Dumb question - what is this?

[MrJim]

Can anyone tell me what the electronic thing mounted below my light switches is? Do I need it? Is so, where can I get a new one?

The boat is a 2006 Mainship 30 Pilot II.

The face plate was missing when I bought the boat and I can't find any identifying information anywhere else on it. I used to ignore it, but now it's making noises that I can't ignore (i.e., alarm sounds).

Thanks.

 

[Bacchus]

I can only guess but it might be a tank level or batty bank monitoring system??
A Google image search turned up a similar shaped Marine A/C control which might be? https://citimarinestore.com/en/micr...7824-smxir-control-display-keypad-502-09.html
It doesn't look like anything MS installed AFAIK but could be previous owner.
If you have time you can scan through the MS part photo files I linked in the Marlow-MS Sticky re Parts. Will be interesting to see if anyone else recognizes it.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. MJ. Why not trace the wiring? Simple solution that may be quite difficult (access/hidden wire chases) BUT if you can identify both ends of the wires, it should give you insight as to purpose.

 

[tiltrider1]

check the wires. Now if you only see a red and black wire you can stop tracing. That would be 12v. If there is only a 12v connection then I'm going to guess that it is a carbon monoxide detector. Now if you have more than a red and black wire then follow the colored wires and see were they lead. Following colored wire is much easier than following red and black. It might not be easy to follow the wires but it can be done.

 

[SteveK]

along with thoughts presented. Have you put a multimeter on it? determine if there is power, what kind, then check panel or fuse block for clues by switching off one at a time. (if they are labeled of course)

 

[MrJim]

There are several (about a dozen) very small wires of various colors coming out of the bulkhead and having their ends soldered to a circuit board on the back of this thing. It's not an A/C control or CO detector because I have those in other locations onboard. It appears to be some kind of alarm. It doesn't have any controls on it -- just several indicator lights and what appears to be a reset button to shut off the alarm when it goes off.

I'll trace the wires if I have to -- not easy on this boat (but, then is it ever?). I was just hoping someone would recognize it.

 

[SteveK]

There are several (about a dozen) very small wires of various colors coming out of the bulkhead and having their ends soldered to a circuit board on the back of this thing. It's not an A/C control or CO detector because I have those in other locations onboard. It appears to be some kind of alarm. It doesn't have any controls on it -- just several indicator lights and what appears to be a reset button to shut off the alarm when it goes off.

I'll trace the wires if I have to -- not easy on this boat (but, then is it ever?). I was just hoping someone would recognize it.

Propane sensor?

 

[Bacchus]

There are several (about a dozen) very small wires of various colors coming out of the bulkhead and having their ends soldered to a circuit board on the back of this thing. It's not an A/C control or CO detector because I have those in other locations onboard. It appears to be some kind of alarm. It doesn't have any controls on it -- just several indicator lights and what appears to be a reset button to shut off the alarm when it goes off.



I'll trace the wires if I have to -- not easy on this boat (but, then is it ever?). I was just hoping someone would recognize it.

I'm thinking tank level monitor? Or batty level? Any batty connections from start & house to the circuit board?
Can you check tanks re whether they have multi level internal or external sensors? I'm thinking maybe the alarm is black tank high.
It's placement next to the fresh water tank level might be a clue.
Any mfg indicated on the backing plate or circuit board?
Did you get any manuals / documentation from PO?

 

[psneeld]

The case looks a lot like my Pro Mariner inverter remote panel, but the rheotat and pink/green areas would not be even close to my panel of 4 years old.

 

[jbbmillar]

Battery Monitor

Looks like a battery monitor to me. Does one STE of wires run to a shunt near the batteries?

 

[rgano]

Jim, that is the now defunct monitor for the ProMariner galvanic isolator. Mine was right there when I bought the Frolic. Pro mariner says to get rid of it because its ocassional automatic test of the isolator causes a current leak between the boat's neutral and hot AC wiring which trips GFCIs in shore power pedestals. The isolator itself is down below and possibly behind the refrigerator making it inaccessible. The advice from Promariner is to also replace the galvanic isolator with one of thier FS30 GIs because the old one is probably toast.

I pulled the power panel out (it will hang by pivoting it on its lower edge) and followed the wiring from the monitoring panel to the two places on the AC side and removed them and cut back the multiwire harness as much as possible. Since I could not get to the GI, I simply placed the replacement FS30 in behind and to the left of the power panel and ran a new green wire all the way back to the shore power inlet plug to be absolutely positive that all was correct. The new isolator does not have the monitoring panel. I elected to fill the empty slot where the old monitor panel with a cheap multi-function AC monitor - see photo. It allows me to keep an eye on the shore power load when the ferrite donut it comes with is placed around the input lead to the panel's AC side.

