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Bow Thruster Battery??

Discussion in 'Carver Yacht' started by trmnewt, Jul 9, 2016.

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  1. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    Hi all! I am trying to find the battery for the bow thruster on my 2000 Carver 506. Have looked everywhere I can think of, tried unsuccessfully to trace the power cables (lose track of them going through bulkheads and behind equipment). It does not seem to be located near the thruster as logic would dictate--the on/off switch is located on a bulkhead in the aft of the engine room. Any insights would be most appreciated!
  2. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    On a boat that size they may be running off the house bank. Activate teh thruster while watching house bank voltsge and see if it dips down.

    Yeah don't have manuals and schematics for th boat? Carver should be able to supply them if you don't.
  3. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    I have the manuals, but they don't tell me where the battery is. I thought it would be separate from the house batteries--they just died (after 13 months!), and I just had them all replaced, so I know they are good, and the thruster is no better. It also has its own charger, separate from the house inverter/charger, so I assumed it was a separate battery. I will call Carver tomorrow.
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Well then open every single hatch and access panel starting near the bow and look for it... Should be easy to spot :)

    I mean it s something you need to do any way so you can know where every thing is... Sea cocks, strainers, bilge pumps, sumps, etc...
  5. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Odds are the installation was after-market, and Carver won't know. Check the original dealer and/or his jobber. Otherwise a call to Staten Island Boat Sales (SIBS) should get you the answer.

    You should be able to trace the wires though, either from the thruster, the charger or the battery switch. That boat is often equipped with a stern thruster. So the battery may be in an aft location.

    Every boatowner should explore every nook and crany of their boat. This looks like a good reason to explore.
  6. gbarger

    gbarger New Member

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    My friend has a 2000 506, his boat has 24 volt engine starters. His bow thrusters were wired to the two D batteries that are the port engine starter batteries. These are the two batteries in the port aft area of the engine room. Check them for an extra large battery cable which runs to that on/off switch yours might be different but that is where I would start.
  7. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Would your purchase survey have any comments on battery condition and locations?
  8. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    Thanks for all the input. I talked to Carver, and was surprised by what they told me. There are 4-8d batteries, but only 2 of them are house batteries. The other 2 are the engine starter batteries (my boat has the "small" engines--Cummins 450c's, so they have a 12 volt starting system). There are 4 automotive-size (? Group 27??) batteries below a hinged piece of plywood between the stringers, and they are wired in series to make a bank of 2x24 volt batteries. I have always assumed these were the starting batteries, but turns out they are the bow thruster batteries. Next time I'm up at the boat I will test them, but I suspect they are bad.

    NYCAP123, I did crawl all over the ER, and tried to trace the cables, but would lose them going through bulkheads or behind equipment. Turns out the batteries imwas searching for were right under my nose the whole time!

    Thanks rcrapps, but nothing about it was in the survey.
  9. FoxyJoe

    FoxyJoe New Member

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    How did you make out with your battery issue? I replaced every one of mine in 2014...piece of mind...
  10. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Any thing else lacking in the survey that you should know about?
    I ask because there seems to be a mini surveyor issue going on. Per PBB, even some accredited members are getting hits.
  11. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    Actually no--in fact, he discovered that the Halon system--as installed by the manufacturer--was inadequate. I really
    Didn't believe him until I verified on the Fireboy website--two 600 cu. ft. Tanks is not equivalent to one 1200--I had to add a tank.

    Anyway, as to the original issue, turns out both the inverter/charger and the bow thruster battery charger were bad. Bad to replace the thruster charger; sent the inverter out to be repaired and just got it back--hope to have it installed and be fully operational by next weekend. Figure it may have been a lightning strike--does that make sense?
  12. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    If it was a Xantrax product, probably not. If it was a better mfg unit, anything could be to blame, including overheating from charging bad batteries.
  13. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    The inverter/charger is a Xantrex Freedom 25; the bow thruster battery charger is a Charles Industries C-charger. Guess I'm kind of mystified about what happened. Why else would they both fail at once?
  14. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Xantrex has developed a bad name is these woods. Charles has had good and bad reports also. Not many good in this hood also.
    Look those batteries over well. If flooded cells, test each cell and pile load test all.
    Yes, a lightning glaze can do anything. How's your TV and radios??? If their good, i doubt lightning.
  15. trmnewt

    trmnewt Member

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    Thankfully they are all ok. The 2 house batteries were bad (after 13 months), but I replaced the starting batteries as well. Haven't load tested the thruster batteries yet--in a pinch and a favorable breeze I can do without that though!
  16. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    13 months on a battery set is a good hint of something wrong....

    If your new charger is having problems with un-tested batteries, it may fail again. Batteries and chargers have to work together. I could type a novel here on how one battery cell can over tax a charger.
    OR, how a bad charger can ruin good batteries.
    You have to think of batteries and chargers as systems working together.
    You may be spending money in the wrong direction without this thought; batteries and chargers must work in harmony & together AND
    you must have quality equipment to expect any life from either component.

    Please search YF on Charles C chargers. Although the charge cycles are similar, some AGM batteries can not deal with the typical flooded battery charge cycle (if you have AGM batts), I don't think this charger is battery selectable or smart enough to determine an over current problem (bad cell).
  17. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    That's not true. A manufacturer can calculate the cubic footage of an engine room and delete things like stringers and such from the equation and they come up with a number of the true cubic footage of the engine room (from the Naval architect). The Halons are adequate most likely to their (correct) formula. The fire guys after the fact have to do a simply calculation based on lengthx widthx height. They cannot delete anything nor do they get the true cubic footage of air. Their number is ALWAYS higher than the builders by quite a bit. Many boats I've managed over the years, the fire guys have said the factory installed system (even in CE certified yachts) was inadequately sized when it was not.
  18. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    BUT,,, two bottles (or more) are a NO NO unless a common trigger will discharge both bottles at the same time (usually a poor installation). A single bottle must cover the whole area. If two separate bottles are involved, each must be able to cover the whole area on their own.
    AND as I have learned, too much is not a good idea also. An other topic I don't 100% agree with with but has good merit.
  19. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    It depends on the situation. Usually I have seen 2 bottles in an engine room that has an attached generator room that share the same air space, but there is a bulkhead in between that may have a 2'x3' opening. Also if just relying on seafire bottles with the nozzle on the end, in a long engine room it may not disperse as well as a bottle at the front and a bottle at the back.

    Designing a fire system for a yacht is beyond my pay grade. So I'm no expert at it. Just sharing what I've seen and my thoughts. And, also what has been explained to me by my marine fire guy (the volume calculation that varies from the builders naval architect, and theirs.).
  20. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    But both MUST release at the same time.

    You can not rely on a partial fire putter outer. The extinguishing gas must cover all volumes of area AND Alarm / remotely shut the engines down, Further; turn off ER blowers and if were lucky, drop dampeners doors over the ER air vent supplies (Of course, in a perfect world).
    The rest of us just hope that black or red wire (or charger or inverter) was installed correctly (electrical fires are the most common event).
    Did I mention, cooked batteries are full of hydrogen gas, nice boom...