Hot smell?

[jonfreeman]

So, the last couple times out, my boat has been smelling "hot" after motoring for about an hour. It smells like hot wiring. No smoke or anything obvious, but I am always suspicious of unusual behaviors.

The boat has two 4D batteries with the standard A/B switch. The PO replaced the stock alternator with a BALMAR 70 amp unit and a remote regulator (Heart Incharge 3 step). I DID notice the cable from the alternator to the starter post was still the stock 8AWG, and Balmar recommends a 2AWG. Today, I replaced that cable with 2AWG.

The voltage from the alternator was set to 14.7 volts with a bulk time setting of 4 hours. I am thinking I should dial the voltage back to 14.4-14.5 and set the bulk time to something shorter (30 minutes?).

Anyway, does anyone want to offer any thoughts here?

Thanks in advance.

Jon Freeman
Tacoma, WA

 

[Witzend]

The exhaust mixing elbow is too close to the wooden bulkhead and may be what you are smelling is the wood burning, not electrical insulation smell. Catalina recognizes the problem and sells a cover plat to cover the hole you need to cut in the bulkhead to provide the proper clearance so the heat from the exhaust won't cause a fire.

 

[Long Story]

I had a hot smell also, turned out it was the insulation melting off the cable that is inside the engine cover to hold the cover open. There is not a great way to keep this away from the engine. Just one more thing to check.