Carver Owners Forum

Hello carver owners.
My name is Paul and I'm new to the forum.
I have a 1989 carver Montego 2557.
Recently I lost all power to the power outlets on the boat, I turned off all power to the boat and reset the power.
Still no power to the outlets, I reset the circuit breaker, nothing. Tried the power outlet in the bathroom that has a reset button, nothing.
The engines start with np problem.
I have power coming from the dock to the boat, still for whatever reason I'm not getting power to the boat.
I had to run an extension cord to the battery charger to keep the batteries charged.
I have 2 twin 3.7 engines in the boat, these engines have 2 reset buttons. (Red)
My question is, could these 2 engine rest buttons be the fault for my power problems? Or just the circuit breaker on the control panel? Help

Thanks
Paul

Hello. You said you have power from dock to boat. How do you know this? Have you volt meter or assuming that power is good at the boat end? On my 405 I have a circuit breaker at the shore power inlet at the boat in addition to the electric panel main c.b. do you have a ship/shore switch? Make sure that is switched correctly. The bathroom receptacle you mentioned if a gfci so that wont effect the whole boat. The red reset on the engines will not be part of the boat power problem either. A volt meter will be a handy thing to get and make situations like this not stressful.

Welcome aboard Paul,

You're talking about two different electrical systems. You'll have a 12 DC volt system (batteries) which your engines and 12 volt accessories run on, and a 120 volt AC system (shore power) which powers your AC loads. The only relation between the two is that your battery charger works off 120 volta AC shore power and charges your 12 volt DC batteries.

Your outlets deliver 120 volts AC from your shore power so we should focus on that. First we need to find out if you have any AC power reaching your breaker panel. Do any of the AC appliances work such as your stove, water heater, microwave, etc? If those are working, then we can assume there is power to the panel and the next step is to find out why there is no power in the outlet circuit. If there is power to the panel, then it's a faulty outlet breaker, faulty wiring, a bad connection at the breaker or an outlet in the circuit, or the GFI you mentioned has failed.

If none of your AC devices are working with all your breakers on, then we need to determine whether you're getting AC power to the panel. Since you said you had to run an extension cord to the charger, you probably aren't getting power to the panel or your main breaker has failed. If you have 120 volts AC at the end of your power cord that plugs into your boat, then you either have a problem with the boat's power inlet, wiring, poor connection somewhere, or a bad main breaker. If there is no power at the end of the cord, then you have a bad cord, poor connection or a problem at the dockside shore power post. As mentioned, you should have a multi meter on board and learn how to use it so you can take some simple measurements that would eventually lead you to the fault. You should also have an AC non contact voltage indicator. You just touch the outside of an AC wire anywhere along the circuit or in an out and it will let you know whether there is power or not.

Maybe this is all common knowledge, but....:

On my '92 3307 Aft Cabin, I have a set of breakers, under a screw-on cover, right at the shore power connector plugs, on the outside of the boat.

Also, I found that my GFCI receptacle right by the AC/DC breaker panel shuts off all downstream receptacles when it pops. Took me a while to find that..never knew that only the first receptacle in a branch controlled them all!

I also have 2 separate receptacle breakers on my AC panel.

Lastly, any "good neighbors" driven over your power cord lately? And it also is really handy to have the adapters for 30A to 12/3 extension cords for the pedestal and boat ends.

But what Viper said....without a VOM you are a blind man in a coal mine.

Great, thanks for the advise.
My A/C microwave, refrigerator aren't working.
I've replaced the the GFCI outlet, no change as power is not getting through.
I'll focus on checking the main breaker where the A/C and and outlet switches are.
These would reset before with no problem, now they won't reset this time round.
I'll keep you updated on this issue when I get out to the boat on Friday.
Thanks

Daddy wrote:Source of the post I've replaced the the GFCI outlet

Be sure the GFCI it is installed correctly/line load polarity.

If the breakers won't reset when they did before ...perhaps there is a dead short.......try unplugging/disconnecting all the appliances first.
Do the breakers reset with all the power to and on the boat disconnected ?

With all the breakers off EXCEPT for the main, do you show any voltage on the meters in the panel?

If you're not getting ANY power in the boat, it could be a problem with the wiring on the back of the receptible on the boat shore connection. Over the years they can corrode or get loose with hot/cold cycles and lose their connection.

But do the basic troubleshooting first... identify all the areas where you KNOW you have power (starting all the way at the shore pedestal) and those areas where you DON'T.

Ya if it's the main breaker that won't reset, there's likely a short in the input circuit. Pretty common culprit for that is the shore power inlet on the boat where you plug her in, a bad cord, or the plug at the dock pedestal as I mentioned. If you have power at the end of the cord, pull your inlet off the boat and inspect the wiring and connections on the back of it. There are other possibilities but I suspect that's where the problem is, pretty common because they can heat up quite a bit under the right conditions. If that connection is good, see if you have power to the main breaker on your panel.

Do you have a factory installed generator? Could be something with the automatic switch over relays.
Btw... welcome aboard!

Well, I've had my friend take a look at it today. (He's a home electrician)
I have power from the shore line to the boat.
He also checked for power to the outlets, nothing.
He found an orange wire with a 30amp fuse that he says was extremely hot.
We never got to check any further as a boat 3 docks down from me caught fire and we had to get out quick.
I'll have to get a boat electrician to come by and take a good look at this situation when I can find one in town here.
As for the boat that caught fire, everyone is fine. Unfortunately the boat is just a shell.
I spoke to the owner who said he had spent $12,000 dollars renovating it before putting it in the water.

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll just wait to have a pro look at it.
Engines work, cabin lights work, anything that runs off the batteries work.
I'll get ice for the beer and bring my own food.