The User's Manual on our recently purchased 1988 Ericson 38 consisted of a laminated 3x5 card (engine start-up procedure). Needless to say there is a lot to figure out and hopefully some of the old salts on the forum can help.
I'm trying to figure out the appropriate way to set the battery switch selectors under different circumstances. The User's manual says set the battery Switch to 1, then start the engine. Great! That works. Now what? While I have some experience with DC electronics (Ham radio operator), I'm not an expert by any means.
A little background. The boat is set up with two 8D house batteries, one in the V-berth and one in the starboard cockpit locker. The starter battery is in the settee adjacent to the Nav station. There are two switches adjacent to the starter battery: one (Switch 2) for the house batteries with On/Off and a second switch (Switch 1) with Off/1/All/2 selectors. In the photo below the left is Switch 2 and the right is Switch 1. The positive (red) cable going to Switch 1 with a label is identified as being from the alternator. There are no labels on any other wires in the photo. I have a crude wiring diagram, but I haven't got it cleaned up yet. Hopefully folks may have some insights without the diagram. I'm hoping there is nothing unusual with how this was wired.
I'm guessing that the terminal that the alternator cable goes to is the "source" terminal, while the other two are the switched terminals. In addition to the alternator cable, the other positive cable on that terminal is from the Starter battery. The positive cable attached to middle terminal on Switch 1, as well as one of the black cable to the ground bus, head through the floor boards, so I believe these go to the starter. As you can tell from the photo one of the positive cables on the right terminal goes to the house battery switch, while the other one goes to the charge regulator for the starter battery.
The User Guide says select Battery 1 (Starter battery) for starting the engine. As indicated above, yes that starts the engine, but there is nothing about what to select under any other circumstances or when the engine is turned off. So here are my questions:
1) Presumably selecting Battery 1 on Switch 1 makes sure the starter is just using the starter battery. I'm I correct that I should never select All or Battery 2 unless there is a failure in the starter battery, in which case I could use Battery 2 (the House bank) for a start?
2) When the engine is running, I should never Select Off for Switch 1 because the juice from the alternator would have nowhere to go?
3) When the engine is running, can I select either Battery 1, Battery 2, or All depending on what batteries I want to charge off the alternator? If so, I'm thinking All should be the typical choice.
4) When the engine is off while cruising, should I select Battery 2 (House batteries) on Switch 1, so that there is no risk of drawing power off the starter battery?
5) When the boat's on shore power should I select All on Switch 1 to make sure both the House batteries and Starter battery are being charged? This is what I have been doing so far.
6) Is there any reason to Select Off for Switch 2 (House batteries), except perhaps for doing some testing/rewiring in the DC power panel (cabin lights, etc.) or elsewhere on the boat (i.e., de-energize the DC system)?
7) Any cautionary advice (e.g., don't do this or you might fry that)?
I know this just scratches the surface on understanding the electrical system on our boat, but it seems like a good place to start.
Thanks.
Alan
I'm trying to figure out the appropriate way to set the battery switch selectors under different circumstances. The User's manual says set the battery Switch to 1, then start the engine. Great! That works. Now what? While I have some experience with DC electronics (Ham radio operator), I'm not an expert by any means.
A little background. The boat is set up with two 8D house batteries, one in the V-berth and one in the starboard cockpit locker. The starter battery is in the settee adjacent to the Nav station. There are two switches adjacent to the starter battery: one (Switch 2) for the house batteries with On/Off and a second switch (Switch 1) with Off/1/All/2 selectors. In the photo below the left is Switch 2 and the right is Switch 1. The positive (red) cable going to Switch 1 with a label is identified as being from the alternator. There are no labels on any other wires in the photo. I have a crude wiring diagram, but I haven't got it cleaned up yet. Hopefully folks may have some insights without the diagram. I'm hoping there is nothing unusual with how this was wired.
I'm guessing that the terminal that the alternator cable goes to is the "source" terminal, while the other two are the switched terminals. In addition to the alternator cable, the other positive cable on that terminal is from the Starter battery. The positive cable attached to middle terminal on Switch 1, as well as one of the black cable to the ground bus, head through the floor boards, so I believe these go to the starter. As you can tell from the photo one of the positive cables on the right terminal goes to the house battery switch, while the other one goes to the charge regulator for the starter battery.
The User Guide says select Battery 1 (Starter battery) for starting the engine. As indicated above, yes that starts the engine, but there is nothing about what to select under any other circumstances or when the engine is turned off. So here are my questions:
1) Presumably selecting Battery 1 on Switch 1 makes sure the starter is just using the starter battery. I'm I correct that I should never select All or Battery 2 unless there is a failure in the starter battery, in which case I could use Battery 2 (the House bank) for a start?
2) When the engine is running, I should never Select Off for Switch 1 because the juice from the alternator would have nowhere to go?
3) When the engine is running, can I select either Battery 1, Battery 2, or All depending on what batteries I want to charge off the alternator? If so, I'm thinking All should be the typical choice.
4) When the engine is off while cruising, should I select Battery 2 (House batteries) on Switch 1, so that there is no risk of drawing power off the starter battery?
5) When the boat's on shore power should I select All on Switch 1 to make sure both the House batteries and Starter battery are being charged? This is what I have been doing so far.
6) Is there any reason to Select Off for Switch 2 (House batteries), except perhaps for doing some testing/rewiring in the DC power panel (cabin lights, etc.) or elsewhere on the boat (i.e., de-energize the DC system)?
7) Any cautionary advice (e.g., don't do this or you might fry that)?
I know this just scratches the surface on understanding the electrical system on our boat, but it seems like a good place to start.
Thanks.
Alan