lights, batteries, inverters?

[Lunasea]

So, on shore power, DC lights in the cabin slowly dim over about 10 minutes to almost dark. then they flood back on and something chirps (haven't found the chirp yet). seems to be getting worse and I am assuming that I am killing a battery. started the generator and put a load on didn't help.

Any ideas?

thanks

 

[O C Diver]

If wet lead acid, check the water level. It sounds like the batteries are discharging quickly (bad batteries) and then the charger kicks back in. May also be a bad connection or corroded terminals. The chirp is most likely a low battery warning. Several of my navigation electronics make that noise below 11.5 volts.

Ted

 

[FlyWright]

What's your battery voltage?

Does it also happen without shore power or gen power...just 12V battery?

 

[Lunasea]

Well, indications are about 12volts. It got pretty dark last night looking with a flashlight, so I plan check individual batteries this morning. I am on shore power but started the genny last night and shifted from shore power to the generator with the same action. It occurs to me now that the generator may night be driving the lights but only charging the batteries so I may not have left the generator on long enough if the batteries are low?

 

[O C Diver]

Well, indications are about 12volts. It got pretty dark last night looking with a flashlight, so I plan check individual batteries this morning. I am on shore power but started the genny last night and shifted from shore power to the generator with the same action. It occurs to me now that the generator may night be driving the lights but only charging the batteries so I may not have left the generator on long enough if the batteries are low?

It's unlikely the generator charges the battery without going through the shore power battery charger. If one of your main engines supplies power to the house batteries, try starting that engine and raise the rpm to 1,000 to see if that charges the batteries or at least raises the voltage. If the battery charger is working, connected to shore power and charging, the voltage should be at least 13.

Ted

 

[Heron]

Well, indications are about 12volts.

12V is virtually dead....

 

[Lunasea]

Called in an electrician. turns out my Blue sea charger had blown and continues to blow fuses. he says it needs to be replaced. I am at work so I haven't had the chance to ask him if he knows if something is causing it to blow fuses.


The boat also has an ancient and small Exide 2000ex charger/inverter. My next question is should I replace both with a larger charger/inverter or do I want separate units?

 

[capn_billl]

I use separate units, but I'm shopping for a good deal on a combo.

Some advantages of a combo are,.... Saves weight, auto transfer, and battery management. You can buy a better quality unit if you aren't buying two.

Some advantages to separate units. a blown fuse doesn't remove all power. You can size for optimum application, smaller charger, and larger inverter.

 

[Baker]

I would go with a combo unit. There are more choices. I installed a combo inverter charger. I only wanted an inverter but couldn't find the quality and capacity I was looking for in a single unit. My original charger was working fine. Now it is a backup or a supplement if I need the capacity of both...which I have once. Anyway, if you want both, go with a combo. And you can spend as much or as little money as you want. I am a Magnum fan.....good stuff but not cheap.

 

[swampu]

I would check or replace all the batteries. My charger blew twice and I finally bought all new batteries and now it works great