Battery charger wiring change

[Mark and Karen]

I am wanting to change the wiring from the standard dolphin charger so it only charges the bow thruster and engine battery and is disconnected from the domestic batteries - any ideas where this would be connected?

[Jeff Shukis]

In the US, we get a Xantrax charger installed in the aft cabin under the bench seat. The charger has four DC output wires (one yellow negative wire and three red positive wires). The negative wire connects to the main neutral disconnect switch. One of the positive output wires attaches to the house battery main disconnect switch, one to the engine battery main disconntect switch, and the third runs forward to the thruster battery disconnect switch. These charger outputs attach to the unswitched side of the disconnect switches so that you can charge even when the switches are off.

 

To disable charging of the house batteries from this charger, simply disconnect the appropriate one of the three output wires from the charger. You can pick the right wire by visually tracing to figure out which wire connects to the house battery switch and/or you can use the Beneteau wire numbers.

 

Each wire in the Beneteau wiring harness is printed with a number every few inches along its length. The Beneteau-provided documentation includes a printout of an Excel spreadsheet that maps wire numbers to circuits. You can use the numbers on the wire and the spreadsheet to verify that you've disconnected the right wire.

 

Are you installing a separate charger for the house batteries? What brand/model and why?

 

Jeff

[Mark and Karen]

Hi Jeff

I have installed a Studer 2kw charger/inverter which runs the 240/12v systems. This does not charge the starter battery or bow thruster battery which is why I want to bypass the house battery from this circuit. All batteries will be charged when the engine is running and we are looking at a wind generator but we have not made our minds up whether we do this before the rear arch.

Not sure if this has contributed to the bow thruster battery problem we have also had so I am separating the circuits completely

 

[Jeff Shukis]

I'd like to do the same some day - add a charger/inverter that is.

 

Jeff

[Mark and Karen]

We have three different types of battery - Domestic is wet lead acid, Engine starting is sealed lead acid and bow thruster are AGM's. No wonder charging is an issue!

[foster]

Hello Jeff

We added a Mastervolt MassCombi 2500w inverter and 100 A charger for house batteries Agm 600ah capacity. Everything since is really working very well. The powerful inverter allows to use microwave without starting the generator. We charge when capacity is around 66%.
could you post the excel with the wiring numbers. I have a problem with the front cabin lights and can't find the wires to test them.
Thank you?
Denis

[Jeff Shukis]

Hi Denis,

 

I'll be away this weekend, but I'll be visiting the boat on Tuesday, I believe. I'll find the printed Excel and scan it for you.

 

Jeff

[Jeff Shukis]

Attached is the B40 wire identification spreadsheet. This information is printed in your owners manual, but I wanted an editable, annotatable document so I built a simple spreadsheet-based version.

 

Jeff

[Mark and Karen]

Great, many thanks