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Alternator not charging house battery |
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Beenym
Sub Lieutenant Joined: 26 August 2020 Location: Sydney Australi Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Posted: 11 December 2020 at 21:16 |
Hi,
Up until recently, with the engine running, even at low revs, the alternator was charging both the starter and the house battery banks with no problems. Then for no apparent reason only the starter battery is receiving a charge. I am sure the problem is likely to be something very simple but I find boat electrics overwhelming. I have checked for a tripped fuse and have found nothing. I am hoping this forum can give me some things to check before I invest in an electrician. The boat is on a swing mooring. Shore power has not been used for ages, but there is a solar panel which keeps both battery banks topped up. Photos here, if that helps. All help appreciated. Edited by Beenym - 11 December 2020 at 21:32 |
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Captain Cook
Admiral Joined: 23 May 2006 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 1009 |
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No reason to hire a professional. The culprit is your Stromat SV1, which is charging the engine battery first, and only when the engine battery reaches 13,8 V will the old fashioned relays click (yes you can hear it), and start charging the other battery groups. I guess that you can find a manual for the Calira Stromat on the internet, but is is rather simple. In an emergency you would appreciate to be able to start your engine, while stereo, refrigerator and TV are less important. Therefore the Stromat charges the engine battery first. If the engine battery drops below 12,8 V, the relays will cut off power to anything but the engine battery. The cables from the Stromat are marked I-II-III, it is important that II is the one connected to the engine battery. On my boat Hanse had installed the cables wrong. You can use the search function to get more information about the Stromat. P.S. As owner of a H370 I suppose you know Marco's homepage? http://www.wesailhanse.se/370_manuals.htm
Edited by Captain Cook - 12 December 2020 at 08:49 |
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Freya H400 #27 (2006), 40HP 3JH4E, 2-cabin, 3-blade Flexofold, Aries LiftUp Windvane, Exturn 300, Jefa DD1,Simrad NX40,Icom M603(VHF)+M802(SSB)
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Beenym
Sub Lieutenant Joined: 26 August 2020 Location: Sydney Australi Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Awesome. Thanks for the feedback and the additional links. Makes sense. Pretty obvious really. Will check the cable connections. Will also play closer attention to when it clicks over to charging the house bank. We are just daysailing and the engine is often only running for a short time so it may be that it is topping up the Starter but then there is not enough time to recharge the house fully.
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Larrydpaul
Lieutenant Joined: 12 December 2020 Location: Maine Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Hi, i recently purchased a 2016 Hanse 415. I also noticed the engine was not charging the house bank. I can only charge the house bank with solar or the generator. Is this the way the system should operate? Thank you.
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L D Paul
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S&J
Admiral Joined: 30 August 2014 Location: Perth WA / Med Status: Offline Points: 1180 |
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Definitely not. The house bank should be charged by the engine and shore power.
After my first winter I had similar issues. It turned out that the team at Greifswald had removed a 125A fuse in the engine compartment, just to the left of the engine battery, whilst winterizing. They left the fuse on the chart table but by the spring they'd forgotten where it came from so I set off without it fitted. After reporting charging issues and reminding them of the "spare" fuse they asked me to check in the engine compartment. I can't remember if my issue was the house bank not charging under engine or shore power, but it might be worth checking for a blown fuse.
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H458 #159 Primal Mediterranean cruising
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Captain Cook
Admiral Joined: 23 May 2006 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 1009 |
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A photo of the inside of the Stromat may explain better than words. In this thread, as well as in others, the function of the Stromat Current distributor/Ladestromsverteiler, does not seem to be fully understood. Some myhansers have upgraded to a better/more expensive model, and it is evident, that the Stromat from 2005 is tecnically old-fashioned. Remember that the engine battery (and the alternator) have to be connected to the terminals marked (II). Edited by Captain Cook - 17 January 2021 at 10:13 |
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Freya H400 #27 (2006), 40HP 3JH4E, 2-cabin, 3-blade Flexofold, Aries LiftUp Windvane, Exturn 300, Jefa DD1,Simrad NX40,Icom M603(VHF)+M802(SSB)
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Carlwasher
Lieutenant Joined: 31 August 2020 Location: Elh/1000 Island Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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What is a suitable replacement for the SV-1??
(Available in the US??)
Is there any way to bypass it and charge the house batteries? |
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2006 Hanse 370e #6 Up South Somewhere on The Great Lakes
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S&J
Admiral Joined: 30 August 2014 Location: Perth WA / Med Status: Offline Points: 1180 |
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Pretty much any VSR (voltage sensitive relay) should do the job.
All it is doing is delaying charging the house bank until the engine battery has reached a designated voltage. In reality the engine battery is only used for a few seconds (admittedly with a high current) so shouldn't need more than a few minutes to get fully charged.
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H458 #159 Primal Mediterranean cruising
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H8jer
Admiral Joined: 14 September 2010 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 1347 |
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Instead of relays I would go for a battery splitter. This isolates the battery Banks from each other and also allow the alternator to charge multiple Banks at once. You need the mosfet type. Both Sterling-power, Victron (argon FET) and Vetus has battery splitters. I have installed such a device in my old boat, not difficult. In an emergency you can connect your consumer batteries with jumpstart-cables to the starter batteries, but I would watch this closely to see if anything gets hot.
Edited by H8jer - 27 July 2022 at 08:27 |
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Hanse 370#487 30HP 3-cabin
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Captain Cook
Admiral Joined: 23 May 2006 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 1009 |
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A boat is a big hole in salty water suitable for throwing large amounts of money in. If your boatbudget is large, change the Stromat to a modern item. Otherwise just make sure, that alternator and engine battery is connected to II on the current distributor. My Stromat is 16 years old and makes clicking noises from time to time, but otherwise works okay.
Edited by Captain Cook - 27 July 2022 at 09:57 |
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Freya H400 #27 (2006), 40HP 3JH4E, 2-cabin, 3-blade Flexofold, Aries LiftUp Windvane, Exturn 300, Jefa DD1,Simrad NX40,Icom M603(VHF)+M802(SSB)
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