Starting problem on my 2001 Carver 404

[Dave123]

I recently purchased a Carver 404 Yacht. The boat is great. But, the headaches... UGH!

The boat has 4 6-Volt "house" batteries. It also has 2 starter batteries fir the engine (and another battery for the generator). When I switch the battery selector to #2, the boat starts fine. However, when I switch the battery selector to #1, I hear "clicking" but the engine will not start.

I replaced all house and the #1 batteries. This did not help. Also, when running on battery power (not shore power), lights dim and equipment flickers on/off. Obviously, in replacing all the batteries, I examined & changed all battery connections.

I suspect that, in the 20 years that the boat has been around, someone may have changed the wiring. I have searched for a wiring diagram without success. After replacing the batteries, I don't know the next step.

Any help would be really appreciated.

[tomschauer]

You say you replaced the number 1 battery. Are you sure you replaced that one? Turn your battery switch to #1 pull the positive cable off what you believe is number one and see if you get the clicking sound. You can also look at your helm voltage meters. you should have 2. they should both be at 12+ with no charger, no engines running or 14+ with the engines running or charger on. Sounds like you have a bad battery.

[Viper]

Could be a few things; bad batteries, or poor connections which could be anywhere other than at the batteries if you already changed those connections. Could have poor connections at the engine blocks, selector switch, etc. Make sure all battery grounds are connected to ground. Could also be a bad selector switch. While you're at it, check and ensure that all your charger and alternator outputs are working properly.

[bud37]

I will echo all of the above.....considering the boat is new to you, for sure, establish what battery bank is connected to #1 on the switch and what is connected to #2....then label which is the house bank ( the 4X6volts ) and double check that bank to make sure it is wired correctly ( series parallel ) to put out 12vdc. Carver labelled their battery cables as #1 and #2 ....have a look and see if the tags are still there.

On your switch panel are a number of breakers to route 12v power, and behind that panel the wiring and cables are packed in there real tight....I know with our old boat upon checking back there found connectors loose and some cracked from the bends and tension, in fact it actually cracked/broke one of the breakers.

Just try to do one thing at a time and you will get thru it.

[Dave123]

All of these are helpful. I have my work cut out for me...

[Dave123]

Just an update. After countless hours, I found that the batteries were not grounded properly. Battery #1 was grounded to a grounding plate on the bulkhead. Battery #2 was grounded to the engine grounding block. However, the grounding plate and engine were not grounded together. (If I connected the plate and the engine with a small wire, the wire became very hot. Also, the lights on the boat brightened.)

So, battery #1 did not have a strong ground to the engine. That was the cause of the engine note starting. Obviously, there was some ground because I heard the ticking when I turned the key.

So, I purchased and installed a ground from battery #1 to the engine. Now both batteries start the engine. Also, the electrical equipment works better including brighter lights and no flickering. But, I will have to wait until next season to make sure.

2 important questions:
1) Any guess why there was no cable from battery #1 to the engine? Why were the two grounds somewhat isolated from each other?
2) The battery monitor alarm sounds for the first hour while charging the batteries. The monitor is reading a "high voltage." This voltage drops after the batteries receive a full charge. Then, the alarm stops. Is this normal?

[bud37]

Almost sounds like someone along the way changed things before you got the boat. There should have been a dedicated ground cable running from one engine block ground point to the other engine block ground point.....is that cable still there ?

Proper grounding in a boat is extremely important for operation and safety, it is good you are working your way thru this, thanks for posting.....

[Dave123]

Yes, there seems to be some aftermarket "additions". I called Carver. The service tech told me that the boat originally had ONLY 3 batteries: #1 and #2 for the main engines; #3 for the generator. He also said there was one battery charger and no battery monitor alarm. (Please confirm... is he accurate?)

I have 7 batteries including four 6V house batteries (two in series; two in parallel). I also have two ProNautic 1250 battery chargers and a "BMV-6025" battery monitor alarm. If this "upgrade" was added, I should be happy. However, it doesn't seem like it was done correctly. Or, a grounding line was removed for a reason that isn't clear.

To answer your question... I do not know if there is a grounding cable between the blocks. Where should I look for it?

Regardless, an incomplete ground existed between the "engine" and "house" grounds. "House" grounds are connected between several grounding plates around the boat and battery #1. I added a grounding line between battery #1 and the engine. The lights are brighter and engine starts from battery #1. Therefore, the "house" was incompletely grounded to the engine block. I just want to know that I did the correct thing. Forgetting a ground between the battery and the engine seems rather dumb for someone who made all these upgrades.

One last electrical question... when I switch on the battery charger, the charger initially reads 15V and ~50amps. The "BMV-6025" battery monitor alarm rings because the voltage is above 13.8 Over about 1 hour, this gradually falls to ~13.5V and 20amps. The battery monitor then stops alarming. Should I be concerned?

[km1125]

There absolutely should be a large gauge cable between the engine blocks. I believe this is an ABYC specification. However, I do think there should also be a connection from each engine block to the starting battery(ies). My preference is to have each battery tied directly to a negative buss with a large diameter cable... larger the better and also have each engine tied to this buss. That way you only have one large connection on each battery along with -perhaps- the charger feed. But you should still have that tie line between the engine blocks. Yours may be there and just corroded badly on one end or the other, causing a loss of connection.

Some chargers have a "equalize" mode which is a temporary higher voltage. The old Heart Interface inverter/chargers had this and there was a switch to enable it. If that switch was on, then the charger would enter this mode every time it was powered up. You would typically only toggle that switch once to engage that mode every month or so, as you don't want to go into this mode every single time you power cycle the charger. See if your charger has any documentation about "equalizing" the batteries.

... and YES, you should be very happy with those upgrades. That's a good house battery bank and having that monitor is also great. Even if the PO missed some things in the installation, they are very minor in terms of what they added to the boat.

[bud37]

Source of the post
I have 7 batteries including four 6V house batteries (two in series; two in parallel). I also have two ProNautic 1250 battery chargers and a "BMV-6025" battery monitor alarm. If this "upgrade" was added, I should be happy. However, it doesn't seem like it was done correctly. Or, a grounding line was removed for a reason that isn't clear.

Source of the post One last electrical question... when I switch on the battery charger, the charger initially reads 15V and ~50amps. The "BMV-6025" battery monitor alarm rings because the voltage is above 13.8 Over about 1 hour, this gradually falls to ~13.5V and 20amps. The battery monitor then stops alarming. Should I be concerned?

I will add to KM's info.......If you have the BMV 6025 manual you need to read the set up instructions....this monitor needs the correct info or it will not work properly.......you should see voltage well over 13.8 until the batteries catch up....the info will be in the 1250p manual about charging profiles.....the chargers also need to be set up properly. The 13.5 volts at 20amps seems a bit off to me.

The thing in your post that throws me a bit is your explanation of the 4x6volt batteries as 2 being in series and 2 being in parallel...the install should be series/ parallel meaning voltage read across the bank main pos and neg should be 12 volts...actually 12.7 full charged after sitting. The two batteries on one side are in series and the other two are in series making each separate set 12.7 volts ...then the two sets are joined in parallel. You can get example schematics online.... Please check your set up.

My quick guess judging by the install..... these items may not have the correct set up info put in on instal start-up. I am thinking this will take a while to go thru.....tough to realize exactly how the instal is in a forum setting but its a start....

Oh, your info from Carver is just how these boats came stock.....mine was just the same.