Zinc and Battery

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Jun 11, 2006
1
- - Vancouver BC
Hi all, I am a newcomer to sailing and recent proud owner of a Beneteau 343. Could someone here help me solve the following three mysteries? Mystery 1 - Both my starter and house batteries do not seem to hold a charge too well after each full charge. My carbon monoxide detector alarm malfunctions (beeps due to low charge) each time the batteries drop, and this is becoming annoying each time I come to the marina. No other devices were left on, other than the CO2 sensor and the bilge switch. Power terminals were all in the "OFF" position. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what would be the possible cause? I know that a battery tends to drain while in storage, but I would expect the drop would be negligible over a one week period. Mystery 2 - My zinc attached to the prop disappears every few months. A new one was installed last October. In March, I hauled out the boat and the zinc was completely gone. A new one was again installed. Just two weeks ago in late May, I hauled out the boat again and guess where the zinc was? Gone AWOL again. Other boat owners in the same marina at the same dock don't have this problem. Mystery 3 - Without shorepower, I switched on the stereo on my beloved boat with both the house and starter terminals in the "ON" position. I then switched the house battery to "Off" and the stereo remained on. I then turned the common terminal to the "Off" position and expected the stereo to die. The stereo remained on. Man this is getting weird. My local Beneteau service agent recommends that I install a Galvanic Isolator. Will this solve Zinc problem, given there are other weird problems? Any doctor in the house? Please help!
 
Aug 3, 2005
181
Morgan 33 O/I Green Cove Springs FL
Mystery 1 and 2

Could be solved by the likely possibilty of bad wiring in your boat. With the zincs going away at that pace, I would suspect there is some voltage leaking on your boat. Ususally you should start in the bilge and look for wires that are submerged below any water. They are usually the culprit. The current leaking out of your boat could also be the cause of your battery drain, or the batteries could just be bad. Do a load test on the batteries. Galvanic isolators will take care of the problem as long as you are not pumping out more amps than the isolator can handle. Also consider the isolater is working as a band-aid covering aq bigger problem. Mystery 3 I really do not understand what you are trying to tell us. Are you saying with all power off the radio still works? Fair Winds Cap'n Dave
 
Feb 24, 2004
190
Hunter 290 Portland, Maine
Wiring

Congratulations on the purchase; sounds like a little work to do, as with any boat. I'll start with Mystery #3 - no question something is askew. The wires from the batteries should go the main on/off switch then to the breaker panel. Is the stereo the only thing tha remains on, or do lights, etc, stay on? If its just the stereo, then it got wired directly to the battery. (you'll find another thread that relates to a 'yellow' wire from the radio that is connected directly to the battery so you don't lose your station settings; maybe someone combined the power and the infamous yellow and led both to the battery). But with the stereo off, it shouldn't drain your battery much. Mystery #1 - how old are your batteries and what type and were they taken care of (topped off if flooded type and charged in the off-season)? I finally switched mine out after five years; they charged but didn't retain power. One sign I used was that the old batteries lost charge even if not connected to anything. Try disconnecting them altogether and see if they retain charge (any digital voltmeter handy?). Other threads will tell you what else you can try before biting the bullet for new batteries. Mystery #2 - you'll also find an abundance of answers on this website about zincs; sure, an electrical problem could cause the zincs to be eaten. I'd try the following before adding an isolator. I use two zincs to extend the season, but I've learned that the installation is sometimes the problem. Some say hit the zinc with a hammer to properly seat them on the shaft, but the additional key is using an allen wrench to really (and I mean really) tighten them down. I used a screwdiver with a hex tip for a couple of years; went on fine, but then the zincs disappeared. Hey, electrical problem? Nope; the screwdiver just couldn't tighten the zincs enough and they eventually worked themselves loose. Instead, crank down on the allen wrench; haven't lost one since. Good luck. Paul
 

tweitz

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Oct 30, 2005
290
Beneteau 323 East Hampton, New York
Electrical issues

As the brand new owner of Beneteau 323 I can tell you that my dealer said that they go over the wiring very carefully because they do find a factory wiring problems. They corrected sevceral on mine that I never saw. They also told me that the bilge pump switch should be left in the off position. If it in the off position, it will pump only when the float switch demands it -- in effect it overrides the off position. if you switch it on it runs continuously, draining the battery and possilbly burning out the pump. This was completely counterintutive to me, and the instructions were far from clear, although they are consistent with this result if you already know the answer. You sometimes need it on when the float switch doesn't indicate it because, for example, it is also the pump for the shower drain.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Second all the above

Something I learned while an auto mechanic. If you have several problems they are usually related. With that said, batteries that will not stay charged and zincs that disappear would say that you have an electrical leak into the water that is burning your zinc with your battery power. Anything running to a thru-hull could be a suspect (short to the ground wire) but the only circuit that should have 12 v with all the power off is the bilge pump and its float switch. Also you probably just have the stereo "hot wired" to the batteries. This is pretty common as the stereo has a memory for all its settings that if you turn off all the power is lost. The correct way to handle this is an "always hot" buss that runs stuff that needs to be on all the time like bilge pump switches, VHFs with memory scan, stereos..... How to test; Put the boat in its normal "away from the boat" set up. Attach a long jumper wire to the negative terminal of one of the batteries. Take the other end to the bilge. Use a volt meter set on its lowest setting to measure the voltage between the water in the bilge(+) and the jumper wire (-). Any voltage here is a bad thing. Disconnect each circuit at the source (bat or panel) one at a time and recheck. The one that you disconnect that causes the voltage to disappear is the circuit. It is most likely a connection in the bilge that has gotten wet. Also, a galvanic isolator is not a bad idea but since you say that other boats are not having a problem I would not try this as the first solution.
 
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