12v circuit destruction!!!!!!!!

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Plonk:
The main DC switch you mention is the DC main switch and AC main should be on the circuit breaker panel, but you may want to only turn off certain AC ckts.
Cap'n Ag:
If you want this boat, get the entire system checked over before committing yourself to boat purchase! Grounding system,converters, inverters,circuit breakers, etc. could all be suspect! The seller should be having this all done, not you.

Hope this helps, Chief
 
Feb 6, 2008
86
Hunter 41 Punta Gorda
It sounds like the same thing that happened to me in 2005. Brought the boat home in January, a spring storm came through with lightning. I was sitting in the house (boat is in the canal behind the house) and heard the sissel followed by loud boom. It struck somewhere off in the distance. The next day I noticed the stereo didn't work. I started checking closer and every electronic device was inoperable. Electric pumps, electric lights, etc. all worked. Electronic controls and instruments did not work.

My insurance covered the damage, near $10K. AC controls, generator controls, stereos, VHF radio, fire suppression control, autopilot computer, all ST60 instruments. The knot meter failed a week or more after the event. The chart plotter was repairable. Only one light bulb failed, it was in the cabin, not at the top of the mast. All circuit breakers were off. There was not a mark on the boat, but we never did find the VHF antenna. The cable from the antenna was not damaged, I am still using it today.

Lightening is the ultimate bear in the room, it does whatever it wants to.
 
May 25, 2013
36
Beneteau Sense 50 Waterford Harbour
Chief,
Who do I look to for the inspection/test of the electrical system? Is it a surveyor or a marine (certified) electrician?
 

Mulf

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Dec 2, 2003
400
Hunter 410 Chester, MD (Kent Island)
Similar event happened to me in 2006.

Came to the boat to find all circuit breakers had tripped. Basically anything electronic wouldn't work. After a lot of searching I noticed the 18" VHF whip antenna at the top of my mast was missing and the coil had changed from shiny stainless to black. Surveyor deemed it a lightning near miss as no other physical damage was ever found. Thankful that my insurance agent had talked me into buying replacement value coverage as the insurance paid a very large bill to pull every electronics wire and instrument and replace it with that year's equivalent to what I'd had.
 

redege

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Jun 29, 2012
19
beneteau oceanis 351 queensland
Power failures on my boat were always due to the negative cable on the circuit board connection being corroded. I don't know why, but the positive power cables don't seem to corrode so much as the negatives. Cut off the last bit of the cable (about 1cm) if the wire seems hard or looks dull grey or even green. A voltmeter is your best friend on board.
some electrical grade silicon spray will also help prevent this.
 
Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Cap'n Ag:
I am not a marine expert but would think the boat should be checked by a surveyor and he call for a marine electrician if needed. Bear in mind that I am a certified Electronic Engineer and we are in both electrical and electronics plus marine issues. Maybe we can get others who have used a surveyor to assist with this part. The technical analogy stuff is more my thing.

Good luck, Chief
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,619
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Surveyor deemed it a lightning near miss as no other physical damage was ever found.
So a miss is as bad as a hit - sort of speak. I guess the EMF phenomena exists either way.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
check all your seatalk connections. SeaTalk supplies power from one end so if there is a break the rest of the instruments will not work. The ones that do can also give the seatalk fault if they need sentences from dead instruments.
 
May 25, 2004
443
Catalina 400 mkII Harbor
thanks for all the replys,

some notes;

all fuses on, power thru seatalk and all devices not working

called boat us, they were very professional and helpful, they said to take it to the yard for a short haul and bottom inspection, have all electronics and transducer removed and bench tested. all at their expense. minus $450 deductible.

i noticed a few responses about the windless, ill make sure i check that too.

ill keep you posted
 
Mar 5, 2009
55
2 30_74-83 Port St Lucie, FL
Don't forget in-mast wiring

In my buddy's case, some of the wires were damaged and ins paid to rewire mast.
Jimmy
 
Dec 30, 2009
680
jeanneau 38 gin fizz sloop Summer- Keyport Yacht Club, Raritan Bay, NJ, Winter Viking Marina Verplanck, NY
Did u check both sides of the dc panel in the back, isn,t there a shunt trip on the outbound side, may have tripped???REd
 
Oct 6, 2007
1,144
Hunter H30 1982 Chicago IL
Seems like I'm often a bit tardy in responding, but for what it's worth at this point, I know that Burnham Harbor was hit by a severe thunderstorm (high wind and lots of lighting) one night early last week. It was bad enough that a friend in a condo at 18th and Michigan Ave, just a couple blocks away, asked me the next morning if my boat came through the storm OK (It did. No damage at all.). So, I think that lends some credibility to the lightning strike theories, whether direct or near hit.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hope you are back out there soon.
 
