Having Issue With Add Battery Kit

[djtech2k]

I did have 2 perko switches and I switched it to the add a battery kit. Now when I turn the key, the helm gauges do not turn on and the motors do nothing when I turn the key.

I followed the instructions to install. If looking at the front of the switch, here is where my wiring goes:

Top Left: Both engine positive leads.
Bottom left: Positive going to starter battery.
Top Right: positive output going to busbar
Bottom right: positive lead going to house battery

On the ACR looking at the face:

Left: positive to house battery
Right: positive on start battery
Bottom: ground going to bus bar

Ground:

Engine1: Starter Battery negative
Engine2: House Battery negative
** I have a black cable connecting the negative on both batteries**

what am I missing? Gotta admin I’m freaking out a little bit.

On this boat there are a couple extra wires that I have attached directly to the battery. One has a positive and negative bundled together that are attached to the house battery. There is one other tiny red with a fuse that looks like it may go to the air deck radio. That one I connected to the positive bus bar.

 

[djtech2k]

One other note. The pair of wires that look like about 16ga positive and negative with an inline fuse apparently run the helm buttons and the radio. That is hooked directly to the house battery and it works. Still when I turn the key nothing happens. Nothing on the gauges.

I am really stuck.

 

[Chief]

Do you have a negative bus bar? If so, you need 1 cable going to the neg post on either battery.

 

[djtech2k]

Yes but the only thing connected to it is one lead to the house battery and the negative going to the ACR on the bottom.

All other negatives are directly on the batteries.

 

[Chief]

I think we need pictures...dont freak out, its just wired wrong somewhere.

 

[djtech2k]

Well not sure if this will help but here goes.

 

[tdonoughue]

Check the fuses. If you accidentally bumped a couple of wires during the install, you may have blown a fuse.

 

[tdonoughue]

Then, on the negative pole of the leftmost battery in the pictures, there looks to be a thin black wire back there, but I can't see to where it is connected. Is that going to the negative on that battery? (not the one going to the charger--those 4 wires I know are right).

If I recall correctly, there is a positive small wire that is black or black with a stripe--very confusing. But I don't have my boat here to check if that was our year... But many people have mixed that up just pulling the batteries and trying to put them back in. I'll search here (while you check the fuses).

Edited to add: I think I found the wire; it is the black loom one that you have going to the positive (properly; people confuse it because it is in a black loom, so they connect it wrong). May want to move that ultimately, but that is not causing things not to work. Check them fuses.

 

[djtech2k]

I checked the in-line fuse on the wire that lowers the helm switches and the radio. Fuse was good and the connections on both sides of the fuse were hot. The only other fuse that I know about is in that tiny red wire that looks like it runs to the area of the swim deck radio remote control. That is now connected to the positive bus bar.

Are there any other fuses on the boat?

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, back by the ECU. Behind the engine you have a black box. On that black box there is a 3-4" circular cap that unscrews to reveal the fuses. One line of them are the fuses; the other line of them are the spares.

 

[djtech2k]

Yes, back by the ECU. Behind the engine you have a black box. On that black box there is a 3-4" circular cap that unscrews to reveal the fuses. One line of them are the fuses; the other line of them are the spares.

Ok I will pop the engine hatch and look for it in the morning. I sure hope that is it. I cannot imagine what else it could be. I could not make it as neat as I wanted because I ran out of cables. I went to a car audio shop and had a few cut but some were too short. So I know I need to get some new marine cables made and replace those. Once I get those I can also remove some of the wires that are now directly connected to the batteries.

As of now it’s not neat and pretty but it should be connected correctly.

 

[djtech2k]

Ok just popped the hatch and checked every fuse. They all test good. I also tested the output on my new switch. The bus bar is hot when the switch is on. The engine cables are also hot when the switch is on. I used a fuse tester to check the fuses from the top and I also pulled each one to see if it looked burned.

I am really at a loss. Everything seems to work except when I turn the key.

