Does a battery selector switch only affect which battery is being charged by the alternator or does it also regulate which battery is being drawn from? Bank is run in parallel.
Battery Selector switch
- Thread starter chelsabella
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Depends on the wiring.
Ron: This subject has come up before and it really depends on how the boat was wired. In my opinion it should be wired that all the batteries are charged regardless of how the battery switch is set. The key is to only use your house keeping batteries for everything. If your engine does not start on the house side then you can switch to the starting battery. This keeps you starting battery as the reserve. That is the way we do it. That does not indicate that it is correct!
Ron: This subject has come up before and it really depends on how the boat was wired. In my opinion it should be wired that all the batteries are charged regardless of how the battery switch is set. The key is to only use your house keeping batteries for everything. If your engine does not start on the house side then you can switch to the starting battery. This keeps you starting battery as the reserve. That is the way we do it. That does not indicate that it is correct!
To charge both batteries it should be
wired through a combiner relay which disconnects the batteries when the engine is turned off. Choose one bank to be your house bank and the other to be the reserve for starting and keep the separated. by switching to "1" OR "2" NEVER to BOTH unless for a temporary emergency boost when starting the engine. A buddy of mine working under the premise that if he keeps the switch on Both he will charge both batteries while motoring has probably recouped his towboat membership fee a few times over as by mistake or battery failure he has been left dead in the water more than a couple of times. After the last time when he forgot to turn the refrigerator off I think he has finally understood what I have been telling him.
wired through a combiner relay which disconnects the batteries when the engine is turned off. Choose one bank to be your house bank and the other to be the reserve for starting and keep the separated. by switching to "1" OR "2" NEVER to BOTH unless for a temporary emergency boost when starting the engine. A buddy of mine working under the premise that if he keeps the switch on Both he will charge both batteries while motoring has probably recouped his towboat membership fee a few times over as by mistake or battery failure he has been left dead in the water more than a couple of times. After the last time when he forgot to turn the refrigerator off I think he has finally understood what I have been telling him.
Benny
That is wehat I want to do does it matter that battery 1 is grounded to battery 2 with a jump cable and the main negative is also with battery 2. also since my radio is direct wired to battery 2 will it draw also from battery 1??
That is wehat I want to do does it matter that battery 1 is grounded to battery 2 with a jump cable and the main negative is also with battery 2. also since my radio is direct wired to battery 2 will it draw also from battery 1??
long sad experience
You normally have two batteries. Start on Bat number one, warm up, maybe run one bat one for a bit, when sails go up, switch to bat 2. (or if motorsailing, also switch to bat two)Turn off the noisy thing. When it comes time to start the beast, switch back quickly to bat one and punch the button. Should be great, repeat the charge on bat one, and then go back to bat two for sailing. At the dock switch to both, if you can charge overnight. End of troubles. much easier to do than explain, but this is the skippers job, dont let the crew do it, they will screw it up. whisper
You normally have two batteries. Start on Bat number one, warm up, maybe run one bat one for a bit, when sails go up, switch to bat 2. (or if motorsailing, also switch to bat two)Turn off the noisy thing. When it comes time to start the beast, switch back quickly to bat one and punch the button. Should be great, repeat the charge on bat one, and then go back to bat two for sailing. At the dock switch to both, if you can charge overnight. End of troubles. much easier to do than explain, but this is the skippers job, dont let the crew do it, they will screw it up. whisper
Very confusing
Ron From your description, it sounds like both batteries are tied together with a neg cable going off one of the batteries to the ground bus and both red pos cables go to the 1-2-both-off switch - is that correct? As someone else already said, the answer to your question depends entirely on how your batteries are wired. A typical installation is as above and the battery being drawn from is a function of what position the selector switch is in, albeit your radio seems to be connected directly. In that case, the radio will draw off the battery to which it is connected but again, it depends on the overall wiring. Draw a diagram of the wiring which should be self-explanatory - if not, bring the drawing into the Main St WM store and just about anyone working there can help you. Don
Ron From your description, it sounds like both batteries are tied together with a neg cable going off one of the batteries to the ground bus and both red pos cables go to the 1-2-both-off switch - is that correct? As someone else already said, the answer to your question depends entirely on how your batteries are wired. A typical installation is as above and the battery being drawn from is a function of what position the selector switch is in, albeit your radio seems to be connected directly. In that case, the radio will draw off the battery to which it is connected but again, it depends on the overall wiring. Draw a diagram of the wiring which should be self-explanatory - if not, bring the drawing into the Main St WM store and just about anyone working there can help you. Don
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