I recently bought an O'day 27 and have come across a surprise in the wiring
of the battery switch.

This is the usual 1,2, both or off.

The two batteries are wired with their positives strapped together, and the
negatives disappear separately into the switch.
All positives are taken from the deep cycle battery, including the starter.


Tomorrow I intend to remove the switch with a view to rewiring in a more
conventional way.

Can anyone speculate on why the wiring should be as it is. Also, is there
anything I should know to prevent blowing the alternator?

Thanks in anticipation

Henry

NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.



On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 01:05:05 GMT, "Henry" wrote:

I recently bought an O'day 27 and have come across a surprise in the wiring
of the battery switch.

This is the usual 1,2, both or off.

The two batteries are wired with their positives strapped together, and the
negatives disappear separately into the switch.
All positives are taken from the deep cycle battery, including the starter.


Tomorrow I intend to remove the switch with a view to rewiring in a more
conventional way.

Can anyone speculate on why the wiring should be as it is. Also, is there
anything I should know to prevent blowing the alternator?

Thanks in anticipation

Henry




Larry W4CSC

No, no, Scotty! I said, "Beam me a wrench.", not a WENCH!
Kirk Out.....

NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.



Yes I know. We all know. In fact I have training and some experience in
electronics, but not marine electrics.

That is why I was asking for assistance.

I did not say that I intended to move the battery switch while the engine
was running, although my switch can be safely moved provided it is not
turned off.

I was hoping for sensible advice, and calling me stupid is not called for.

If anyone has anything useful to say, I would value opinions.

That's another one for my block list!

Henry

Calm down old man. He has asked for some advice.

"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.



On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 01:05:05 GMT, "Henry" wrote:

I recently bought an O'day 27 and have come across a surprise in the
wiring
of the battery switch.

This is the usual 1,2, both or off.

The two batteries are wired with their positives strapped together, and
the
negatives disappear separately into the switch.
All positives are taken from the deep cycle battery, including the
starter.


Tomorrow I intend to remove the switch with a view to rewiring in a more
conventional way.

Can anyone speculate on why the wiring should be as it is. Also, is there
anything I should know to prevent blowing the alternator?

Thanks in anticipation

Henry




Larry W4CSC

No, no, Scotty! I said, "Beam me a wrench.", not a WENCH!
Kirk Out.....

(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message ...
NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

Larry W4CSC


NEVER, EVER connect the alternator so that you can not turn off the
battery switch while the engine is running.

OR Bad things will happen


leaving a boat wired in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

But STUPID comes to mind anytime I think of Larry w4csc so it makes no
difference anyway to you Larry.

What should you do if you get a engine fire be afraid to turn off the
switch, Hell Larry you never heard of Murphy?? I see a few boats
every year that got the switch off and the battery disconnected from
the alternator. When I am finished the alternator output is wired up
the right way and you can put that switch anyplace you want to without
causing any damage any other way is hmm is idiotic at least,
negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also

So you just keep on being stupid and I will keep wiring boats to try
to minamize the Murphy effect.

STUPID

Hi Harry! Nice new screen name. Shows your ass almost as good as
seeing you in person.



On 9 Feb 2004 20:28:40 -0800, (Gw) wrote:

(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message ...
NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

Larry W4CSC


NEVER, EVER connect the alternator so that you can not turn off the
battery switch while the engine is running.

OR Bad things will happen


leaving a boat wired in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

But STUPID comes to mind anytime I think of Larry w4csc so it makes no
difference anyway to you Larry.

What should you do if you get a engine fire be afraid to turn off the
switch, Hell Larry you never heard of Murphy?? I see a few boats
every year that got the switch off and the battery disconnected from
the alternator. When I am finished the alternator output is wired up
the right way and you can put that switch anyplace you want to without
causing any damage any other way is hmm is idiotic at least,
negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also

So you just keep on being stupid and I will keep wiring boats to try
to minamize the Murphy effect.

STUPID


Larry W4CSC

No, no, Scotty! I said, "Beam me a wrench.", not a WENCH!
Kirk Out.....

