negative side needs to be tied to the primary grounding / bonding lugs. This arrangement gets the charger wiring and terminals away from the corrosive environment at the batteries and keeps the wiring simple permanent and safe.
The intent of the charger installation directions is to ensure the charger is not switched which could damage it.

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

The charger/converter should be connected to the battery switch on the battery side of the switch.

Ok, I have to question the "should".

 

[Creekwood]

ttmott said: ↑
The charger/converter should be connected to the battery switch on the battery side of the switch.

Ok, I have to question the "should".

I think he meant that if you are going to connect to the battery switch, then it should go to the battery side of the switch, as opposed to the load side of the switch.

 

[ttmott]

Ok, I have to question the "should".

There is no technical reason that the charger can't be connected directly to the battery; It's convention and standard practice for the reasons described to do otherwise and to eliminate messes like this:

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

There is no technical reason that the charger can't be connected directly to the battery; It's convention and standard practice for the reasons described to do otherwise and to eliminate messes like this:

Place blame on ignorance, not the charger.

Corrosive environment? I do not see a lot of that happening with quality tinned terminals and clean tight connections. Besides, with more and more boats using AGM's, corrosive gasses becoming a none issue.