H50. No power at front cabin fan or CO monitors.

[Laid-back]

Been away from the Hunter 50 for 7 months now so may be missing something obvious. There is no power to the fan or 2 CO monitors in the fore cabin. Is there a switch or fuse that is controlling these. Everything else seems to work. Recommissioning is always a chore.

 

[Terry Cox]

There is no power to the fan or 2 CO monitors in the fore cabin.

Does your main panel have a dedicated circuit breaker for these? If so, does the breaker have power coming into and out of it? If not, what breaker supplies power to these , and ditto to the above? Time to break out your volt meter.

 

[Laid-back]

I believe this circuit, like the main cabin fans and CO monitors, bypass the circuit panel so there is no switch. The tester is out and I suspect there is a fuse somewhere, maybe in the battery compartment. It’s difficult to trace these wires.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I believe this circuit, like the main cabin fans and CO monitors, bypass the circuit panel so there is no switch.

I've just got to ask "why would something as basic as the wiring for the cabin fans bypass the DC panel ?" Maybe the CO monitors to avoid accidentally shutting them OFF, OK. But why use a fuse instead of a breaker on the cabin fans ?

C'mon now, it's not going to break the bank to pop for a new voltmeter to replace your old one which is "out" whatever out means :

​

You won't even get to first base until you get some voltage readings and we'll even tell you where to connect the leads to get you started.

 

[Laid-back]

Well John, you will have to ask Hunter why the fans and CO monitors run when all breakers on the DC panel are turned off. Just maybe they are all on the same circuit. As for the multimeter being out, that means that I have it out and am using it to track down the problem which I am perfectly capable of doing. People like you who make useless condescending posts are the bane of the internet. I don’t know why you include yourself in the ”we” that are willing to help, when you certainly aren’t providing anything useful, while lots of competent sailors actually do.

 

[quadrille38]

Been away from the Hunter 50 for 7 months now so may be missing something obvious. There is no power to the fan or 2 CO monitors in the fore cabin. Is there a switch or fuse that is controlling these. Everything else seems to work. Recommissioning is always a chore.

not sure how your 50 is set up but in my 38 there is a separate set of breakers and switches for things like the CO alarms, smoke detectors, windlass, bilge pump, oil change system. They are all located in a panel under the nav table seat. Not with the main DC breakers on the everyday panel. Might you have similar set up?

 

[Laid-back]

Yes there is a second panel with windlass, electric winches, start battery relay, oil change pump and numerous “always on” circuits. I expect that the problem circuit runs from here and I I will be looking at this again tomorrow. The manual wiring diagrams don’t seem to provide much help here.

 

[Hello Below]

I expect that the problem circuit runs from here and I I will be looking at this again tomorrow.

I believe this is where you will find a push button reset for the CO detectors rather then a switch/breaker. It may look like this (maybe different amperage). Given that the detectors are safety equipment, I would be surprised if the fans are also connected to this breaker. Possibly the fans are an add on after manufacturing. Good luck.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

OK. Glad to see you're right and I'm wrong. Multimeter is out, wiring diagram is out and you're ready to go .................

1. Please provide a high resolution copy of your Hunter wiring diagram which shows the "always on circuits." With this, include a photo of the face of the DC always on circuit panel. Maybe someone will get lucky and see the circuit(s) we're after.
2. Assuming the solution has not revealed itself at this point, open up the back of this DC "always on" panel, ensure the main DC breaker/switch is ON and check the supply voltage to every breaker/switch.
3. If supply voltages are all in order, check the outlet voltages of each of these switches.

Depending on what you find so far, to be continued ..........................

 

[Laid-back]

Here is the panel with the CO circuit. The main cabin CO monitor is still on and the white button dose not appear to be tripped and there is continuity through the switch. So I need to find a separate circuit feeding the front cabin.

 

[Terry Cox]

I believe this circuit, like the main cabin fans and CO monitors, bypass the circuit panel so there is no switch. The tester is out and I suspect there is a fuse somewhere, maybe in the battery compartment. It’s difficult to trace these wires.

