I have a 2002 326 and I am checking out all the systems to be sure they are working correctly (have found some problems) My recent delema is if the battery charger is working correctly - and gettin a straight answer as to how it is connected through the battery selector switch. First question/issue- the owners manual for this type of charger states that the LEDs indicate if it is charging and in what mode - fast, trickle etc. No lights are comming on, but I can hear the batteries gasing if I hook up shore power and turn on the battery charge switch, I am conserned it might be only outputting max charge and am a little woried so I have only been charging the bateries with the engine. Secound issue - if the battery selector switch is in the off position will the battery charger charge both batteries? I have been told yes, this is the proper way to charge as if there is any shorts etc, the batteries wont run down at the dock but will be able to be charged, conversly I have been told no put the selector to both. I think the off position is corect - but would appreciate some input. Thanks Ed
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Selector switch should not factor in.
Ed: The PREFERED method of charging the batteries through the AC Battery charger is a direct connection to the batteries. This would bypass the selector switch completely. The only time the selector switch should come into play is when you are charging through your alternator. As for your charger, I will assume that you have a Guest charger. If memory serves me correctly most of the advice is to junk it and get yourself a smart charger like a Statpower(Xantrex) 20 Plus or 40 Plus. These chargers will charge any type of battery, they are very quite (never hear mine run) and do an excellent job of keeping your batteries in tip-top shape. They will also charge multiple battery banks (upto 3). To get more information about your specific charger, you should contact the mfg of the unit. If this becomes a warranty issue, maybe you can get the Hunter dealer to give you a credit towards a charger of your choice.
Ed: The PREFERED method of charging the batteries through the AC Battery charger is a direct connection to the batteries. This would bypass the selector switch completely. The only time the selector switch should come into play is when you are charging through your alternator. As for your charger, I will assume that you have a Guest charger. If memory serves me correctly most of the advice is to junk it and get yourself a smart charger like a Statpower(Xantrex) 20 Plus or 40 Plus. These chargers will charge any type of battery, they are very quite (never hear mine run) and do an excellent job of keeping your batteries in tip-top shape. They will also charge multiple battery banks (upto 3). To get more information about your specific charger, you should contact the mfg of the unit. If this becomes a warranty issue, maybe you can get the Hunter dealer to give you a credit towards a charger of your choice.
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Dan
Depends
If you have the standard Hunter charger and it is wired the way they have been the last few years, it will connect directly to the #1 and/or #2 leg of the battery switch. If that is the case, then switch position does not matter for charging. If you have an inverter/charger, Hunter general wires the charge/inverter supply leg to the battery common. In that instance the switch needs to point to either 1,2, or both to charge associated batteries. I agree with Steve, get a good three stage charger, and preferable one that has three output legs and run them so that the battery is always connected. The legs require fusing and I would not hook them directly to the battery, but either to a terminal strip or the appropriate leg of the battery switch. Just personal preference. Dan Jonas (S/ Feije II)
If you have the standard Hunter charger and it is wired the way they have been the last few years, it will connect directly to the #1 and/or #2 leg of the battery switch. If that is the case, then switch position does not matter for charging. If you have an inverter/charger, Hunter general wires the charge/inverter supply leg to the battery common. In that instance the switch needs to point to either 1,2, or both to charge associated batteries. I agree with Steve, get a good three stage charger, and preferable one that has three output legs and run them so that the battery is always connected. The legs require fusing and I would not hook them directly to the battery, but either to a terminal strip or the appropriate leg of the battery switch. Just personal preference. Dan Jonas (S/ Feije II)
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Rick Belew
Use a volt meter
I had the same questions except I have a inverter that throws in more questions. However I found out the best way to find the answer is most chargers will put maybe 14 to 16 volts while charging but when the batteries are not charging you will see something less that the charger voltage. Move the switches to different position while using the shore power or motor etc. and you can determine when and if it is charging. I hope this helps.
