Sea Ray SSS 1993 63 ft

Hey Rob,

If you know there is no drain with the breakers off... turn them on one at a time untill you find the one that kills the batts. Once you single out the breaker then look at the systems that breaker controls. Easiest thing I can think of for you man...
 
Jason: you made me think of some experimenting I already have done.
Here is the weird thing. Turning off all of the breakers to independent systems does not help the batteries still drain.
The only thing that stops the drain is if I shut down the whole boat basically from the main solenoid breakers. Have two the 24 and 12 which have to be on to run anything. If I turns those off leave for two days all is fine. Any other way the batteries drain.

Any ideas based on that?

I am still trying to figure out why all the batteries are connected together with those damned vanner battery equalizers. Maybe I should take them off!! See no real good purpose for that and they make sure you drain all your damned batteries if one goes bad they all follow!
Only thing is all the wiring seems so complicated will the system still work if I remove the battery equalizers haha knowing me I would blow up the boat!!
 
Rob.. that does sound screwy... I have no further help with the vanners... trouble shooting electrical drains are one of the biggest P.I.T.A.!
 
rszarka said:
Jason: you made me think of some experimenting I already have done.
Here is the weird thing. Turning off all of the breakers to independent systems does not help the batteries still drain.
The only thing that stops the drain is if I shut down the whole boat basically from the main solenoid breakers. Have two the 24 and 12 which have to be on to run anything. If I turns those off leave for two days all is fine. Any other way the batteries drain.

Any ideas based on that?

I am still trying to figure out why all the batteries are connected together with those damned vanner battery equalizers. Maybe I should take them off!! See no real good purpose for that and they make sure you drain all your damned batteries if one goes bad they all follow!
Only thing is all the wiring seems so complicated will the system still work if I remove the battery equalizers haha knowing me I would blow up the boat!!
Click to expand...

Rob, have you tried shutting off the individual breakers from the engine room electrical control panel? Usually that panel provides a finer level of control than the salon panel. Also, there are some users of power like bilge pumps that can be hard-wired without any switches, you might need to listen for one of those running on while you had everything you can turn off with breakers in the off position.
 
The part circled in the picture looks like the solenoid valve that is operated electrically and allows the air stored in the accumulator tank to blow your horns. It may be independent of the air compressor. Have you put a meter on the wires and determined if you need a 12V or 24V compressor?
 
LTD: everything on this boat is 24 v ...such a pain here in australia ... hmmm ok so i may need to replace that solenoid as well ugh

Alnav: i have not died that, will try it next ...i know my bilge pump goes off about oct every to hours...not sure where the water is coming from but it does get high enough to empty every few hours ..thik its coming from my shafts dunno.. never thought much of it as i thought every boat has a slow incursion of water ..maybe i am wrong and should look into that...
 
How do you know the solenoid is bad? Are there any wires attached to it? Have you had someone operate the horn switch while you were in the bilge listening to the solenoid?

That said, in your picture the yellow wire with the red stripe is usually used for solenoids. What wire connectors are on the solenoid? It is entirely possible that your air compressor has a built in pressure switch and cycles on and off like your water pump when the air pressure in the accumulator tank (just above the solenoid) drops below/above a certain pressure range.

I would still stick a voltmeter on the wires to make sure you are dealing with 24V. You would be unhappy if your new 24V compressor burnt up because the motor wouldn't run in an undervoltage situation.
 
LTD: took your advice and did test the wires, like i thought 24 volt ...have not come across one thing on this boat that is not 24 volt...really wish it all was 12 lol Thanks a ton for the info on that switch :) Ianbat is helping me pick out the parts i need and what to get...i will have a working horn very soon :)

Barlowe you are a life saver...thanks so so much for that email and info have been dying to fix that spotlight now it will become a reality ...Thank you!!!
 
Barlowe: Carlos is amazing great great great customer service...got back to me right away was super helpful and sent me schematics and tutorials on how to break down an ACR spotlight and a troubleshooting guide!! very detailed...if more companies operated like this it would be a better world...awesome customer service!!! I know where i will be getting anything for spotlights from now!

I have uploaded the documents to a filesharing place and posting the link below to the folder anyone can download it from ... i think most sea rays have these spotlights so i am sure these documents will come in handy for many of the users here! get your docs so you can fix your spotlights if they break lol

http://www.4shared.com/folder/gUwFaO_8/_online.html

I bought led lights for the entire boat at very good prices... one style for the salon a flat circular disk style, will fit in the fixture perfectly and cone shaped ones for the bathrooms...all in warm white for the salon and bright for the bathroom ... posting links to them below if anyone else is looking for this stuff as the prices are great with free shipping...



http://www.ebay.com/itm/23074090620...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4249wt_922