As Len mentioned in his post, the CO monitors may have a dedicated breaker, perhaps on the main power panel. This panel on our boat has a dedicated windlass breaker, and is separate from the circuit breaker panel. It also has the battery selector switches. Odd that the fans would be connected directly to the batteries, but Hunter did wire our windlass directly to the batteries, however the switch that operates the windlass has a circuit breaker on the panel. Likely a PO may have connected the fans to the CO monitor power source because it was convenient.

 

[Terry Cox]

It seems the forward cabin C:O monitors and fans have the same power source. Since our boat does not have these monitors, not familiar with them, however I would start by opening the monitor up, if possible, to see whether a PO added a fan circuit. Our PO did add a fan in the forward cabin to an existing light circuit, and did a sloppy job of it. I have since removed it and replaced with an electric socket.

P.S. Hmm. Your boat has lots more stuff on the main panel than ours. Rather complicated, as you say.

 

[dlochner]

Are the fans after market or OEM? If after market some PO may have tapped into the CO wiring instead of running wires back to the panel.

 

[quadrille38]

View attachment 222661

Here is the panel with the CO circuit. The main cabin CO monitor is still on and the white button dose not appear to be tripped and there is continuity through the switch. So I need to find a separate circuit feeding the front cabin.

This is kind of off topic but I see from this picture that the anchor and two winch breakers are tripped. Is that intentional?

Also here is a link to schematics I located on line. They are for the 38 but say 41 and may apply to your 50. They show the front of the second panel and then several of the back side. Also one showing wiring that has CO monitors shown.
https://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/uploads/h38ServiceManual120105.pdf
Hoping that maybe you will find the information you seek.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

WOW, there it is in all of it's curious logic !

I don't see a Hunter label on this "always on" panel. Trying to understand if this is a remake of an original Hunter 'always on" panel and hence may make the wiring a little strange.

white button dose not appear to be tripped and there is continuity through the switch.

This will sound a little odd but "do you have voltage on the outlet side of each breaker?" The refinery electricians I worked around would always consider this to be the "absolute" proof of a breaker performance rather than the breaker's continuity which everyone else would consider to be proof enough. Not for them.

Also, I presume the BLOWER breaker/indicator is for engine cooling ventilation and not cabin fans. Correct ?

The main cabin CO monitor is still on and the white button dose not appear to be tripped and there is continuity through the switch. So I need to find a separate circuit feeding the front cabin.

Hopefully this only indicates a discontinuity with the wiring leading to the front cabin CO monitor. There will not be a fuse in the CO wiring as the wiring is protected by the panel mounted breaker/indicator only.

Please supply answers what you can and we'll go from there.

 

[artboas]

Are the fans after market or OEM? If after market some PO may have tapped into the CO wiring instead of running wires back to the panel.

I believe this is correct.
Hunter did not install the fans

 

[quadrille38]

Sounds very much like PO tied into the CO monitor circuit for the fans. Perhaps a short at that connection. It would be nice for you if the tie in was right at the CO monitor so that you don’t have to play detective and try to find hidden connections.

 

[Laid-back]

Does anyone know where the CO monitor circuit runs? It doesn’t appear on my wiring diagram. It either runs back to the nav station, or directly back to the second DC panel. There are many red and yellow wires.

 

[tfox2069]

I had a similar issue on my MH40 with the fans and CO2 detectors suddenly becoming inoperative. I couldn't troubleshoot it so had a marine electrician come aboard. A very thorough guy, he found a wire bundle that Hunter hadn't done a good job of sealing within which several connections had corroded over time. He sent me a photo and I would've never found that. Very grateful for his thoroughness, and that something worse didn't happen. He's on speed dial now.

P.S. - Consider ditching those likely very old Co2/smoke detectors and replacing with new 10 year lithium battery combo detectors. It's likely those old ones are no longer functioning properly due to the sensors aging out, and you can repurpose the wiring for low draw devices like an LED light or an efficient fan.

 

[Hello Below]

Does anyone know where the CO monitor circuit runs? It doesn’t appear on my wiring diagram. It either runs back to the nav station, or directly back to the second DC panel.