Installing 3 bank charger on 2016 e-series

[davel501]

I would install a relay instead of a switch. Have it disconnect whenever voltage is sensed from the charger. I am unfamiliar with the circuit but you may need to add a diode to prevent the battery back feeding the relay and it always being tripped.

Even easier, pull the black wire from the DVSR off the negative on the house battery and put the nut back on then go to the hardware store and get a wing nut that is the same size and secure just that 1 wire above the nut on top of the negative stud. Disconnect anytime and no cutting.

 

[Mainah]

A normally closed relay is a good idea as it does not require human interaction like a switch and humans are prone to forgetting. The benefit of a relay off the charger vs. the engine on wire is that the start battery will continue to provide electrons to the house battery when the engines are off and the start battery is still above the cutoff voltage. This won't be much more than an extra surface charge though. The downside is that the dvsr continues to draw a small amount of power to keep the itself closed (the dvsr is a normally open relay) until the cutoff is reached.

My preference is still for using the engine on wire but I can see why others may choose a relay off the charger or a manual switch.

My thinking with the engine on method is that the batteries are only combined when the stator is putting out power to charge them and the start battery has a sufficient charge level . If you need to combine for another reason there is the emergency combine switch already built in.

 

[davel501]

Check out this thread for @Mainah 's solution to this situation.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/making-dvsr-active-with-engines-on-only.9798/

Same thing we are talking about here if I am not mistaken. I suggested he use the purple instead of the red that I used originally because that is more correct but otherwise the same idea as what we are talking about here.

 

[Pinhacker71]

I suppose something like this might work for the black cable to the negative on house battery. Just turn it on when taking out boat and turn off when hooking up to charger. Just attach black cable to end with a bolt and nut. Should be good to go.

 

[swatski]

I suppose something like this might work for the black cable to the negative on house battery. Just turn it on when taking out boat and turn off when hooking up to charger. Just attach black cable to end with a bolt and nut. Should be good to go. View attachment 48344

Would it reset the radio, clock etc?
Also may not be ideal if you want to charge from shore and keep the bilge pump functionality.

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[Pinhacker71]

I would place it on the negative lug by itself and only attach the dsvr negative to it. Shouldn't affect anything else.

 

[swatski]

I would place it on the negative lug by itself and only attach the dsvr negative to it. Shouldn't affect anything else.

Of course! Thank you.
LOL, I should refrain from posting before I drink my coffee.

 

[FloJet]

Where can I find the hot purple wire to tie the DVSR to at?

 

[Mainah]

On each side of the engine bay there is one labled eng on. I used the one almost directly behind the battery switches.

 

[swatski]

Okay, so I think I conquered that DVSR loop successfully, thanks a million guys!

Located the Eng on wire and T-spliced the new wire (w/solder and heat shrink w/silicon):


Capped the +12V end of cut loop wire and spliced the other end to the Eng on wire:



Now the DVSR comes on (red light dot on) when the engines are on:


But not when the engine is Off (shore AC powered onboard charger on or off - doesn't matter):


--

 

[davel501]

Okay, so I think I conquered that DVSR loop successfully, thanks a million guys!

Located the Eng on wire and T-spliced the new wire (w/solder and heat shrink w/silicon):
View attachment 48545View attachment 48546

Capped the +12V end of cut loop wire and spliced the other end to the Eng on wire:
View attachment 48547


Now the DVSR comes on (red light dot on) when the engines are on:
View attachment 48548View attachment 48549

But not when the engine is Off (shore AC powered onboard charger on or off - doesn't matter):
View attachment 48550

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Just because I have to ask, that is marine rated wire?

 

[swatski]

Just because I have to ask, that is marine rated wire?

It is just a piece of a speaker wire (leftover) I think, 16 AWG.
I did not even think of it really as I figured it was a short stretch going over the bulkhead. But I am going to listen to any suggestions, that is for sure!
Thank you again!

--

 

[Bruce]

It is just a piece of a speaker wire (leftover) I think, 16 AWG.
I did not even think of it really as I figured it was a short stretch going over the bulkhead. But I am going to listen to any suggestions, that is for sure!
Thank you again!

--

Looks like your connections are well sealed to me.

Here is a good article on the marketing advantages (profibility) of tinned marine wire. http://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/34_6/psadvisory/Tinned-Wire_5632-1.html

 

[Mainah]

Speaker wire that is close to pure copper is fine for low amperage stuff like what you are using it for in this case. Beware that some cheap speaker wire is cca. The insulator (sheath) is something to be concerned with. Why is 12 guage wire used for most subwoofers even though low wattagge compared to what 12 guage is used for in a house? One word ..resistance. Stereo equipment is more sensitve to resistance so a larger guage is used to carry fewer watts. That does not mean its casing is up to the same job as 12 guage primary wire.

Cl3 rated in wall speaker wire may be the closest thing to primary wire but I am not sure what load it is capable of when is comes to the sheath. Probally fine. If the wire is getting that hot you have a problem.