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25095363669...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4081wt_922

i also got warm white strip lighting for under my beds as the original burned out.... and blue led strip lighting for strategic places on the outside like in the air vents to the engine room on the sides...saw a 550 with this and it looked great ...they also offer all kinds of fancy stuff like dimmers wall adapters and remote controls all very cheap 8-15 bucks they are also listed on his page... so if you want the extra toys look around ..i myself will just wire it into existing lighting...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15061387014...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4050wt_922

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16060754129...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4054wt_922


I have no documentation on my bow thruster...i am presuming it must have some sort of fluid or something that needs to be kept up on ...is there some sort of general maintenance that should be done or kept in check with bow thrusters?

finding tis that are the right size to fit my master bedroom and guest bedroom is not easy ...also has to work with australian signal but on american power as thats what the boat runs on ...found a supplier of such tvs here in sydney but getting the right size is the challenge!! If anyone here in australia has the same issue a boat running on 110 instead of 240 and needs to get a tv that works with that let me know and i will send you the contact details of the supplier.... not a name brand i know NEONIQ ...i already have one in my salon from months back ..the picture is great and it works very well so don't mind it not being a big name brand...

SO the window that goes up to my top deck in the salon is leaking, is this pretty common? Doesn't seem like it is leaking from the seal that goes around the edges but from the handles that lock it down guess it needs a new gasket seal or something..... thinking of putting large clears in my rear curtains so i could drive the boat with the bimini up ..anyone ever done this and know wether you can usually see out well enough to be able to drive around with it up?
 
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Hi Rob,

Re the LED strip lighting.. Are you going to run a DC DC step down converter to feed 12v to the strip lighting? I also want to run blue LED strips in the engine room vents but note that the link you supplied for the 5m rolls is for 12v stuff? I'm guessing a step down converter isn't too difficult but it would have been nice to run them off the same switch as the existing blue cockpit lights.

Re the LED TVs. When I re-did the TVs in our Sea Ray I bought Kogan from online. These will accept 240v, 110v or a direct 12v feed - If you buy a step down converter you could run the TV without needing the generator or inverter? Just a thought.

Re the Bowthruster. I know they need new Annodes annually. Other than that I assume they just require an inspection to check that nothing is loose or worn? Hopefully someone with a bit more experience can confirm this.

Paul
 
Paul: I am going to wire the blue led strips directly to one of the batteries and give it it's own switch. I hear you on 24 volt would have been better and just wiring it into the cockpit lighting.

The TVs I have found also support 12 v 110 and 240. Al though I have enough battery issues as it is without wiring a tv into them lol the inverter I have could easily run the tv. I am waiting for my partner to have some free time before I wire an electrical socket in each room from the inverter. He got a wire snake with a digital streaming videol camera on the end. Will make running the wiring all over the boat a breeze!

We got two of the new Sea ray emblems 11 inch oval ones off of eBay will be taking down the old ones that are on the side of the radar arch and putting them up. Will look soo much better!

Damn the bow thruster has an anode, I should have known that! Must check right away I am sure that has not been looked at in forever damn. Thanks paul!!

When I was cleaning the hull I came across two big long flat anodes on my hull, well what I thought were anodes anyways. Didn't know they were there either! Not far from the raw water intakes.
 
Paul: I have been researching around on bow thrusters, supposedly they have a fluid reservoir that needs to be kept at a certain level. If you did not know this you might want to check yours if what I have found is correct anyways.
 
Hi Rob,

I did read something about a fluid reservoir after I had posted. I'll have a quick look next time I'm on the boat to see if I can see anything. The thrusters are still functioning well so that's a good sign. I'm considering adding a remote to the thrusters as I've taken the boat out on my own a couple of times lately and generally after I've reversed into the slip and put a couple of aft ropes on to hold it the bow has swung away from the marina. With a remote I could easily bring the bow back to finish tying up without having to run back to the helm. Here is the link for those:

http://www.amisales.com.au/Products/47277-627.aspx

Just did a quick eBay search for new Sea Ray badges. Lots of nice looking upgrades there.. Should refresh the look of your boat nicely!

With the blue strip lighting I think I'll run a small DC-DC converter off the cockpit lighting switch. They are available from Jaycar pretty cheaply ( http://www.jaycar.com.au/productResults.asp?MID=12&SSUBID=836&SUBCATID=1002&keyform=CAT2#12 ) and it would save the hassle of running a separate cable from a battery. Plus I don't think the boat has any batteries that are set up to provide 12v - pretty sure all are run in series to provide the 24v. How were you thinking of attaching the LED strip in the engine vents? They come with a self adhesive back but it's hard to imagine the adhesive holding too long in a saltwater environment where the boat is commonly hosed down etc. I think I would happily forget the idea if I had to drill through fibreglass to attach the strips.

Photo showing the vents on the side of the hull:

IMG-20120404-00588 (2).jpg

Paul
 
Paul: I like your idea of attaching the led lighting to the 24 v system and cockpit lighting switch using the jaycar step down converter. Will pick one up tomorrow.