(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message ...
Hi Harry! Nice new screen name. Shows your ass almost as good as
seeing you in person.
Harry ? whos Harry shows your ass almost as dumb as the frequent
,very frequent, wrong info you post here.


To the person that emailed me at my spam address I will copy your
email here and answer you here, that email address is used up 100
percent by spammers I emtied it yesterday in case Larry wanted to
yell at me in person so your mail got trough (along with 4 copies of
the latest microsoft security patches that they were so kind to send
me at that address

I bought a boat about 3 years ago, it had three batteries. I was told
that
they were all wired independently, ie one for starting, one for house
systems and one for the winch. after parting with the money (following
a
survey which reading it again having stripped the boat out told me
what was
already obvious but little detail of anything else). having discovered
that
the rot in the deckhouse was far more serious than I had anticipated,
I dug
down as far as the batteries. All three were different (1 traction
type, 1
similar size but deep cycle leasure type and a smaller type as found
in
small cars as a starting battery) and were connected in parallel using
all
black cable of different dimentions. the worst thing were the numerous
items
connected directly to the batteries with no switches or fuses. It
appeared
to be a fire waiting to happen. The wiring was a mixture of household
and
auto wire with no obvious colour coding. All wiring was removed for
storage
in the nearest skip. When I finally rewire everything will be
'pretinned'
marine cable with all cables numbered at both ends. Hopefully this
should
help to reduce the 'Murphy' factor
I was not vastly impressed by the wiring as you will probably guess
Peter


Peter
What I was referring to was to make sure that the alternator was wired
directly to a battery ( something they can't do when they ship the
engine with no battery, they just wire to the starter) just make sure
that the sense line to the regulator goes to the same battery. You
have a choice as to how to charge the other banks, I like the battery
combiner concept a lot but can't always use it .




----- Original Message -----
From: "Gw"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.electronics
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 4:28 AM
Subject: Battery switch.


(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message
...
NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

Larry W4CSC


NEVER, EVER connect the alternator so that you can not turn off the
battery switch while the engine is running.

OR Bad things will happen


leaving a boat wired in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

But STUPID comes to mind anytime I think of Larry w4csc so it makes no
difference anyway to you Larry.

What should you do if you get a engine fire be afraid to turn off the
switch, Hell Larry you never heard of Murphy?? I see a few boats
every year that got the switch off and the battery disconnected from
the alternator. When I am finished the alternator output is wired up
the right way and you can put that switch anyplace you want to without
causing any damage any other way is hmm is idiotic at least,
negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also

So you just keep on being stupid and I will keep wiring boats to try
to minamize the Murphy effect.

STUPID

Hi GW, thanks for the reply,I am hoping to go down the battery combiner
road when I get to that stage of progress. Don't know where you are but I am
UK based. boat is about 30 miles from home in Suffolk so it is a bit of an
expedition when I go to do any work on it. When I learn how to do it I will
set up a web site and post some pictures of the project. many thanks to all
the people who post technical info on here. I have learned a lot but still
pick up new tips from other peoples experience.
best wishes to all
Peter
"Gw" wrote in message
om...
(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message
...
Hi Harry! Nice new screen name. Shows your ass almost as good as
seeing you in person.
Harry ? whos Harry shows your ass almost as dumb as the frequent
,very frequent, wrong info you post here.


To the person that emailed me at my spam address I will copy your
email here and answer you here, that email address is used up 100
percent by spammers I emtied it yesterday in case Larry wanted to
yell at me in person so your mail got trough (along with 4 copies of
the latest microsoft security patches that they were so kind to send
me at that address

I bought a boat about 3 years ago, it had three batteries. I was told
that
they were all wired independently, ie one for starting, one for house
systems and one for the winch. after parting with the money (following
a
survey which reading it again having stripped the boat out told me
what was
already obvious but little detail of anything else). having discovered
that
the rot in the deckhouse was far more serious than I had anticipated,
I dug
down as far as the batteries. All three were different (1 traction
type, 1
similar size but deep cycle leasure type and a smaller type as found
in
small cars as a starting battery) and were connected in parallel using
all
black cable of different dimentions. the worst thing were the numerous
items
connected directly to the batteries with no switches or fuses. It
appeared
to be a fire waiting to happen. The wiring was a mixture of household
and
auto wire with no obvious colour coding. All wiring was removed for
storage
in the nearest skip. When I finally rewire everything will be
'pretinned'
marine cable with all cables numbered at both ends. Hopefully this
should
help to reduce the 'Murphy' factor
I was not vastly impressed by the wiring as you will probably guess
Peter


