Which battery should i use with my kohler 5k gen?

MonacoMike said:
Part of the confusion is some were installed by Sea Ray and others by the dealer while new and their owners may think they were SR installed and I'd be shocked if all through the various models and model years if SR installed all of them the same. So is there really an "original" or "normal" setup?

MM
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I would use the documentation from Sea Ray as a baseline for "original" or "normal". The model-, year-, and hull#-specific owners manuals are pretty good with schematics, harness locations, and major component layout diagrams (although there are some back-annotation inaccuracies at times, in particular with the electrical systems). If I were buying a new boat and having a generator fitted by the dealer, I would want them to match what is done at the factory, unless there were some personal changes requested (like the 1/2/Both switch I described previously). There are reasons the major components are put where they are.

Often retrofitting a generator can be a pretty major undertaking. On my old 280DA without a generator, the fresh water tank is in a different location, for example, and none of the AC wiring was present at the electrical distribution panel. I know it can be done and people have, but it's not typically just a drop-in.

I have looked in detail at twenty or more used Sea Rays while shopping and I first studied the owners manuals and wanted to see correlation on the boat of interest to make sure a hatchet job hadn't been done to it at some point! I honestly haven't seen any significant variation from boat to boat within the same model release, but that is just my limited experience.
 
JimFromMD said:
I can say that the four 2002-2006 300DAs I've been on, and 2 other owners I've talked to were installed the same, by whomever.
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This has been my experience as well...thankfully as it makes it very easy for owners of the same model to help trouble-shoot each other's boats, or even figure out how to turn something on!!
 
JimFromMD said:
Do you install a battery monitor.... or were you using a multimeter to get those readings? Or perhaps checking the voltage through the port/starb smartcraft gauges somehow? I always have looked at the 12v gauge in the cabin cabinet, but assumed that was an overall reading vs one bank or another.
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The way i understand it is one bat for the gen, two house bats and one just for the port engine totaling four bat. I could be wrong, but i understand the port engine bat will only start the port engine. This way with bats low the port engine can started and then the parallel switch can be used to start the starboard engine.

Should the shore power charge all bats?
 
Beerlust said:
The way i understand it is one bat for the gen, two house bats and one just for the port engine totaling four bat. I could be wrong, but i understand the port engine bat will only start the port engine. This way with bats low the port engine can started and then the parallel switch can be used to start the starboard engine.

Should the shore power charge all bats?
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Under the factory setup, yes. If you look at your batteries, the battery cables should connect the two batteries on the right (making a starboard bank or effectively making one large battery), and the two batteries on the left should be connected together making a second (port) bank. The charger charges both banks when connected to shore power, or powered via the generator.

Because the 2 sets of battery cables bridge the four batteries making them into two banks... there are no isolated batteries in the factory default setup as best I know it.
 
Beerlust said:
The way i understand it is one bat for the gen, two house bats and one just for the port engine totaling four bat. I could be wrong, but i understand the port engine bat will only start the port engine. This way with bats low the port engine can started and then the parallel switch can be used to start the starboard engine.

Should the shore power charge all bats?
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Just remembered this link had a picture of my (old group 27 / charger) battery setup so you can verify yours is "factory". You can see that the battery cables tie each bank of batteries together. Does yours look like this generally?

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/58479-jammed-windlass?p=657523#post657523

James
 
Thank you, i will use this information and reply my progress.
 
Right, thank you. That is helpful. I will get back soon.
 
The bat config is hub style setup. Shore power is charging all four bats.

The gen bat failed CCA test at NAPA. New bat under $100. Installed, tested and working.

Gen displayed OC (over-crank) for several attempts before displaying LB (low-bat) until the bat gave out completely.

As always, thank you very much to everyone for their individual support in diagnosing this issue. I alway walk away from clubsearay a better, more relaxed, informed and there for safer boater. But mostly, i can throw in a movie for my two year old during those moments they need distraction, docking, locks and such. Thank you again.
 
Beerlust said:
The bat config is hub style setup. Shore power is charging all four bats.

The gen bat failed CCA test at NAPA. New bat under $100. Installed, tested and working.

Gen displayed OC (over-crank) for several attempts before displaying LB (low-bat) until the bat gave out completely.

As always, thank you very much to everyone for their individual support in diagnosing this issue. I alway walk away from clubsearay a better, more relaxed, informed and there for safer boater. But mostly, i can throw in a movie for my two year old during those moments they need distraction, docking, locks and such. Thank you again.
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Glad you got it figured out, but just to close the loop... were your 4 batteries wired together as two banks of 2 batteries like the factory setup, or something different? I ask only because that'll be the first I've seen that is different, and also because I may consider modifying my own if yours had a dedicated generator battery.

Also, what do you mean by a "hub style setup".

Thanks
James
 
IanBat said:
My Kohler runs an N70 battery, it is not connected to the other batteries, it does not charge on Shore Power, only charges when the generator is on.

It is an original Sea Ray fit.

One of those jobs on my to do list though, to hook up charge to it on Shore power


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That's a double edge sword.
 
dpmulvey said:
That's a double edge sword.
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Not really.

Presently my set up has port and starboard batteries, plus house batteries, plus generator battery.

2 battery switches.
Starboard On /Off
Port, 1/ 2 or both. This is a pain, as I generally forget to switch between start and house when on the hook.

The generator battery is clean, not connected to any of the batteries, this is not my general preference, have to be honest and though and say I am amazed it has never faulted. Though other than starting the gen it has no load whatsoever on it, hence why it probably holds so well.

The original charger in the boat is a Promariner 3 output. Unfortunately these early chargers, supply 3 outputs but do not measure/regulate each, hence the threads where someone is cooking the batteries, as if one battery gets a dead cell, the charger reads it as down and keeps supplying charge, cooking other batteries.

When I replaced the house last year, I put 4 x deep cycles in, also purchased a new charger for that bank, when I fit it, I will take the third output from the Promariner and run it to the gen battery. Also fit 3 switches, just debating whether of not to fit remote activated switches so I don't have to keep lifting a hatch.

Also contemplating a solenoid to jump the generator if required


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All bat connect to one central hub. However, the gen bat seem to connect directly to the gen itself.
 
Beerlust said:
Not sure exactly how it works but the gen battery doesn't charge off shore power? I am to understand the only way to charge the gen bat is with the gen itself.

That being said, which replacement battery is the best for a generator. Pretty sure interstate battery in there now is fried and wont hold a charge.
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My 290 aj uses house/stb battery set to start,,,,2 isolator switches....3 batteries.....1 each engine...1 house...not the greatest but never had a problem....YET
 
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