I asked the owner of a boat that had the LEDs in the engine vents apparently his had been on for over six months with just the adhesive backing. There are also adhesive hooks etc you can get too attach them. I will make sure I clean the area very well use the adhesive backing and several of those hooks to really lock it in place and see how that goes. Like you I do not want to drill holes. Supposedly if you clean it well they stay on and do not fall off easily the adhesive is very strong. I have a few of those hooks holding up a wooden steering wheel in my salon ... The steering wheel is pretty heavy and I have been in rough seas, has not come loose or started to fall down. . Since no one needs to actually see the strip it's the light we are after it will be tucked up out of the way where salt water or sunlight will not get to it anyways. Will give it a try and see how it goes. If that fails will find another way lol

I am at my boat and yes the bow thruster has a fluid reservoir on mine anyways... it is in the guest stateroom under the mattress where the AC unit is. Not sure what fluid I have to put in there. Now just to find the anode for this thing!!

Have had a problem with my boat smelling a little musty! Got two of those air wick things that automatically scent the room several times a day. Has been in for a few days and worked great. Since it constantly keeps air freshener in the rooms the scent from them has sunk into the carpet bed sheets and furnishings now even when they are turned off the boat smells great instead of that damp musty smell. Thought I would never get rid of it tried airing the boat out for days and everything else, nothing worked . Those things work great!
 
Rob,

Sounds good. I just ordered two of the blue rolls and will grab a small DC-DC converter to run them off the cockpit light switch. I'll try the same thing with just cleaning the fibreglass really well before sticking on the strip. Looking forward to seeing how it looks.

Do you know what sort of bow thruster you have? If you go to the side power website ( http://www.side-power.com/ ) there is a heap of information on how they work, owners manuals and parts etc. Good luck!

Paul
 
Paul: my bow thrusters are made by American Bow thruster corp. good deal on the blue LEDs. Both our boats are going to look even more awesome soon yeehaw!! I want to go up to Pittwater for a few days soon before the biz starts. Thinking next week end. That's your neck of the woods right paul?? Maybe we could raft up for a few hours when I'm up there ?? I promise to bring hot chicks lol

Ok will ask this here of no one knows then go to the maintenance threads. I believe the battery drain I have is because my new batteries are a different size from the starboard bank batteries a bit more powerful and they are new while the starboard are not.

Since the starboard and port banks are linked together with the vanner battery equalizers I believe my port bank is constantly trying to charge up the starboard to equal it's voltage since its voltage is a little lower and hence draining my batteries.
I want to disconnect the battery equalizers and see if this fixes the problem. My question is are there any negative implications to that?? Any idea why they are there is it for some system.
Could I do any damage by disconnecting them will all my systems still run? Anyone got any experience with this kind of thing? Hoping I can just disconnect them! If no one knows here may contact sea ray direct on this one.

Thanks guys.
 
Rob,

I just read up on your Vanner equalizer (although not knowing your exact model) and may be able to provide some insight... the equalizer is there to balance battery charging when you tap off of a 24V system with 12V loads. Vanner has an explanation here:
http://www.vanner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Battery-Equalizer-PB-6-01.pdf

I don't believe the equalizer is causing your battery drain, and if you remove it, you could damage your batteries. They do say that each bank should be of the same amp hour capacity.
 
rszarka said:
Ok will ask this here of no one knows then go to the maintenance threads. I believe the battery drain I have is because my new batteries are a different size from the starboard bank batteries a bit more powerful and they are new while the starboard are not.

Since the starboard and port banks are linked together with the vanner battery equalizers I believe my port bank is constantly trying to charge up the starboard to equal it's voltage since its voltage is a little lower and hence draining my batteries.
I want to disconnect the battery equalizers and see if this fixes the problem. My question is are there any negative implications to that?? Any idea why they are there is it for some system.
Could I do any damage by disconnecting them will all my systems still run? Anyone got any experience with this kind of thing? Hoping I can just disconnect them! If no one knows here may contact sea ray direct on this one.

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Ray, I took a look at the DC schematic in your manual on-line and you should have 2 battery equalizers, one for each bank and they should be completely isolated electrically from each other and independently feed the respective port and starboard 12VDC systems just like like on the 24VDC sides. If they've somehow been connected together you could indeed have a problem. If they aren't joined by an earlier jury-rig, I would still suspect that something (probably something with a motor) is running on when it shouldn't be. You mentioned head problems a while ago, are your vacuflush pumps turning off pretty quickly after the head is used? Could also be a bilge pump somewhere stuck on.
 
Rob,

I'm not far from Pittwater - just up the Hawkesbury a bit. I should be able to come out and raft up. Is there anywhere in particular you want to check out? I usually end up at America Bay if I'm hanging around this area. Plenty of moorings, well protected and isolated. Let me know which day you're heading up and I'll organise to come out. Paul
 
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