H280 Battery Charger Change out

Aug 19, 2021
495
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
So I got some free time and started the charger change.

First step clean up what the previous owners have left me.

An after market AC unit that appears to have issues of its own worthy of a thread of its own. The after market AC is installed were the batteries should be according to the owners manual.

On the table are a few of the items I found, disconnected and removed.



The extra terminals were on the STBD side were the house battery. The terminal nearest the positive terminal (not attached) the wire had got so hot that the insulation was was brittle. It was then wrapped with red electrical tape. I suspect this is the first unfused direct circuit. I traced it up into the STBD bulkhead kitchen area. I picked a bad day to leave my borescope in the garage. I did not negative lead for this.

Next is the cigarette lighter. Same issue wired direct to the house battery without a fuse. I pulled it until I figure out what I want to do with it.

The third thing is that jumper cable looking thing. Alligator clips and terminal connections. Anyone know what that would be used for? Maybe the previous owner was adding a third battery for weekend trips? Any ideas?

Also coiled up is the old charger cable for the engine battery.

Last but not least what appears to be a thru hull plug?

As a side note. I was not working on the 115 VAC system today. But, I did find out the top half of the GFI outlet serving the V berth works and the bottom half does not.

Not complaining, just SMH over somethings people do.

Thankful I am making some head way.
 
Jul 23, 2009
857
Beneteau 31 Oceanis Grand Lake, Oklahoma
I was working on that exact project today. The charger was apparently installed before the cabinetry was installed. I could not see two of the screws. I could touch them though, one of them just barely. After some boat yoga, some swearing and some brute force, I got the old charger loose. I'll have to rearrange some equipment to get the new charger installed though. It's never easy!
 
Last edited:
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
I see a 12V receptacle, a jumper cable perhaps used as a combiner, a thru-hull plug used when removing transducers, battery terminals and a coiled wire to run power to some fixture. The absence of inline fuse holders is surely disturbing.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
The “plug” is a blank plug to replace your speed log…so, if you need to clean it, or remove the speed log when hauling out (gravel lift guys always seem to put the slings right on the paddle wheel…)

So, you unscrew the transpondear, pull it out of the thruhull (water will bubble in, but there is probably a “flap” in the thruhull to slow the water down) and then screw in the plug.

Just keep it near your speed transducer thru-hull…you never know when it might come in handy.

Greg
 
Aug 19, 2021
495
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
The “plug” is a blank plug to replace your speed log…so, if you need to clean it, or remove the speed log when hauling out (gravel lift guys always seem to put the slings right on the paddle wheel…)

So, you unscrew the transpondear, pull it out of the thruhull (water will bubble in, but there is probably a “flap” in the thruhull to slow the water down) and then screw in the plug.

Just keep it near your speed transducer thru-hull…you never know when it might come in handy.

Greg
thx a million Greg
 
Aug 19, 2021
495
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
Today was the first day since I purchased Prometheus that I could walk onboard and look at the charger and see that the battery charger is fully operational. Both batteries are charged. The automatic bilge pump is functioning properly.

Celebrating small victories!
 
Aug 19, 2021
495
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
Continuing updates.....

Great news all the interior lighting is now LED. Another small victory.

I really do not know who or how many people were responsible for the installation of the after market AM/FM/CD player(s) over the years, but you will love this.
The radio has not worked since I put the new charging system in. So I dropped it to see what the PO(s) had left me.
Interesting, Very interesting.


When I started the charger conversion I thought the positive connection did not a fuse. Good golly I was wrong. It had a 10 Amp and a 15 Amp fuse. AND 5 splices. Really you could not find one 10' piece of wire.



The quality of work that went into the slice is amazing.


I do have a question for those who are a little more electrical savvy than I. My background is HVAC and HVAC electrical and learning on the fly by asking questions. What is this? The fuse is 120V 15 Amp. Thx for your help.


Thanks for all the help and support.
 
Jul 23, 2009
857
Beneteau 31 Oceanis Grand Lake, Oklahoma
One of the best improvements I made to the stereo on my old boat was to run a dedicated power cable from the batteries directly to the stereo. I think I used 12 awg x 2, fused at the battery of course. I wasn't expecting any real improvement other than keeping the memory/setting alive when I turned off the battery switch.

My current boat needs a new stereo. When I finally get around to replacing it I will probably add a direct power/ground cable at the same time.
 
Aug 19, 2021
495
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
My current boat needs a new stereo. When I finally get around to replacing it I will probably add a direct power/ground cable at the same time.
Thank you for helping me understand the concept. Every day I learn something new is a good day.
 
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Jun 4, 2020
32
Hunter 280 280 Lake Norman, NC
Hi Marcus - reviving an old thread here but I'm looking at replacing what I appears to be the factory installed battery charger in my H280. It's located in the bow next to the water heater. It's always bothered me that I couldn't see it and had no idea as to the state of the batteries. I thought about installing a new one where the existing one is, then adding an external monitor I could easily see, but it sounds like you relocated your charger where you could see it. Where exactly did you put it? Do you have a photo you could share? A year later, do you like the location or if you had to do it again would you put it somewhere else? Thanks!
-Rob