Reverse polarity

Mirwin

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Jul 29, 2017
125
Catalina 310 Hixson
Hi everyone,
our battery charger has not come in yet but we now have a problem with reverse polarity. Our AC had stopped pumping cold air so we had it looked at. He recharged it and put a sealant in. We were told to run the AC several days to circulate the sealant. We checked the first day and it was cold. The second day, Scott noticed the reverse polarity light glowing, the AC had tripped and now isn’t working. We have had this problem in the past with polarity but thought it was fixed. At the time it was a dock problem. Could this reverse polarity be the cause of both our battery charger and AC not working? Also, does anyone know what the on/off switch is for in the port lazaret near the battery charger? Thanks everyone.

marilyn
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
That On/off switch in your lazaret could be the main breaker for your shore power, although mine is located more to the starboard side, near the fridge compressor. Check your shore power connections. You could have shorted and burned pins. I switched to Smartplug cable and connector, and highly recommend them.
 

Mirwin

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Jul 29, 2017
125
Catalina 310 Hixson
Thanks, we did determine that the polarity is a dock problem not a boat problem. Scott took the boat to a different marina and plugged in. No reverse polarity and the AC is working!
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Just buy a polarity tester at a hardware store, no need to move the boat.
 

Mirwin

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Jul 29, 2017
125
Catalina 310 Hixson
Polarity tester says everything is ok but we know there is a dock problem somewhere. The marina was just a mile down river
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Check your shore power connections. You could have shorted and burned pins. I switched to Smartplug cable and connector, and highly recommend them.
Same as Tom, last time I had reverse polarity problem, it caused all kinds of weird problems. Source of problem was burned/shorted power inlet receptacle on boat. Also converted to Smart Plug at that time.
 
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JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
@Mirwin I remember you all getting your 310 and the adventures. I bought a 310 on Lake Guntersville last year. You are welcome to check my boat out with the upgrades that the PO did. They are working out great and he had a nice thread on it.

With the charging issues and such I get that all sorted first before going to far down a rats hole.