Top Tips for Wiring A Battery Isolator on Your Boat
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Trevor asks, "Jeff, I purchased a battery isolator, but I am a bit confused with where to run the starting motor wire? I agree with your comment about having more than one wire coming off the battery, I think it looks sloppy. Do I run the 2 AWG to the battery switch and then to the starter with a bus bar in between to run to the isolator? Do I even need a battery switch? Thanks for your help, these videos have been a game-changer for me." @blueseasystems
Read our Tech Talk Article from Pacific Yachting Magazine, "Keep Charged - Charging Scenarios Using Battery Combiners and Battery Isolators", www.pysystems....
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I have a 1993 twin engine boat, and I had my alternators replaced. The positive leads from the alternators go to a Lewmar 2-3-120 amp isolator. The Lewmar is connected to two Sure Power 703R isolators. The remote sensing wire from each alternator are wired to the 703Rs. I have 12 volt starting battery for my generator that is wired to the Lewmar and 4 golf cart sized batteries wired the 703Rs.
Everything works fine when Each engine is running separately. The tachometers rotate fluctuating or going to zero when both engines are running. This started after the new alternators were installed.
Thanks for another great video Jeff. For clarity how about adding the starter to your diagram. Lets us slower learners see how the wiring should be set up.
Hi Ralph, good suggestion for next time.
Yes, another vote for this. By my count Jeff said the word "starter" at least nine times in the video, but it is nowhere on the diagram. Also, what's with the "skip" at 1:23 where Jeff says "Your starter should be connected..." and then it skips to say "... pretty straightforward".
@PacificYachtSystems was there ever a next time? Saying your alternator needs to connect to the isolator is great but how does my engine get power? My alternator is connected to the starter solenoid. Do I add a bus block between the battery and isolator with a wire going to that post on the solenoid?
1:23 Skips the answer!
Thanks Jeff. I'm going to send this to everyone that calls with this issue just got a call from someone with high volts on bat 2 while charging probably due to this same issue.
Thanks Dan from Balmar for chiming in on the discussion!
Okay I'm confused now because in my suv I went straight from the alternator to the starting battery and then the starting battery then to the battery isolator towards the rear of my vehicle and then my additional batteries but here it says I have to go straight from the alternator or rectifier or whatever the boat has straight to the isolator but where I'm confused the most is if you go straight to the isolator you essentially have both batteries on the same post which I would think would make it to where there's no benefit unless you do One battery on one side and one on the other which is what I did I think I'm actually right in this sense but I'm looking at it wrong I don't think you can hook up the starter battery and the auxiliary batteries to the same post otherwise it would render the device useless and you might as well run them in parallel all of them. As it sits I just have an 80 amp stinger battery I've got everything hooked up except for the ignition wire which is why I tuned into this video. Have wire going from deep cycle agm starter battery to isolator large post then ano😢wire from 2nd large post to lithium 50ah then lithium battery to my amp. Is this not the way to do? I'm talking about two different vehicles in this post at first I'm just talkin about my SUV then the 80 amp isolator is on sea Doo jet boat. Really all I need to know is which fuse should I tap into on my Sea-Doo speedster for the ignition wire for the battery isolator?
What are the other two small wires(excitor/ground) tied to?
Thanks Bill K. I believe my two Cat Diesel Alternators(C7) need excitor voltage to start working.
Great videos Jeff. Ok, just thought about this! My wife has one of those small emergency batteries you charge and then keep in the glove compartment or trunk of your car. Then when you need it, you plug it into the cigarette lighter socket or attach it to the battery posts to jump your car! Do you think they can be used on boats?
Yep, certainly we can use an emergency battery, but it does NOT replace the engine battery.
nice video Jeff I have a 04 chevy express van w/ a sure power battery isolator it has post1 thick 0awgfor start batt. post 2 thick 0awg for house batt. post A thick 0awg out of alternator and smaller post E what is Epost it has a thin 16awg organe wire?
I see the victron batt. isolator has post1-2 and alt. I also see 2 smaller wires energize and ground, I understand ground but what is energize switched 12VDC or a constant always on 12VDC?
So if I have a house battery and a engine battery. Using a isolater, they should never draw from one another correct?
Very good information. But what will happen if the, no matter which one, battery fuse opens?
If you have two batteries connected and you lose one connection to one battery, it's ok. If you lose all connections to all batteries, then your alternator will likely get damaged.
Jeff, I have a 1,2,all switch from my bat now. How does that play in? It looks like you have one bat for the house and that's it. This is new turf for me.... Thx, Mike
Great video. What would you do differently if your house battery is Lithium?
When setting up the charge profile of the alternator, you have to decide which battery you'll want to properly charge at the expense of the other battery not getting what they want. The alternator can only be configured to one charge profile, if you choose Lithium, then any other battery connected to battery isolator that isn't Lithium will get either under or over charged.
