Black Battery Cable End Not Connected. Any Ideas Where It Goes To?

[Fish]

HI All - New to the Forum here and already learning a lot from the threads. Just purchased a 2017 242 LTD S (about 40 hours on the boat) in Oct 2019 and super excited to get it out this Spring. Had it serviced from a very knowledgable guy (12 years working on Y boats) and it all checked out good.
QUESTION: I was disconnecting the batteries before I put in in storage and noticed one of the black cables (that was connected on one end to the neg terminal) was not connected to anything else on the floor next to the battery. Is it supposed to be connected to something and if so, what? Thanks and happy to have a place to get great advice and support!

 

[Julian]

Looks like a negative lead cross connect between 2 batteries (hard to tell how thick it is). So it should be attached to both neg terminals.

Or alternatively, install a bus bar, and buy another cable like this, and have each neg terminal connect to the neg bus bar. This simplifies hooking up the battery neg connections.

 

[Ronnie]

I think it’s the cable used to connect the negative terminals in a dual battery set up, as @ Julian stated above. My 2010 242 Ls came with a dual battery set up and that cable floating free in the compartment. I didn’t think about it until a few years and mods later when I started seeing a low voltage warning.

 

[Gym]

I'm wondering if the black, negative battery lead separated from it's battery terminal clamp. Does each engine start? Does all electrical equipment & gauges work?

 

[Fish]

Looks like a negative lead cross connect between 2 batteries (hard to tell how thick it is). So it should be attached to both neg terminals.

Or alternatively, install a bus bar, and buy another cable like this, and have each neg terminal connect to the neg bus bar. This simplifies hooking up the battery neg connections.

Thanks for the answer. I'm know a bus bar dissipates power off the battery and transmit to various power-demanding locations in your car/boat but is this for if/when I add on more electrical accessories or what would be the purpose of getting one? Thanks again for the reply. I sincerely appreciate it.

 

[Fish]

I think it’s the cable used to connect the negative terminals in a dual battery set up, as @ Julian stated above. My 2010 242 Ls came with a dual battery set up and that cable floating free in the compartment. I didn’t think about it until a few years and mods later when I started seeing a low voltage warning.

Thanks for the reply. So what did you end up doing with it? Thanks again!

 

[Fish]

I'm wondering if the black, negative battery lead separated from it's battery terminal clamp. Does each engine start? Does all electrical equipment & gauges work?

Yes - Engines start just fine and everything works. I experimented turning everything on to see what it did. Thanks for the reply!

 

[ifly4fun]

Thanks for the answer. I'm know a bus bar dissipates power off the battery and transmit to various power-demanding locations in your car/boat but is this for if/when I add on more electrical accessories or what would be the purpose of getting one? Thanks again for the reply. I sincerely appreciate it.

Basically yes, power distribution. You can only screw so many wires onto the battery terminal before it gets full. Plus it helps to run a single large set up to the helm and then put bus bars there to distribute to accessories instead of home running them back to the battery.

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks for the reply. So what did you end up doing with it? Thanks again!

I attached it to the negative terminals of each battery and reworked the cabling per recommendations from members here. Eventually I stopped getting low voltage warnings. If your batteries negative terminals are not already connected I would bet that is what your cable is for. Unless I’m mistaken the batteries are installed at the dealership not the manufacturing plant so it’s worth checking that they were setup as they should be for your boat’s power/ charging system.

 

[Dennis P]

HI All - New to the Forum here and already learning a lot from the threads. Just purchased a 2017 242 LTD S (about 40 hours on the boat) in Oct 2019 and super excited to get it out this Spring. Had it serviced from a very knowledgable guy (12 years working on Y boats) and it all checked out good.
QUESTION: I was disconnecting the batteries before I put in in storage and noticed one of the black cables (that was connected on one end to the neg terminal) was not connected to anything else on the floor next to the battery. Is it supposed to be connected to something and if so, what? Thanks and happy to have a place to get great advice and support!

Were the two battery negative terminals bridged . they should.

 

[sunbyrned]

It does connect to both negative terminals. I was told this is necessary if you ever need to use the emergency parallel "duel" dial, when you have a low battery and need to draw from the other.

 

[Julian]

It should be connected to both negative terminals.

A bus bar makes hooking up your batteries easier and more fool proof (one black wire to each battery). It then also makes adding other accessories easier too. As you can see from the photo below there is only one black wire connected to the battery visible in this photo. The bus bar is on the center left and has a ton of wires connected to it. I never need to touch those wires, just the one on each negative terminal (ok, two as I direct connect my onboard charge to the negative terminals).

Hope this helps.

Not having the cross connect can also cause radio hiss problems from lack of a complete ground.

 

[Fish]

Basically yes, power distribution. You can only screw so many wires onto the battery terminal before it gets full. Plus it helps to run a single large set up to the helm and then put bus bars there to distribute to accessories instead of home running them back to the battery.

Thanks for the explanation. I totally understand.

 

[Fish]

I attached it to the negative terminals of each battery and reworked the cabling per recommendations from members here. Eventually I stopped getting low voltage warnings. If your batteries negative terminals are not already connected I would bet that is what your cable is for. Unless I’m mistaken the batteries are installed at the dealership not the manufacturing plant so it’s worth checking that they were setup as they should be for your boat’s power/ charging system.

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated!

 

[Fish]

Were the two battery negative terminals bridged . they should. View attachment 110667

Thanks for the reply and taking the time to add the pic. Very helpful!

 

[Fish]

It should be connected to both negative terminals.

A bus bar makes hooking up your batteries easier and more fool proof (one black wire to each battery). It then also makes adding other accessories easier too. As you can see from the photo below there is only one black wire connected to the battery visible in this photo. The bus bar is on the center left and has a ton of wires connected to it. I never need to touch those wires, just the one on each negative terminal (ok, two as I direct connect my onboard charge to the negative terminals).

Hope this helps.

Not having the cross connect can also cause radio hiss problems from lack of a complete ground.

Super helpful with your explanation and the pic! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply!