Charging the house battery

T

Tfred

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Joined
Jul 8, 2008
RO Number
30408
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11
Hello All,

I have a new to me 97 Regal 292. I like the boat but I am have a few problems with the house battery.

First, the only way that I can charge the house battery is when I am plugged into shore power and have the battery charger on. Running either engine will not charge the house battery.

That leads me to my second question. All of my DC power, with the exception of the engine tilt/trim comes from the house battery. Not just the cabin power but all the power requirements at the helm ie: navigation lights, horn, panel lights. Is that correct? I can not charge this battery while under way but I need it for safe operation.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
it's normal for the starting batteries to be dedicated to the engines and some associated circuits like the trim tabs, gauges, etc...

everything else is usually on the house. Should nav lights and horns be on the starting battery? debatable... then if you leave the nav lights on by mistake you could drain the starting battery.

as to your charging issue, either the PO did some creative wiring or something is disconnected. you need to trace your wiring to see what's going on... is the 3 batteries setup original? can you tell by the wiring, battery boxes, installation? mayeb the PO added a house battery but never set it up to be charged by the engines...
 
Thanks for the post.

Yes I believe that the 3 battery set up is original. I will look for a wiring diagram and start tracing. I just wanted to know if it is common for the house battery not to be able to be charged by the engines.

tfred
 
no, you want all batteries to be chargeable by the engine alternators.
there should be an isolator or combiner in there so that one alternator can charge two banks... look for it, maybe it's disconnected or bad.

the most common source of DC feed/charge issue is when batteries are changed or removed for winter, someone forgets to reconnects a wire...
 
While I would expect an isolator or combiner, you might find a switch...
 
Even if you do find a switch, a battery combiner would be a good idea. Simple to install and you don't have to remember to turn them off.
 
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