 

[North Baltic sea]

Hi,

Ask the previous owner or broker who was involved in the sale for this simple problem solving logic?

NBs

 

[SILENTKNIGHT]

That is a disconnected panel for a galvanic isolator....

 

[ranger58sb]

Can anyone tell me what the electronic thing mounted below my light switches is? Do I need it? Is so, where can I get a new one?

The boat is a 2006 Mainship 30 Pilot II.

The face plate was missing when I bought the boat and I can't find any identifying information anywhere else on it. I used to ignore it, but now it's making noises that I can't ignore (i.e., alarm sounds).

Given that location, with the WEMA water tank gauge just below, suggests to me a guess that it's a replacement for the (probably) original WEMA waste tank gauge.

Check your holding tank?

Unless you have a holding tank gauge elsewhere?

Depending on what happened to wires at the other end (sender), it might be easy enough to just go back to the WEMA (now KUS) display.

And KUS (nee WEMA) makes decent waste tank sending units, even if they are of the "inside the yuck" sort of systems. Their current version allows a relatively easy pull/clean/reinsert regime every few years or so.

Helps to pump out and rinse prior to maintenance like that, of course.

Edit: Ah. Galvanic isolator panel. I see.

-Chris

 

[MrJim]

That is a disconnected panel for a galvanic isolator....

Well, it's disconnected now because the alarm wouldn't stay shut off! I'll try to trace the wires the next time at the boat to confirm that's what it is. It just occurred to me that the alarm only seemed to come on when I connected to shore power, so the GI seems a good bet huh? I'll look into replacing the GI like Rich did. Thanks Rich!

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions.

- Jim

 

[porman]

That panel looks a little different than the one on our Mainship, but the function is the same. We would also get an alarm occasionally when it didn't like the shore power. For some reason this usually happened in the middle of the night after being plugged in all day. There was also a control box behind the electrical panel with wires going everywhere and several glass tube fuses. I replaced it with a new GI because it would trip the GFCI breakers on the dock. I tried bypassing it but was not successful.

 

[rgano]

Well, it's disconnected now because the alarm wouldn't stay shut off! I'll try to trace the wires the next time at the boat to confirm that's what it is. It just occurred to me that the alarm only seemed to come on when I connected to shore power, so the GI seems a good bet huh? I'll look into replacing the GI like Rich did. Thanks Rich!

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions.

- Jim

Jim, let me know if you would like me to come over to help when you get ready to replace.

 

[Easternshore]

It’s your water tank gauge.

 

[Wayne]

Make it Easy to Trace Wires, Especially in a Bundle

When trying to trace wires, especially in a long wire bundle, a Tone Tracer will be a great help. Many are available, such as:



https://www.amazon.com/Finder-Gener...ocphy=9011613&hvtargid=pla-906439828688&psc=1


Just inject a tone at one end and follow it with the tracer. Different types can even trace energized circuits.

 

[Circumnavigator]

When trying to trace wires, especially in a long wire bundle, a Tone Tracer will be a great help. Many are available, such as:



https://www.amazon.com/Finder-Gener...ocphy=9011613&hvtargid=pla-906439828688&psc=1


Just inject a tone at one end and follow it with the tracer. Different types can even trace energized circuits.

Amen -- I'm surprised it took so long for someone to mention them. You put the tone generator on one end and use a wand to listen along the wires. Most are designed for use by landline telephone people, so they will work on energized circuits.


Highly recommended.



Jim

 

[rgano]

It’s your water tank gauge.

He was referring to the obsolete galvanic isolator monitor above the water gauge.

 

[MrJim]

Yep, I confirmed it's the galvanic isolator. It turned out that this one was relatively easy to trace as the isolator was mounted in the space behind the display. I just had to remove the stereo speaker and electrical panel to access it.

See, I told you it was a dumb question!

 

[rgano]

Not at all dumb, and I am glad yours was mounted in an easier to find place than mine. I did all the same stuff you did, but I have never laid eyes on the original GI! Come on over sometime. We may have a TF looper visiting starting today on one side. Plenty room on the other side for you.

 

[MrJim]

Just to close out this thread, that panel was, technically, the galvanic isolator monitor panel. The unit that I found behind the panel was the GI monitor unit.
The actual GI was mounted in the galley under the refrigerator, and was easily accessed by removing a wood trim panel. Once we (I mean Rich) found it, it was easy to swap out the old GI for a new one. Bonus: The new model GI doesn't require a monitor or monitoring panel, so I was able to pull those out and discard them.