Mike H

I have one and guess what, never had to use it since purchase. A quick blip of reverse works for me. Been lucky so far. On a general note if you buy one they will need a good sharpening as they are delivered pretty blunt. Heath and Safety rears it's head again, can't trust an adult with a sharp object 😆🤣

Any CRT water point will easily supply the required pressure

A dremmel with a cutter disk on will cut small shackles very easily and is more controllable than an angle grinder or saw

A big thanks from me as well. Turned out we are in opposite ends of the same marina, small world. I'm glad eeyore explained the problem so eloquently as it had me stumped. As eeyore said plenty still to do but that is always the case, a bottomless bucket as the owner of my first boat said, nothing could be truer.

Mission not sucessful today. It was pouring down when at boat which is a wide hatch trad and I am reluctant to expose elecs to rain when removing elec access pabels

Back home at the moment so no manuals at hand but shore charging is via Sterling 1220 charger and solar by Victron MPPT 75/15 controller. Will be back with details tomorrow evening

Comment on Eeyore and Tony Brookes post : The wiring diagram came with the boat and this is the first time I have had to use it. I can see some of the wiring diagram seems to have errors. The Barrus diagram was in the boat manual Another point is I am the fourth owner of the boat and the wiring diagram would have been done when new so alterations may have been done over the years. I agree the wiring needs tracing and checking to see what corresponds to the wiring diagram. I will do this. I agree the wiring is complicated with a Sterling alternator controller and both a Smartbank and Smartguage. I don't see the need for both. On a more general note thanks to everyone who is providing imput to solve this

This is correct, a mechanical switch fault could cause all manner of wrong internal connections. Running with original BS Switch at the moment which is very 'graunchy' when turning from 'off'to 'ignition' with very little spring pressure evident on the key turn The overcharging only occured with the Durite switch fitted. Voltages now running at 13v with engine off and 14v with engine running so thats OK As I said now just waiting for new BS switch

I am waiting for a brand new BS ignition switch in the hope this solves the problem. If this does not do it I will wave the white flag and call in a marine sparky. Anyone in the area of Great Haywood Junction that would be interested in a job DM me.

Neither can I. Shore power goes through 3 way selector switch through AC trip/isolate unit and also check circuit with lights that AC is on and polarity ok then to Sterling 30 amp charger. No error lights on the charger so that is functioning correctly I also can't understand why BS ignition switch is internally wired live from T30 to T83 when my boat elec diag and the official BS diagram do not show any live connection

No, it's a BS 1552 3cyl direct injection so no heater needed. Starts first time every time !!

Ok right here we go. I have attached below my wiring diagram if anyone is interested in looking what is connected. The rest of the diagram to the right is 'house' wiring and is not relevant to the issue. As far as I am concerned now all is fine and I have established that a Durite replacement ignition switch is not suitable for my boat, as to why I will let others discuss.

No, because it was on shore powef as well at the time.

I understand the ideas regarding the alternator/ regulator/rectifier overcharging but the problem occured only with an INCORRECT IGNITION SWITCH FITTED, the engine off, boat in marina on shore power and 200w of solar on the roof. This would seem to rule out a fauly alternator which would only overcharge when engine running? or am I missing something? Basically I am trying to replace an intermitantly working BS ignition switch with a new one. It was the incorrect Durite switch which caused overcharge. So change back to the original wonky BS switch all is well again with battery voltages now back to normal. So it is probable we do not have a fault other than trying to use the wrong switch (Durite) This leads back to previous posts in this thread with posts discussing why you can't use a non BS switch and we are back at square one !! We have owned the boat for nearly two years with no overcharging or electrical issues. Out of interest I will add my boats wiring diagram later to see if that helps a better person than me, I am a reasonably competent amateur, to understand what the switches are doing.

Ok I have checked the difference between the switches and it is terminal 83. With the BS switch there is continuity to 83 from 30 even with the ignition off. With the Durite switch there is no continuity to any terminal with switch off. Now I need to check where 83 is connected to. I think they are to the warning lights and rev counter. I need to double check this when at the boat tomorrow. I know 75 runs to the split charge so no nearer why it should overcharge with the Durite switch fitted.

Ok eeyore. I am not on the boat today where I have a really good wiring diagram. I will be there tomorrow when I will photo what I can and go through terminals with multimeter. Thanks for your help

Ok this is the best I can do. Left side is Durite right is Barrus. The extra terminal on the Durite is Accessory and I did not use (key turn to left)

The picture is of the original Barrus Shire switch. The one that didn't work and was causing overcharge (even with ignition off) was a Durite 03-51-03

Sorry I dont think thats it Alan/David. The problem with the original Barrus Switch was mechanical. You can feel the internals moving around when turning the key. You had to keep pressure on the key when turning to get anything to work. I replaced it with a Durite switch. This did not fail but caused overcharging as the terminal numbering was not the same as the BS switch. (Did not have a terminal No 83 which the BS switch has) I replaced this with a new BS switch which was 'allegedly ok' but this was a return item and not brand new from BS. I am waiting for a replacement. I have re-fitted my original BS switch which has solved the overcharge problem and will operate the engine, rev counter, warning lights and stop button so this negates any external wiring fault. But feels totally unreliable which is why I was replacing it !!

Sorry was off thread when speaking direct to reg. I will include my message to him here in the hope someone more electrically minded might understand the problem: "Thanks reg just to explain my problem I was trying to replace a very faulty Barrus Shire 5 terminal ignition switch on my 2000 narrowboat which has a Barrus Shire 1552 engine. I tried a replacement Durite ignition switch (0-351-03 acc/off/run/start) which caused massive overcharging to my batteries (which were at the time on shore power and solar) they went to 16.8v. The switch was connected correctly. The problem seemed to be the Sterling Split Charger relay was not getting the correct signal from the Durite switch as the red overcharge light was lit up. I found this out the morning after fitting the switch when I found my co2 alarm in the cabin alarming from the battery fumes. I immediately disconnected my batteries to prevent fire/ explosion when I saw the voltage they were at. Then I sourced a new 5 terminal Barrus Shire ignition from JD Boat Services at Gailey. On chatting with the boss there his opinion was that there is no cheap replacement for an old 5 terminal Barrus switch as the connections inside a Durite switch are different. I tend to agree with him as the standard terminal connection numbers are different on the Barrus switch when compared to the Durite equivalent. So please if you do need to replace a faulty 5 terminal Barrus Shire ignition bite the bullet and pay the price, there is no cheap alternative available. Interestingly all keys are the same for the five terminal switches Obviously all boats will have slightly different wiring layouts but my basic components are Stirling Charger, Stirling Split charge controller, single alternator, 2000w pure sine invertor, 200w solar with Victron Smart solar controller, 3 house batteries (new last year) and 1 starter battery. Out of interest initially it appeared the Durite switch was doing the job as the engine started fine and stopped on the button and the warning lights and rev counter were working. Newer Barrus Shire switches are, I believe, a 9 pin. I have no information if there are any alternative cheaper switches for these" As a follow up to my problem the "new" Barrus Shire switch is faulty and I am now waiting for a replacement. Below are some pics of the Barrus switch

Thanks Nightwatch. Been to RCR and they didn't have one in stock so have ordered one at my nearest Barrus Shire agent, JD Boat Services at Gailey. They had one in stock but sold it a couple of weeks ago. You just know that would happen 🤔

Can I please clarify with you Nightwatch, where did you get this switch from and if possible has it a serial number? I have a barrus shire 1552 with this switch which I need to replace