I Have A 2006 Hunter 28. With My Diesel Engine Running Is It "safe"
To Change The Battery Switch Between The 1, Both And 2 Settings?
To Change The Battery Switch Between The 1, Both And 2 Settings?
Battery Switch
- Thread starter POPS701TURF
- Start date
Should be perfectly fine. Just don't pass through off. If you want to test you switch for wear, turn on cabin lights and rotate through 1/2/BOTH, you should see no flicker....
Most modern switches have a feature known as "make before break" which translates to making the new connection before releasing the old one and these are safe (save a malfunction) to operate with the engine running. What you do not want is a broken circuit that could fry the diodes in the alternator. Some older design switches could not be as safe. Ascertain what brand and model switch you have and google the specs. Like Maine indicates a god test is operating the switch with the cabin lights ON and watching for a flicker. That is even better than googling the specs as it may weed out a switch gone bad. But, for purchasing a new switch the specs is the way to go.
Yes. Boats need this function in order to switch to a 2nd bank (IE:house) to start the motor if the primary is dead, then switch back to charge the primary. Or any other combination IE: don't want to start motor with the house batt(s), only switch to charge them after starting.
In addition to others' good advise, I would turn the switch slowly to test, to see if it blanks out.
In addition to others' good advise, I would turn the switch slowly to test, to see if it blanks out.
Ditto all the above
However, the risk is not that great even with the old switches. the inductance in the alternator rotor would prevent any very rapid change in the current flowing through it. This current is what makes the magnetic field that the pulley rotates and induces voltage in the stationary stator output windings. Sooooo unless you leave the switch in exactly the "inbetween" location for more than a second you are only going to cause a small blip in voltage. I would assert that nobody is going to take that long to "flip the switch" and it certainly would not be in the "all circuits open" position for more than a tiny fraction of a second. Since the diodes are normally rated to 50ish volts max voltage that would give some margin of protection if the voltage goes over 14.4 volts.
I would be interested to hear from anybody that has actually fried an alternator diode in this fashion.
My suspicion is that the brother-in-law tried to turn off the diesel with the ignition switch to no avail, the went to the battery switch and set it on OFF and that is how you fry your diodes with a battery switch.
course if we had automated systems to help us life would be much better, alas!
However, the risk is not that great even with the old switches. the inductance in the alternator rotor would prevent any very rapid change in the current flowing through it. This current is what makes the magnetic field that the pulley rotates and induces voltage in the stationary stator output windings. Sooooo unless you leave the switch in exactly the "inbetween" location for more than a second you are only going to cause a small blip in voltage. I would assert that nobody is going to take that long to "flip the switch" and it certainly would not be in the "all circuits open" position for more than a tiny fraction of a second. Since the diodes are normally rated to 50ish volts max voltage that would give some margin of protection if the voltage goes over 14.4 volts.
I would be interested to hear from anybody that has actually fried an alternator diode in this fashion.
My suspicion is that the brother-in-law tried to turn off the diesel with the ignition switch to no avail, the went to the battery switch and set it on OFF and that is how you fry your diodes with a battery switch.
course if we had automated systems to help us life would be much better, alas!