I leave the batteries on board during winter lay-up, and periodically keep the batteries charged by using shorepower. My practice has been to clamber aboard, turn on the battery switches and shore power panel switches and then attach the shore power cord. My question is this: will the battwery charger work if I leave the battery switches off. If I can do this I will be able to plug in the shore power line without having to board the covered boat to turn on the battery switches, and then turn them off later when I disconnect the shore power line.
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You really don't give us any info. It all depends on how & where the charger is wired to the batteries. There is a thousand ways to do it. Charger wired right to the batteries or the switch? Have a battery combiner? Echo charge? Does each battery have its own wire from the charger (3 wires, 3 batteries, etc.)? Trace the wires and make yourself a wiring diagram for reference- now and in the future.
Ron is correct. It depends on how the battery circuit is set up. It also depends upon the brand of charger. My Beneteau 323 has a Xantrex charger and it is wired so that the batteries do not have to be switched on. The AC power can be left on to the charger at all times to bused as a trickle charger.
Standard charger
I'm talking about the standard built-in charger which came with the boat, as wired by Beneteau. It has its own circuit breaker on the standard AC panel, along with the 120volt outlets and the water heater. Nothing fancy; nothing custom.
I'm talking about the standard built-in charger which came with the boat, as wired by Beneteau. It has its own circuit breaker on the standard AC panel, along with the 120volt outlets and the water heater. Nothing fancy; nothing custom.
Itwould help to know which model boat you have and also charger brand as things change from year to year. It sounds like its the same setup as mine. If so, leave the battery ground switch (black) in the "on" position, and the charger AC power on. It should function as a trickle charger.
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