 

[Mainah]

So out of curiosity I did some digging into speaker wire vs. primary wire this morning. The jackets are actually rated for voltage arcing resistance. I could not find anything definitive for plain old speaker wire but do know that home stereos put out about 17 volts to 8 ohm speakers and that in bridged car systems that can nearly double. So lets say plain old speaker wire should be able handle 40 volts but it is not tested and rated like some other kinds of wire. Standard automotive primary is usually rated for 60 volts. Lamp cord aka zip cord is rated for 150 volts. CL2 in wall speaker wire is rated for 150 volts. CL3 in wall speaker wire is rated for 300 volts. Standard 12/2 Romex is rated for 600 volts. Gauge and quality of the actual copper will determine how much wattage a wire can handle before heat failure.

The science behind why wire jackets are rated in volts is because there has to be a path for current to travel. Voltage is the intensity of the current and the more intensity the more likely it is to break through the casing and create the path. So 12 gauge primary wire will handle the same amount of watts as 12 gauge CL3 in wall speaker wire but the casing on the CL3 is much better at resisting voltage breaking through it. Zip cord is cheap but I have never been a fan of it as it seems to pull apart too easy. CL3 wire is about the same price as CL2 so why not just use CL3.

I think I will be using OFC CL3 speaker wire for many things now.

Edit- Envirormental heat is another concern for the casing. My assumption is that primary wire is designed for a relatively high amount of heat is which case CL3P (P for plenum applications) is also rated for high heat.

 

[davel501]

The wire is probably safe and your connections are much cleaner than mine that I have never gone back to connect up properly but if you ever have an electrical fire and you get a stickler of a surveyor they are going to put you through hell because you used speaker wire instead of following the nmma standards.

My dealer installed my halogen underwater lights with speaker wire and the folks at the local marina gave me crap about it so those have been disconnected waiting for me to find time to rewire them.

 

[Bruce]

Here is another good article on marine wire selection http://www.boatwiring.org/marine-wire/ . Tinned wire is not required. All that is required is copper wire with a suitable waterproof jacket / insulation / shielding.

"Because of the demanding marine environment, approved marine wire usually possesses a copper conductor. In addition, the jacket of the cable will most likely have been tested for flammability safety. The jacket and the insulation should be rated water resistant."

Ohms law states that Voltage = Square Root (Power x Impedance).

So 100 watts to a 4 ohm marine speaker is the square root of 400 which is 20 volts through the cable to the speaker. At 200 watts that voltage would increase to 29 volts. 29 volts does not create much potential for arcing.

Personally I only use solid copper wire and use an ampacity calculator to verify that only a small loss of voltage will occur over the installed length of wire. As long as the wire is sufficient to carry the load I am not concerned about how it was marketed.

 

[Eriejetboater]

Bringing this thread back to the top - I saw it mentioned a couple times that something different may be necessary if the boat has a solar panel. Has anyone tracked that down yet? If not, should I just disconnect the solar panel and do as this thread instructs? Planning to install a dual channel smart onboard charger before winter on my 252 SE (2021 year, with solar panel)

PS: This type of thread and knowledge is exactly why I bought a Yamaha jet boat - the institutional knowledge that is available here is second to none!

 

[granpachuck]

Bringing this thread back to the top - I saw it mentioned a couple times that something different may be necessary if the boat has a solar panel. Has anyone tracked that down yet? If not, should I just disconnect the solar panel and do as this thread instructs? Planning to install a dual channel smart onboard charger before winter on my 252 SE (2021 year, with solar panel)

PS: This type of thread and knowledge is exactly why I bought a Yamaha jet boat - the institutional knowledge that is available here is second to none!

Hope someone will notice this old thread and answer a question please. I received a nice Noco Gen 5x2 charging system for Christmas. No idea how santa knew I wanted one, but happy to get it. With my E Series boat, it has solar panels, and I saw it mentioned there could be an issue if incorrectly installed. I am not electrically savvy at all.

I would like to mount this in the boat and leave it permanently attached. To keep things simple, can I just cut this black wire and install a toggle switch ?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Hope someone will notice this old thread and answer a question please. I received a nice Noco Gen 5x2 charging system for Christmas. No idea how santa knew I wanted one, but happy to get it. With my E Series boat, it has solar panels, and I saw it mentioned there could be an issue if incorrectly installed. I am not electrically savvy at all.

I would like to mount this in the boat and leave it permanently attached. To keep things simple, can I just cut this black wire and install a toggle switch ?View attachment 192532

You can… or you could do like @davel501 suggests in post 21 at the top of this page and just get a wing nut to attach the black wire to the negative terminal.

One of the simplest ways that have seen to do this is to cut the red power supply wire on the back of the DVSR itself and attach it to the switched side of your start battery switch. That way when you get ready to use the boat you will enable the DVSR, and when you store the boat it will be off. It’s not very hard to do, I would say if you can install the toggle switch on the black wire you can do the aforementioned wiring of the power supply wire, all you’d need would be cutters, a butt splice, crimpers and about 15 mins of your time.