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Need help with wiring.

MDR09

Junior Member
I posted this on another forum but unfortunately didnt get any response. Was hoping i could get an opinion here. I know there are some very knowledgeable electricians here.

Attached is the way my current wiring is set up. The boat is not an Ericson but has a Universal 5432 engine which i know was used in a lot of Ericsons. I am going to have plenty of questions about this later but for now want to tackle my wiring.

I do have the old trailer connector plugs/ with ammeter installed which i plan to get rid of as part of a wiring upgrade planned in the next month or so. my current question is more of curiosity and 'just to make sure' everything is ok for now variety.

the boat was built in 1980 and has an old Raritan Crown II 50 Amp charger. I finally sat down this weekend and traced all the relevant wiring that i will be replacing first including new charger, house batteries, start batteries, 1-2-B switch and Blue Sea ACR, fuses etc... attached is an image of how it is currently wired. i am curious if firstly the wiring is typical of how it might have been done in 1980 era and second if everything looks relatively safe even though there are no fuses present.

At first glance my inexperienced eyes tell me the second start battery is probably getting undercharged constantly and is the alternator sending a charge back to the C post ont the switch sending charge to whichever bank i have selected?

The cable leading from the Alt to starter is 10 AWG. All the rest of the wiring looks like 4 and 2 AWG. mostly 2 but the long length (20 ft round trip) to the house is 4 AWG

Thanks
 

Michael Edwards

Member II
Consider making a new harness from scratch using tinned wire and connector strips and marine grade connectors. Modern (Xanex) chargers charge the start batteries first then the house. Also modern battery switches isolate the house from the engine batteries. If what I am suggesting sounds foreign, look at the ABYC standards for marine electrical.
I found that starting fresh with the wiring assures that you know everything about your system, and saves a lot of time.
 

MDR09

Junior Member
hey sorry i thought i attached the pic but was in a rush. been a busy couple of days. i did finally get a little feedback on another forum but would certainly appreciate more opinions. the consensus so far was that with the exception of lack of fusing theres nothing necessarily dangerous about the way the wiring is set up at the moment. After more careful scrutiny i beleive the wiring is actually mostly 2/0 and 1/0 not 4 and 2 like i previously posted.

thanks Michael...i do plan to start from scratch and replace everything with new, every wire, every component. I plan on using a Sterling Pro charger with a Blue Sea ACR between house and start bank with a 1-2-B switch wired as an 'on/off' switch, with the option to use the start bank for an emergency. the 500AH house bank will be used for everything including starting. start/reserve batteries will be for an emergency if there is a failure with the house bank.
 

Attachments

  • Boat Wiring.jpg
    Boat Wiring.jpg
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Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
What is "DP?"

The charger should have grounds to each battery rather than grounding one through the other.

Glad the 42 year old 50A charger and related wiring are being removed. What's the source for the new charger? Although the two start batteries are connected at the switch "C" post, the one on the right will slowly wear first due to the length of leads between them.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I am puzzled by seeing two batteries for a starter bank and only one for a house bank. Also not knowing what "DP" refers to.

As for battery fusing, ABYC wants circuit protection within 7 inches (IIRC) of the battery terminal, and when our bank wiring was updated in 2018 we went with large-amp breakers for each bank, within about a foot. Our surveyor OK'd it as being close enough, given the limits of the physical location of the wiring.
 

MDR09

Junior Member
What is "DP?"

The charger should have grounds to each battery rather than grounding one through the other.

Glad the 42 year old 50A charger and related wiring are being removed. What's the source for the new charger? Although the two start batteries are connected at the switch "C" post, the one on the right will slowly wear first due to the length of leads between them.

Thanks...distribution Panel. i see yeah i guess if the first battery has an internal malfunction it could possible leave the circuit ungrounded?

The new charger and most of the parts i will get from MaineSails website.

Yeah the round trip circuit between the two start batteries is about 20ft, to the panel and back, 10' each way. its heavy 2/0 cable though its showing its age.
 

MDR09

Junior Member
I am puzzled by seeing two batteries for a starter bank and only one for a house bank. Also not knowing what "DP" refers to.

As for battery fusing, ABYC wants circuit protection within 7 inches (IIRC) of the battery terminal, and when our bank wiring was updated in 2018 we went with large-amp breakers for each bank, within about a foot. Our surveyor OK'd it as being close enough, given the limits of the physical location of the wiring.

That was the way it was when i purchased it. i didnt have enough knowledge at the time (4yrs ago) to start altering anything so i vowed not to until i was very confident what i was doing. fortunately i live in a marina so am hooked up to shore power 24/7. most all my loads are AC. the only real DC loads are lighting, bilge pump, radios, shower sump, electronics. there are no heavy DC loads right now as ive ripped out the refrigeration, theres no auto pilot or inverter, hot water is AC. its pretty bare bones right now. the house is getting upgraded to two 12v 250 AH Trojan batteries. i can always add more later but that should be a very healthy house bank considering a tiny West Marine 95 AH battery has been working so far.

yeah im having a hard time planning battery location. i though it would be the easy part. there is simply no way of getting my house bank within 10' of anything. My only option to get them close is to remove the water heater and relocate it or the fuel tank. im leaning towards removing the water heater as it will be something i can do quickly to get this project moving forward asap. i can live without hot water as im pretty much stuck at the dock right now.
 

Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Rather than "DP" which nobody will recognize, you might use understandable names like DC panel, house buss, battery buss, switched buss, etc, as appropriate. For example, my rewire has Switched Main Buss A in the battery box which feeds Switched Main Buss B behind the breaker panel for the house loads, and one labeled Hot Buss which is behind the breaker panel for the bilge pump, anchor light, etc.
 

MDR09

Junior Member
Rather than "DP" which nobody will recognize, you might use understandable names like DC panel, house buss, battery buss, switched buss, etc, as appropriate. For example, my rewire has Switched Main Buss A in the battery box which feeds Switched Main Buss B behind the breaker panel for the house loads, and one labeled Hot Buss which is behind the breaker panel for the bilge pump, anchor light, etc.

will do. hadn't drawn a diagram before this. on the final diagram for new wiring ill try to make it as descriptive as possible.
 
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