I had the same questions except I have a inverter that throws in more questions. However I found out the best way to find the answer is most chargers will put maybe 14 to 16 volts while charging but when the batteries are not charging you will see something less that the charger voltage. Move the switches to different position while using the shore power or motor etc. and you can determine when and if it is charging. I hope this helps.
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Bill Murray
owners manual
get out your owners manual -- mine has schematics that show the way the factory "planned" to wire it. Then open up your panels and verify that it is wired the way the schematic shows it - it may not be! Check the color coding and test the connections to make sure they are hooked up to the componants they are labelled for. Unless you are expert, disconnect your negative battery cable while doing this so you do not fry yourself or burn up the boat if you short something out. My boat was delivered with two battery banks as specified in the purchase order but it was not wired the way I expected and only charged both batteries when the selector switch was in the <both> position. That is because the charger was connected directly to the number one post on the A-B-Both switch! There are a number of ways to correct this and a few differant theories on what is the best way to set it up (check previous posts). I'll send you my schematics and directions if you email me. Spend the time to check out where you are starting at and where you want to end up and you will be happiest in the end. BTW - Steve's right - make sure you have a "smart" charger or you will spend all your time monitoring what the charger is doing and will still probably fry all the batteries you are hooked up to. This gets very expensive replacing batteries on an annual basis. I have been getting five plus years out of mine with my present hook up. Bill Murray S/V Good Faith h29.5
get out your owners manual -- mine has schematics that show the way the factory "planned" to wire it. Then open up your panels and verify that it is wired the way the schematic shows it - it may not be! Check the color coding and test the connections to make sure they are hooked up to the componants they are labelled for. Unless you are expert, disconnect your negative battery cable while doing this so you do not fry yourself or burn up the boat if you short something out. My boat was delivered with two battery banks as specified in the purchase order but it was not wired the way I expected and only charged both batteries when the selector switch was in the <both> position. That is because the charger was connected directly to the number one post on the A-B-Both switch! There are a number of ways to correct this and a few differant theories on what is the best way to set it up (check previous posts). I'll send you my schematics and directions if you email me. Spend the time to check out where you are starting at and where you want to end up and you will be happiest in the end. BTW - Steve's right - make sure you have a "smart" charger or you will spend all your time monitoring what the charger is doing and will still probably fry all the batteries you are hooked up to. This gets very expensive replacing batteries on an annual basis. I have been getting five plus years out of mine with my present hook up. Bill Murray S/V Good Faith h29.5
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Steve
Smart Charger
If your 326 is like my 320 (which it should be) then you have a three bank, three stage charger. From the way you discribe the lights, I would say you do. If the banks are not use (IE: #3, then it is jumpered to #2 or #1). You should have two wires coming from the charger going to the #1 post and the #2 post on your battery selector switch. The "hot" leads from the battery should also go to those posts, effectively tieing the charger to the respective battery. I don't remember the manufacturer's name offhand, but when I commisioned my boat, I notied that the owner's manual for the charger and the galvonic isolator were not included (made by the same company). I contacted them on the web, and they provided both, plus answered all my questions. BTW, they also had warranty cards that they sent, just in case I had any problems later. Miswires from the factory are not uncommon. I found a couple, like my bilge pump wired to the common of my battery swtich (Off position killed my bilge pump). The schematics in the owners manual are correct, so double check the wiring, check the output with a meter, and get any problems corrected before you fry the batteries. Good luck, and enjoy the boat. Steve
If your 326 is like my 320 (which it should be) then you have a three bank, three stage charger. From the way you discribe the lights, I would say you do. If the banks are not use (IE: #3, then it is jumpered to #2 or #1). You should have two wires coming from the charger going to the #1 post and the #2 post on your battery selector switch. The "hot" leads from the battery should also go to those posts, effectively tieing the charger to the respective battery. I don't remember the manufacturer's name offhand, but when I commisioned my boat, I notied that the owner's manual for the charger and the galvonic isolator were not included (made by the same company). I contacted them on the web, and they provided both, plus answered all my questions. BTW, they also had warranty cards that they sent, just in case I had any problems later. Miswires from the factory are not uncommon. I found a couple, like my bilge pump wired to the common of my battery swtich (Off position killed my bilge pump). The schematics in the owners manual are correct, so double check the wiring, check the output with a meter, and get any problems corrected before you fry the batteries. Good luck, and enjoy the boat. Steve
T
Tom Hadoulias
Pro-Mariner...
