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Starter battery draining with the domestic bank


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Hello,

 

I seem to have a problem where my starter battery is getting drained along with the leisure batteries, although the only connection I can see on the positive side is to the dials on the control panel and then straight to the starter motor, I have attached a pic?

 

2i9la93.jpg

 

Thanks

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without a full circuit diagram of the starter and domestic banks and their charging arrangements and their feeds it is not possible to be definitive.  Other similar threads have foundered because the OP has not provided sufficient data, and anyone responding has been in the world of speculation.  Please can you provide more details so we can help you.

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20 minutes ago, Mitchellmoxo said:

Hello,

 

I seem to have a problem where my starter battery is getting drained along with the leisure batteries, although the only connection I can see on the positive side is to the dials on the control panel and then straight to the starter motor, I have attached a pic?

 

2i9la93.jpg

 

Thanks

The only thing I can see from that picture is that the connector studs appear to be a bit corroded, might be worth giving them a clean and then see if you still have a problem. 

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If this is a single alternator boat then the fist suspect is whatever charge splitting device you use. More info required.

 

I see two thinner leads on the battery positive. As its a single battery I assume its the start battery. Typically there would on,y be ONE thinner lead here unless one is from a battery charger. The single lead here MIGHT be the lead carrying the split charging current. Typically the supply for the engine electrics is taken from the starter main battery terminal, but  not always so again more info required.

 

As Murflyn says more info required, a diagraam & possibly photos of the equipment.

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Thanks for the replies i have a twin alternator arrangement so I may start by removing one of the thinner wires to see if that helps is there any way of seeing if there is current being drawn from that battery without draining it every time?

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1 hour ago, Mitchellmoxo said:

is there any way of seeing if there is current being drawn from that battery without draining it every time?

Get yourself a UNI-T UT210E from Amazon :)

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10 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Get yourself a UNI-T UT210E from Amazon :)

Strongly agree. A clamp meter is great for diagnosing charging issues. Get one and your problem will be solved by end of page one. Don't, and we'll still be none the wiser at the end of page 5. I got mine via amazon prime the following day and it solved a  potentially expensive problem.

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Small point, but if what you  have pictured is your starter battery, it isn't a type actually sold as intended  for use as a starter battery.

It looks to me like a Numax XV31MF (or similar).

These are sold as domestic batteries, not starter batteries, and may not have plates designed for the very large currents that may get drawn by your starter motor.

You would be better off with something sold solely for use as a starter battery.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

You would be better off with something sold solely for use as a starter battery.

 

 

I have a pair of ten year old domestic batteries still starting my Kelvin perfectly adequately. 

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58 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Small point, but if what you  have pictured is your starter battery, it isn't a type actually sold as intended  for use as a starter battery.

It looks to me like a Numax XV31MF (or similar).

These are sold as domestic batteries, not starter batteries, and may not have plates designed for the very large currents that may get drawn by your starter motor.

You would be better off with something sold solely for use as a starter battery.

 

 

A fair point Alan I have recently installed a Numax XV31MF as my starter battery after using a normal lead acid battery. I will be swapping it out in the near future as the starter alternator charging, whilst working perfectly for lead acid, may not be suited to sealed calcium batteries (hard to get a definitive answer on the charging rate for these calcium batteries as no one seems keen to a definitive answer). 

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5 hours ago, reg said:

A fair point Alan I have recently installed a Numax XV31MF as my starter battery after using a normal lead acid battery. I will be swapping it out in the near future as the starter alternator charging, whilst working perfectly for lead acid, may not be suited to sealed calcium batteries (hard to get a definitive answer on the charging rate for these calcium batteries as no one seems keen to a definitive answer). 

Try UP TO about 14.8 but as that MIGHT cause gassing stick to about 14.5 to 14.6 BUT the absolute voltage only is an issue that relates to gassing and heating. A higher voltage will push more amps into the battery than a lower one but 13.8 to 14.2 will charge the battery but take longer doing it.

 

If the alternator is regulating between 14.2 & 14.5 it should be fine.

 

  • Greenie 1
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2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Try UP TO about 14.8 but as that MIGHT cause gassing stick to about 14.5 to 14.6 BUT the absolute voltage only is an issue that relates to gassing and heating. A higher voltage will push more amps into the battery than a lower one but 13.8 to 14.2 will charge the battery but take longer doing it.

 

If the alternator is regulating between 14.2 & 14.5 it should be fine.

 

As we’re talking about a starter battery which doesn’t lose much charge when starting the engine and then gets a long time being charged I’d go for the lower voltage (<14.5V) just to be safe. The battery will be full way before you stop the engine. 

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Is it happening overnight? I think I would just disconnect the starter battery completely and re connect it when you need it next, if it has lost charge then its failing and you probably don't have a mysterious fault.

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20 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Small point, but if what you  have pictured is your starter battery, it isn't a type actually sold as intended  for use as a starter battery.

It looks to me like a Numax XV31MF (or similar).

These are sold as domestic batteries, not starter batteries, and may not have plates designed for the very large currents that may get drawn by your starter motor.

You would be better off with something sold solely for use as a starter battery.

 

 

Despite being sold as leisure batteries, and being described by one eBay seller as "12V 105AH Numax XV31MF Ultra Deep Cycle Leisure Marine Battery", their spec. includes Cold Cranking Amps (740A) and MCA (925A), so they should have no trouble starting an engine.

I suspect that dissection would find little difference between it and a starter battery. :) 

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Have you got one of those round switch jobbies with something like 3 positions on as that could connect your domestics and charging battery up and drain them all together?

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40 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Didn't Gibbo say they are all just re-badged cranking batteries and there is no such thing as a leisure battery

That’ll have been when he had his cynical head on. Oh, wait...

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12 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Have you got one of those round switch jobbies with something like 3 positions on as that could connect your domestics and charging battery up and drain them all together?

That was my first thought and why I mentioned charge splitting and asking fir more info - notice no reply to my and Murfllyn's request for more info.

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1 hour ago, Ssscrudddy said:

Lol, how did i miss that ffs.

I swear that has had no cca rating on there in the last 6 months I've been looking at them, including about 2 mins before i posted here.

Another clue... "ALL Batteries are Fully Charged, Load Tested, Crank Tested and Leak Tested before dispatch."

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On 28/05/2018 at 20:46, Mitchellmoxo said:

I seem to have a problem where my starter battery is getting drained along with the leisure batteries,

 

On 28/05/2018 at 21:36, Mitchellmoxo said:

i have a twin alternator arrangement

 

If you have a twin alternator arrangement, the circuitry for the engine and domestic systems should be separate. And so any draining of the engine battery along with the domestic battery will be purely coincidental. 

 

Unless you have a wiring fault!

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