Battery Questions - H340

[Robby in WA]

The H340 I just bought had batteries in it that had been there since 2006. I am new to this stuff, so bear with me. Today I decided to put in new batteries. I went to West Marine and spent about a grand.

I got a group 27 for the starter. I had read somewhere that was a good replacement. The previous battery was a Group 24. Question 1: Is that okay? Question 2: With the moveable panel that provides access the holding tank where the start battery is located; how do you secure it?

The house batteries were 2 6v rated at 215 ah. The batteries I got are rated at 180 ah. 3. Will I notice a big a difference? There was a nice white battery box for the house bank in the dock box that they fit perfectly in, after some bruised ribs I got it all in there and it looks nice.

Main question, 4: As I was wiring everything up, I bumped the wire (yellow ends in pictures) that goes from the Blue Sea charger to the house bank, on a negative terminal and it sparked. After i got everything back together it all seemed to work fine, but the battery meter in by the nav station doesn't budge when it's switched to the house bank. The start battery shows 14v. I waited for about an hour thinking they needed to charge. Then I disconnected the shore power and they have juice (lights, stereo worked). Did I just fry the wire? Did I fry that side of the Blue Sea charger? The light is on combined and I can hear the charger working.

Any help would be appreciated. The pictures are the batteries before I swapped them.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Robby, I will comment by comparing your batteries to mine, also on a H340. My starter battery is a Walmart Group 24, now 3 years old and with plenty of power to run the diesel starter. This batt is located to the outboard side of the compartment. My house bank is 2 6v Interstate and rated at 230 AH, also 3 years old now, and that allows me to operate the boat normally about 40-45 hrs without charging the batteries and staying above 50% charge.

So to your question 1, I don't think that a G27 should be a problem.

Question 2, I drilled holes and installed 3/16 inch wood screws through the wood panel into the fiberglass below to secure the wood panel. I have a Blue Seas battery box that is screwed into the wood panel to hold the 2 6Vs and it has not been a problem.

Question 3, battery ratings are not reliable, as some manufacturers use different standards. Read Mainesail's articles regarding battery selection and battery charging for expert opinion. I doubt my Interstates are really 230 AH but they are working fine for me.

Question 4, get yourself an inexpensive VOM somewhere (Harbor Freight or Radio Shack) and read the battery voltage directly on the battery after leaving your battery charger and engine off for a couple of hours. You should get between 12.6 and 12.8V. Then you will know if your meter has a problem - you could have blown a fuse between the meter and its connection to the battery. Then test the charger by first disconnecting the wire that links your house and starting bank together through the ACR and secure it out of the way. Then turn on your charger to see if it works by measuring the voltage again, it should be in the neighborhood of 13.5-14V depending on the state of charge of your house batteries.

If you get that voltage your charger is ok, and you just need to troubleshoot your meter. If you don't get that higher voltage, you need to read the manual on your charger to see how it's protected. Could be an onboard fuse on the output side.

BTW that's a lot of wires connected to the Trojan battery in your first picture. You may want to trace those out and see what's going on. I assume that's your starting battery? Not sure why they would be connected there instead of the battery switch...

 

[Robby in WA]

Ed, I was hoping you'd respond as I was researching I found you have the same Blue Sea 7600 that's in my boat. Thank you. I swapped out the wire and disconnected everything for awhile. After I wired it back I connected the house bank to the Blue Sea link first. It came on and lit as Undervoltage, after I hooked up the Start battery, the battery charger came on and it switched to combined. So, it seems like it is seeing the House bank. It just doesn't show anything on the meter in by the Nav station. I traced the wires as far as I can see them and don't see a fuse anywhere. I'll get a volt meter tomorrow and see if it's the charger I guess. Supposed to head out on Friday.

I got the start battery secured with screws on the fixed side and removable side of the base.
Yea, the wires look a mess and a future project is to trace them and see what's going on.

 

[Bill19233]

Robby, on my 340 I bought a West Marine group 27 back in February for the starter, too. So if it's wrong, we're both wrong. I've tried to remember to use it a couple times this season, search mainsail's posts on starting, he says the house bank is fine for everyday starting, just make sure the backup works every now and then, and don't change the battery switch while the engine is running. My house bank is 3 West Marine group 31 AGM's with the 2004 punched out on the label, and we are not conservative using our reefer, lights, stereo, instruments, fans, etc..., on our all day and half the night daysails. Hope I didn't just jinx myself, I want to get new sails next year, not new batteries. I moved the batteries to the port settee to get the trim back straight. The start battery is in the cabinet aft of the nav station and the battery switch is under the nav table My profile has photos. I think it made a huge difference in sailing performance moving 3 to 400 lbs. of batteries out of the stern.
I don't know if you hurt the charger, my 340 has the original which looks like it's from the 1960's, that's a project for next year, too..., maybe not, it's kept the 10 year old batteries working good.

 

[Robby in WA]

Bill, I think it was you whom I read used a Group 27 for a Start.

I sent an email to Blue Sea tech support and will pick up a volt meter in the morning.

 

[Benny17441]

Most modern battery switches are of the "make before break" type and can be switched while the engine is running as long as you do not have to pass OFF. As the lever is moved they will establish a connection before releasing the previous one so that at all times the battery(s) are online. In these switches the OFF position is usually at one end of the range. This myth is busted, just insure what type of switch you have.

 

[Robby in WA]

The feed to the meter was black and I hooked it up to a ground. Problem solved.

After research, I am wondering if I should lower the Overvoltage setting on the Blue Sea 7600 link from 15v because I installed AGM batteries?