is I believe what Hunter is using on the newer boats. It is probably a ProTech 1230 or 1240. I have an older 37 that I retrofited with this charger. Check out the link below to take you to the site and you can download the info and manual. The chargers where designed by Bob Unger who I believe was the past top dog and founder of Raytheon. I have spoke with him on several occassions and he is an expert in charging and galvanic corrossion protection and detection. The chargers are four stage with complete protection and also DC power supplies that are definately "smart" chargers. They operate on a wide variety of AC input voltage from 90 to 270 volts and also operate from 45-440 HZ automatically. In short, they'll work worldwide. Thier product support is excellent and I chose them over the Statpower when I had a lightning hit and they repaired my unit for a fixed fee regardless of what damages it. My dockmate was not as fortunate with his Statpower. A close friend is a product test engineer with Sea Ray and per his recommendation I aquired a ProTech 1240 when they concluded thier testing and specified the product for all Sea Ray boats. In short, he sayed they coudn't kill it no matter what they did to it. Not that there is anything wrong with the TruCharge series, but if you do in fact have a Pro Mariner unit installed you'll be wasting your money if you switch and you won't gain anything in the process. I'll be happy to answer any questions about it if you like as I am intimately familiar with the unit as it installs in Hunter Sailboats. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop Tom
is I believe what Hunter is using on the newer boats. It is probably a ProTech 1230 or 1240. I have an older 37 that I retrofited with this charger. Check out the link below to take you to the site and you can download the info and manual. The chargers where designed by Bob Unger who I believe was the past top dog and founder of Raytheon. I have spoke with him on several occassions and he is an expert in charging and galvanic corrossion protection and detection. The chargers are four stage with complete protection and also DC power supplies that are definately "smart" chargers. They operate on a wide variety of AC input voltage from 90 to 270 volts and also operate from 45-440 HZ automatically. In short, they'll work worldwide. Thier product support is excellent and I chose them over the Statpower when I had a lightning hit and they repaired my unit for a fixed fee regardless of what damages it. My dockmate was not as fortunate with his Statpower. A close friend is a product test engineer with Sea Ray and per his recommendation I aquired a ProTech 1240 when they concluded thier testing and specified the product for all Sea Ray boats. In short, he sayed they coudn't kill it no matter what they did to it. Not that there is anything wrong with the TruCharge series, but if you do in fact have a Pro Mariner unit installed you'll be wasting your money if you switch and you won't gain anything in the process. I'll be happy to answer any questions about it if you like as I am intimately familiar with the unit as it installs in Hunter Sailboats. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop Tom
Very interesting Tom.
Tom: This is interesting. I had an old Pro Mariner on my boat before I got my Statpower 40+. I used that unit for about 10-12 years and even charged my Gel cells with it. The only complaint was the noise when charging (at night when sleeping in the aft bunk). Of course these new units are also silent too. One major advantage is that you can run a 12V appliance directly off the charger without a battery. This would be something that some owners may be interested in persuing. You cannot do this with many smart chargers.
Tom: This is interesting. I had an old Pro Mariner on my boat before I got my Statpower 40+. I used that unit for about 10-12 years and even charged my Gel cells with it. The only complaint was the noise when charging (at night when sleeping in the aft bunk). Of course these new units are also silent too. One major advantage is that you can run a 12V appliance directly off the charger without a battery. This would be something that some owners may be interested in persuing. You cannot do this with many smart chargers.
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