Hi Jeff, just looking at this now... I want my alternator to fully charge my starter battery then charge my 24v (dual 12v) batteries when out on the water. If I purcase a 3 battery isolator will that work?
No the battery isolator is not for this.
You can get a 12v to 24v dc to dc charger to charge the 24v bank from the 12v battery. (the alt would directly charge the 12v battery) or a product like the trollbridge. with the trollbrige you can't use the 24v when it's charging
2 questions
1.On the previous comment, on no starter on your diagram. Why don't you redo your video to add the starter to the diagram?
2. If you want to add a bow thruster battery to this diagram, is it as simple as replacing the 2 out put isolator with a 3 out put isolator and adding a bow thruster positive cable to the third out put? Could the original windless cable that runs from the house or starter battery to the windless be that new cable from the isolator to bow thruster battery?
Hey Graham, thanks for your comments.
1) Here's a diagram of a battery isolator with engine and house battery connected:
www.pysystems.ca/site/assets/files/2532/pys_battery_isolator.pdf
2) When connecting a 3rd battery, not only will you need to have a positive cable from the battery isolator, but you'll also have to make sure your thruster battery is connected to the DC distribution of the boat.
First, thank you for the education. My question is can an ACR and a battery isolator be used in the same system? I've got a small 31' SB that is 30+ yo, a 55 amp alternator on a 16hp diesel, 2 6volt deep cycles as a house and a single 12 volt for the starting battery. I have purchased an ACR from Blue Sea and a Dual circuit Battery Switch. Does it make sense to install an isolator also? and if so how?
A battery isolator is generally used for sharing a alternator charger to 2 or more batteries. A battery combiner can be used to share any charging voltage, like an alternator or even a battery charger. Generally you choose one device.
@@PacificYachtSystems Jeff, thank you for the response, I appreciate the videos.
I have a narrowboat in England which has 2 alternators and 2 battery banks. I have a sure power 3202 isolator with 4 connections. What's really confusing me because of a general lack of information with this setup, is under what circumstances does each alternator charge each battery bank, or are both alternators charging both battery banks - confusing. Any info appreciated.
Assuming your battery isolator 2 input and 2 output, each alternator will recharge both batteries, whichever battery bank is the largest, most depleted, and fastest charge acceptance rate, will get more of the charge current from both alternators.
@@PacificYachtSystems Thanks for the reply. Yes 2 input 2 output. I was thinking that maybe the engine alternator would recharge the engine battery first, before helping charge the domestic batteries, but sounds like I don't really have a "engine" alternator and a "domestic" alternator, as they are both treated effectively the same?
cheers.
Question, If you have two batteries wired in parallel do you run a lead from the isolator to each positive lead on the batteries in parallel?
If batteries are in parallel, no need to run multiple lines from the battery isolator... only one will do.
If battery isolators don't modify voltage but just pass it through, how can you connect different banks with different voltages without damaging one of them?
Like most battery chargers, battery isolators, do not provide individual controlled charge outputs for each leg. Yes, that's ideal, but it's not prevalent. As a compromise, the charging voltage is shared equally amongst all batteries. If you want individual charging, you'll either need dedicated alternators per battery bank or DC to DC charging converters.
@@PacificYachtSystems I thought about it since posting the comment, and I think I simply did not properly understand. Assuming the same types of batteries, it should not be a problem. It would only be a potential problem if each leg led to different types of batteries. To my current understanding anyway.
@pacific yacht systems Is there anything wrong with using circuit breakers in place of fuses in any place in this diagram?
Depends on the requirements for the circuit protection, thermal circuit breakers will do in most cases, but sometimes you need something different, either more granular like 7 amps, slow blow fuse.
Hi there! Thank you for the video. I still have a question. Can I connect more than just one source of energy (i.d. the alternator) to the main input point of the battery isolator? I mean, can I connect as well, on the same point, the energy that comes from a battery charger, for instance? Thank you.
Seen this a few times out in the field, but we've never done it and not sure if it works. We simply add more battery isolators if we need them.
@@PacificYachtSystems thanks a lot
hi Jeff, if i have two starter battery's for both Eng's, and 4 house battery's for 400amps do i need to have two isolators or ??
Assuming you engine battery, made of two batteries, is still one bank of batteries, either wired in parallel or in series. Therefore you have 3 battery banks (port engine, stbd engine and house). You'll want two battery isolators, one for each engine alternator.
As you say, traditionally the alternator is connected to the starter motor. When using a battery isolator the outs are connected to the battery with a fuse in between.
Isn't it possible to combine the two methods by having the out to the engine battery going to the starter motor? This would reduce the amount of cable as you wouldn't need two cables for starter motor and battery isolator. The only issue I see here is there wouldn't be a fuse but then again there isn't with the traditional method.
Elliot, your choice as I understand seems possible. Make sure you fuse the starter connection to the battery isolator.
100
Thanks Javier.