Yamaha 242 LS (2015) battery charging questions

[Ben_242LS]

I bought my first Yamaha this season and have a 2015 242 LS. While I’m not new to boating, I am brand new to Yamaha and seem the have more questions than answers at this point, but this forum has been great.

I see there is a lot of discussion about batteries and battery charging. I am having a lot of issues out of the gate with this and I’m trying to trouble shoot and find solutions so I can enjoy the boat without stress batteries dying.

One quick questions - what battery and what terminal should the black wire from the DVSR be connected to? Mine is currently on the negative terminal of the starter battery. I ask because I don’t seem to get any charging even at high RPMs.

Another question - I was told by a service tech that the boat will never be able to fully charge the house battery (or in my case batteries as I have 2) and that I would need to hard charge them after each use. Is that consistent with what you all experience?

 

[Neutron]

As far as question one, a ground on any battery is fine. All grounds are connected to the same source, the block. So it doesn't matter.

The second question, he is partially correct... so if you are sitting for a long period with radio and electronics running, then you drive 1/2 hour back your isolated starting battery that hasn't been drained much will probably get topped off. Your house battery will charge if the vsr is working properly but will most likely still need charging.

My boat which is same setup as yours. After i come back to my house and hook up the Noco charger, my starting battery goes to completely charged almost instantly, the house battery takes about 1/2 to an hour to complete. It depends on how much i sat draining the battery and how long i drove after i was sitting

 

[tdonoughue]

And it depends on your use profile. If you are cruising all day (and the DSVR is working correctly), have a reasonable stereo... probably you come back and everything is charged up all the way. But if you 15 min out, floating for 4 hours, with 2 amps, 8 speakers, making frozen margaritas on a blender plugged into the batteries, then 15 min back in, um, no. And, as you can imagine, there is every point in between. For some of us it changes from time-to-time, too.

So, when I get back home I plug in and charge (on a 2 bank charger). Keeps everything nice and topped off, maintains the batteries properly, and avoids issues on the water. Cheap insurance in my book.

 

[Ben_242LS]

Thanks for the input.

I feel better knowing that charging batteries after use is a common practice.

I suspect I have an issue with the starter battery not holding a charge (assuming it’s getting a charge from the boat). The starter is the only one I haven’t replaced because the dealer told me it was good. I plan to put a new starter battery in tomorrow to rule that out as the problem.

If it is in fact bad and not holding a charge, is it possible it never gets full and prevents the boat from charging the house batteries?

 

[tdonoughue]

Not really. The DSVR should be detecting the voltage produced by the magnito (at 14v+) and joining the batteries together. The fact that one is low should not be affecting it...

Don't recall on the Yamaha stock DSVR, but do they not have a light like the Blue Sea ACR? My ACR has a cute little light that lets me tell if it is joining the batteries together or keeping them separate.

 

[Neutron]

Not really. The DSVR should be detecting the voltage produced by the magnito (at 14v+) and joining the batteries together. The fact that one is low should not be affecting it...

Don't recall on the Yamaha stock DSVR, but do they not have a light like the Blue Sea ACR? My ACR has a cute little light that lets me tell if it is joining the batteries together or keeping them separate.

Mine has a light on it and its a 16

 

[Ben_242LS]

I will check for a light next time on the boat.
I’m assuming the boat needs to be running for the light to activate.

 

[Neutron]

I will check for a light next time on the boat.
I’m assuming the boat needs to be running for the light to activate.

When the voltage reaches high enough for them to parallel. I dont know the exact number but 13.7/14 ish