Jul 21, 2009
48
2 26s Point du chene
Sidenote - I'm a DC electrical novice planning on tackling a full electrical system re-wire and upgrade on a MacGregor 25 (a previous owner re-wired everything with indoor extension cord wire, oy) and your mention of
"main switch turn offs, AC and DC"
puzzles. Is that a reference to my Marine Battery Switch, an existing large dial for choosing between batteries or taking them out of the circuit altogether, or is there some all-electrical-circuits master shut-off switch that ought to be installed as part of the system? I'm imagining some Frankenstein-like giant knife switch. Would be grateful for some illumination (pardon the pun).
Got my 1991 mac26 and was out sailing - hanging onto the mast - it felt "fuzzy" Took a few days to realize it was electricity - same thing - indoor wire.

So I re-wired - for wiring, the further it travels the more current loss, and 12 volt is small power - also used marine wire - "tinned'. So I put a plug in the side for shore power near the stays - ran 14 guage wire to a GFI switch with a toggle to give 120 at the dock then ran to Guest inverter / charger - connected two 175amp gell batteries with 12 guage - that run to a metal converted safety deposit box with fuses (box would protect from an electrical fire plus is a crude ground if shorts happened) Ran as many separate lines as possible not daisy chaining anything but lights if I could help it (radio seperate from water pump etc) tried to use 14gage most places. Added another battery for the motor as it was easier to run 12 guage and safer as I wouldn't have to run lines to the gells through where the gas was.

Final note - do not dischage batteries, especially AGM, below two thirds or they will be dead real quick - trickle charge in winter if they get too low over winter. Had mine 10 years now and they still work fine - combination of not skimpping on the wire size and keeping them up.

I can run two days with everything on including cycling on and off a converted kooltron refrigerator - which eats most of the power - 8 amps with approx 240 available amps is about 30 hours of continuous use.
 
May 25, 2004
443
Catalina 400 mkII Harbor
thanks for all the input! boat us just assigned a surveyor, he will be out next week. ill keep all posted.

bty

went out for a sail last night, it amazing how spoiled one gets with autopilot!

mike
 
Apr 15, 2008
32
Hunter H27 Fairhaven
I had a similar sounding event at my home last year. Although there was lightning strike nearby that took down a tree; the falling tree across the power lines caused three successive power surges; you known, off, on, off, on, off, on , offff . .
:snip

It puzzles me that it was only the 12vdc devices that was affected, unless as other say, the EMP got picked up by the circuit boards and fried those.

/ Bob
Someone suggested if all the switches and mains were turned off. The way my boat (Hunter 27) is setup, I have a dual MAIN AC Circuit breaker (Hot and Ground; normal is just HOT). I also have a main DC / Battery Selector, which can be OFF, B1 BOTH B2, which is also OFF when not on the boat. And I have a DC Switch/Circuit Breaker (Marine quality) for each circuit (Cabin Lights, Running Lights, Steaming Light, Anchor Light, Water Pump). The Bilge Pump is wired direct to a battery (I have two deep cycle and none starting battery. Starting battery not needed for my 8 hp Yanmar diesel, as there are no glow plugs and starts easily).

BoatUS and I think BoatSmart published articles, that when leaving the boat for the day, to also unplug the Main AC Dock cord (cable in UK) to Boat power. The rationale being if the dock area got a lightning strike, the surge can travel the AC power cord to connected boats.

In a related article in Consumers Reports, there have been home fires where and AC power surge jumps across the device power switch and shorts out in the device, causing a fire. Ergo the reason to disconnect the DC (and any AC) devices when leaving the boat.

Bob
 
Dec 13, 2010
123
Hake 32RK Red Bank
DC problems

I would not assume that the instrumentation and electrical devices are failed. First check the voltage at each device. Make sure that you have a solid ground and that one (or more) battery fuses are not semi-blown. Just experienced a situation where a battery main fuse was nearly blown. As soon as any load was put on it, it would open circuit but with no load I had 14.5V DC. If you had a lightning strike you would be able to see some visible damage on at least one instrument or device. Circuit continuity is more likely the ciulprit....





i got to my boat yesterday and to my surprise i lost almost all of my 12 volt equipment. Items lost: raymarine rc 80 (lights up, shows chart, no data) st 60 depth (no response , no light up), st 60 wind (no light up, no response), st 6000 autopilot (lights up, no button response, says seatalk fail), fm stereo, ac invertor, cell phone charger that was plugged in to lighter outlet. All led lights.

to my suprise my st60 knotmeter lit and responded (shows temp, timer, etc. i didnt go out so dont know if it will show speed), and my vhf radio appears unscathed.

also all my incandesant lighting, pumps, engine control panel, refrigerator seem to work property.

what happened? lightning, power spikes?

are my transducers ok? how about the computer for the autopilot?

will insurance cover this (boat us)?

thanks
 
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