One thing I wanted to ask about about was on the ACR instructions, there was mention of the terminals on the bottom of it. I think it was something about starter or alternator isolator or something. I did not use any of that because I didn’t think I needed it. Not sure if that could have anything to do with it or not.

 

[djtech2k]

Ok well I do really feel stupid now....

Pretty sure I figured it out. I looked at the throttles and they looked just very slightly low. So I adjusted them up a little and turned the key. Both engines now turnover. So there you have it. The throttles must have gotten bumped slightly so not enough to look like they were but enough to prevent the key from doing anything.

Well lesson learned I guess. At least now I can use my boat and them cleanup the wiring later.

BTW, where do you guys get your marine wire and crimp rings? Do you just order it or buy it in a shop? I want to get the right lengths to reduce direct battery connections and also replace the car type with marine.

 

[ctyke]

Don't feel stupid, every boater has done this! It will freak you out until you realize it.

As for wire:
buy bulk wire from KnuKonceptz either on Amazon or directly from them and cut to length
Lugs
Lug crimper
Inline Fuse Holders
Cable Cutter

And a label maker to help remind you where wires go.

 

[djtech2k]

Don't feel stupid, every boater has done this! It will freak you out until you realize it.

As for wire:
buy bulk wire from KnuKonceptz either on Amazon or directly from them and cut to length
Lugs
Lug crimper
Inline Fuse Holders
Cable Cutter

And a label maker to help remind you where wires go.

Does that company offer marine grade cable? I have been searching and only finding car audio stuff.

 

[ctyke]

Use this stuff, lots of strands that are tinned, that is what you want.
Kolossus Fleks Kable
High strand count, 99.99% purity tinned Oxygen Free Copper wire with an ultra flex PVC jacket. This stuff is flekskable. Suitable for all mobile, marine, solar and UTV applications.

 

[djtech2k]

Thanks. I will check that out.

Ok so I took the boat out today and I have one remaining issue that I cannot figure out.

The engines will not turn over unless the switch is set to emergency, which I think means both batteries combined. It does nothing in the On position. The helm, gauges, radio all work fine. It’s just turning the key that does nothing unless the switch is in emergency.

Is that normal? I assume it is not so I need to figure out why. Any ideas?

 

[tdonoughue]

Nope; not normal. You should never have to put it in emergency. Just turn it to on.

Can't see the back of the switch, but it looks like you have only 1 wire attached to the bottom studs? You should have wires on all 4 studs. Top 2 studs should go one to the engines and one to all the house stuff (that red wire that you have on the battery now). Bottom 2 studs should go one to the engine battery and one to the house battery. (or of course you can switch the top and bottom--it does not matter).

From the pic it looks like you have one wire coming from the bottom to the near battery and two from the top left stud and two from the top right stud. But it is hard to tell or to tell to where they are going. Is it wired like described above?

 

[djtech2k]

It is wired exactly as I described. I have both engines on the top left. The starter battery on the bottom left.

I used my multi tester to test this before I found the throttle issue. The engine cables on the upper left are hot when I turn the switch on. I think that was in the On position but am not 100% if it was in the emergency position.

Everything seems to work as expected except the key turn. What could it be?

I had a thought but have no idea if it could be true or how to test. The starter battery may be going bad or losing power. When I hookup my charger, it charges for over a week and never shows as fully charged. On my multimeter that’s batter shows about 2v less than the house battery. So I suspect it may be losing power. Anyway, I read somewhere that someone mentioned this kit and how it changes how it works if a battery has low output. So could it be that this behavior is happening because of a battery getting weaker?

Otherwise I am out of guesses. I mean I reviewed the wiring over and over again yesterday and cannot find a thing that isn’t hooked up right. I have studied the diagram over and over. If it was wrong then it wouldn’t work at all.

 

[ctyke]

try swapping battery positions, see if that makes a difference. If your starting battery is dead, having the switch in emergency makes sense.