Peter
What I was referring to was to make sure that the alternator was wired
directly to a battery ( something they can't do when they ship the
engine with no battery, they just wire to the starter) just make sure
that the sense line to the regulator goes to the same battery. You
have a choice as to how to charge the other banks, I like the battery
combiner concept a lot but can't always use it .




----- Original Message -----
From: "Gw"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.electronics
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 4:28 AM
Subject: Battery switch.


(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message
...
NEVER, EVER MOVE THE BATTERY SWITCH WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING......

or bad things will happen..........

Switching ground in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

Larry W4CSC


NEVER, EVER connect the alternator so that you can not turn off the
battery switch while the engine is running.

OR Bad things will happen


leaving a boat wired in this manner is idiotic at least, negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also.

But STUPID comes to mind anytime I think of Larry w4csc so it makes no
difference anyway to you Larry.

What should you do if you get a engine fire be afraid to turn off the
switch, Hell Larry you never heard of Murphy?? I see a few boats
every year that got the switch off and the battery disconnected from
the alternator. When I am finished the alternator output is wired up
the right way and you can put that switch anyplace you want to without
causing any damage any other way is hmm is idiotic at least,
negligent or
dangerous at most. STUPID comes to mind, also

So you just keep on being stupid and I will keep wiring boats to try
to minamize the Murphy effect.

STUPID

Possibly the switch faulty and works in one position only. With the switch
out, check that the switch positions work (verify the contacts) before
fitting everything. Saves you the hassle of ripping it out again if it is
faulty.

Tan PS

"Henry" wrote in message news:51BVb.441665$X%5.5576@pd7tw2no...
I recently bought an O'day 27 and have come across a surprise in the
wiring
of the battery switch.

This is the usual 1,2, both or off.

The two batteries are wired with their positives strapped together, and
the
negatives disappear separately into the switch.
All positives are taken from the deep cycle battery, including the
starter.


Tomorrow I intend to remove the switch with a view to rewiring in a more
conventional way.

Can anyone speculate on why the wiring should be as it is. Also, is there
anything I should know to prevent blowing the alternator?

Thanks in anticipation

Henry

I've reread your original post three times & still can't work it out. First
you say about the two batteries. Then you say something about all positives
are taken from the deep cycle one.
Does that mean you have three all up?
If that is the case then I suggest that the motor has been setup from the
deep cycle one. OK.
The other two sound like they have been setup just for accessories like
fridge, radio, lights etc. OK.
The way they have the switch will be OK for that I reckon as really it is
only used to break the circuit. Doesn't really matter if the earth is broken
or the positive.
As long as whatever the wires are connected to are in the right order it is
OK. I mean positive to the radio positive etc.
The main reason you never see the earth broken on a car is so that if the
device earths out (metal?), it will activate it.
On a car the vehicle is all negative. (earth)
On a boat it is (usually) all wired back to the battery. (both wires)
BruceM


"Tan PS" wrote in message
...
Possibly the switch faulty and works in one position only. With the
switch
out, check that the switch positions work (verify the contacts) before
fitting everything. Saves you the hassle of ripping it out again if it is
faulty.

Tan PS

"Henry" wrote in message
news:51BVb.441665$X%5.5576@pd7tw2no...
I recently bought an O'day 27 and have come across a surprise in the
wiring
of the battery switch.

This is the usual 1,2, both or off.

The two batteries are wired with their positives strapped together, and
the
negatives disappear separately into the switch.
All positives are taken from the deep cycle battery, including the
starter.


Tomorrow I intend to remove the switch with a view to rewiring in a more
conventional way.

Can anyone speculate on why the wiring should be as it is. Also, is
there
anything I should know to prevent blowing the alternator?

Thanks in anticipation

Henry






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