Hi David,
I've had alternator to starter lead wired like
that on so many boats that I cannot recall any
other way. On one baot I did have an ammeter but
it was located very close to the engine so the
lead was alt > ammeter -> starter lead, less than 18" of wire.
The purpose of this arrangement is to utilize the
heavy gauge starter wire for the alt. For obvious
reasons it is wired to the battery side of the starter terminals :)
I also use a glow plug relay, typically the low
cost Ford Motor Company ancient starter relay, say 80s F-150.
The ACR will be wired from start battery to house
bank. Again, this is the most common arrangement.
Cheers, Russ
Sweet 35 mk-1
At 08:44 AM 12/02/2017, you wrote:
Siting here watching lots of snow come down
makes my thoughts turn to boat maintenance and I
have been reading the very useful Mainecruising site.
First question- Engine panel, alternator wiring and charge control
I have a Universal diesel on my boat and the
infamous trailer connectors described
here:
<http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/universal_wiring_harness_upgrade&page=1>http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/universal_wiring_harness_upgrade&page=1.
I also have the panel pictured in this article
with ammeter and tachometer. I have already
replaced one of the trailer connectors
(partially melted) by directly splicing all the
wires to their mates with butt connectors and
will do the other in the spring. I have read
the article a number of times now and am
reasonably sure I should also do the starter
circuit upgrade as he recommends, but some of
the details are fuzzy to me. I have a hard time
understanding the whole thing if I canât look
at a wiring diagram. Has anyone created a
wiring diagram for the
starter/alternator/switches/glow plugs/panel on these Universals?
More specifically- his first recommendation is
the quick and dirty fix: Simply jump the
alternator output to the starter post and
disconnect the orange wire. With this jumper the
alternator output bypasses the 20+/- feet of
teeny tiny 10GA wire and uses the large gauge
starter wire to make its way back to the battery
switch and then to the battery banks.
I presume this eliminates the ammeter completely
(no big loss in my book as I never look at
it). I am fuzzy on the reason this is
important since the alternator does not drive
the starter, so without a circuit diagram I am
having trouble seeing what this accomplishes.
Also- If I go for more than the quick and dirty-
I think I have two options. First would be
running the alternator to the house bank and an
ACR to the starter battery. Second would be a
charge controller (Balmar 614) between the
alternator and the battery banks. Am I right
that it is one or the other? What I read from
the same site makes me think the charge
controller is the much better option since I
have AGM batteries and he discusses extensively
the problems of Motorola alternators,
temperature compensation and charge control
<http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/automotive_alternators_vs_deep_cycle_batteries>http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/automotive_alternators_vs_deep_cycle_batteries.
Also, If I add a glow plug solenoid as he
discusses, is this the right solenoid to use:
<http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276108|2276149|2290057&id=2262949>http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1%7C2276108%7C2276149%7C2290057&id=2262949
Second unrelated question:
In his section on winterizing water systems he
says: Water heaters are always drained and
by-passed you do not run pink through them!
I have done this both ways, but I canât see
why it is so much better to bypass and drain. I
found it a real PITA to bypass the water heater
so have been doing it the easy way of emptying
the water tanks and then running propylene
glycol through until red comes out both hot and
cold lines. Maybe if I plumbed it to make
bypass easier, I might do it that way, but I
canât see why it matters other than using more antifreeze.
Thanks- Dave
Aries
1990 C&C 34+
New London, CT
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