Hello,

I purchased the VSR Smart Battery Switch from your partners at EzAcDc and now I am a tad bit confused. I removed my old battery switch, which had a lead from the Starter which is tied into the alternator.

The old switch was between the battery and the starter on that red wire, then it branched out to the batteries and both batteries went to ground. Simple.

Looking at the drawing that came with the system, I’m confused as to where the “charging” feed comes in? I’m assuming that is the left side of the diagram indicated as the engine Positive Cable. However I’m not sure where to hook up the outbound side into my boat harness Ala boat harness ground and boat harness power. Perhaps I got the wrong diagram?

Thanks so much for the help!
Tim

Hi Tim,

I’m sorry for the confusion.

Your 3.0L engine’s charging circuit is fed to the cranking battery through your engine start cable. The Orange alternator output wire runs from the alternator to the starter. It is connected to the same lug on the starter as the engine positive battery cable.

Your engine negative battery cable and your boat harness ground will both connect to the ground bus that came with your kit. Your boat accessory harness positive wire will connect to the back of the battery switch to the same terminal as one of the VSR wires.

If all of the accessories on your marine electrical system are powered up through the red/purple power lead that runs from your engine up to your dash, you will need to run a separate power wire from your new battery switch to the fuse block/breaker panel to separate these two circuits. Add circuit protection at the battery switch to protect this new wire.

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks for the response.

Just so I get this right

1. The red of the start lug (which also has the alternator orange wire on it) would attach to Lug number 1 on the switch.
2. Can I assume since the harness is already grounded that i don’t have to mess with grounding here?
3. Finally the red/purple. You’re saying to just disconnect the red/purple at the 20 amp fuse (page 5) and run a new wire from the lug into that fuse?

Thanks

Tim

Hi Tim,

You are correct on the first two assumptions above.  

As for the third question about the red/purple, you will need to run a separate wire to power your fuse block. The Red/Purple in your engine harness that runs up to your helm provides power for your key switch and instruments. Do not disconnect this wire. You will want these items to be powered by the engine battery.

Your existing red/purple probably connects to a fuse panel at the helm. The ignition switch gets it’s power from this fuse panel also. Disconnect the red/purple from the fuse block and connect it to your ignition switch. There is usually some form of circuit protection on this boat wiring. Please use it. Run a new wire (10 awg at least) from LUG number 2 on the battery switch to the fuse block under your helm. Install circuit protection (40 to 50 amps) as close as possible to the battery switch.

I hope this helps. If you are not sure on how to connect the red/purple, send me some digital pictures of your helm fuse panel and I will mark them up.

Kevin

Kevin,

I need to change out the pump on my shower sump. I will need your help to rewire it.

The pump has two wires. What is the best way to stop the power to the pump? I do not see any breakers,fuses etc.

Thank you for any help.

Dan

Hi Dan,

If you cannot find the breaker, go back to boat wiring basics and disconnect the battery.

Kevin

Kevin

Thank you for your reply and patience.

This is my first cruiser. I have two “house” batteries and one for the motors. If I disconnect their grounds will I screw up any of the marine electrical system when I reconnect and need to reset any systems? (i.e.. motors,generator,computers,gps etc)

Dan

Hi Dan,

The pump runs on 12 volt DC and there is no real danger if you short out the wires.

Make the connection one wire at a time. The worst thing that will happen is you find out where the shower sump circuit protection is.

Kevin

Kevin,

I am installing the EzAcDc marine shore power system. Could you please clear something up for me?

Is it OK to have the AC and the DC panels in the same area as long as you don’t group the wires together?

I had read to keep the AC and DC apart in marine electrical systems, but I am not sure if that meant just to space wires apart so they don’t chafe through and connect systems or if they needed further separation.

Thanks.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Yes. It is OK to have both panels in the same area.

Per the American Boat and Yacht Council, if the AC system and DC system are on the same panel, then the AC system needs to have an enclosure to prevent accidental contact when you are working on the DC side. Even though it is not required, the EzAcDc Easy Add AC panel has rear safety enclosure.

When installing AC and DC boat wiring, it is a good practice to separate the AC and DC wiring because most AC HOT wires are black and most DC GROUND wires are black. Accidental swapping would be very dangerous.

I hope that this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions about your project.

Kevin

Kevin,

I was reading up on adding shore power and came across your site and thought I’d consult someone who knows what they are doing. I want to add AC power to my boat and plan on running one, possibly two AC GFI outlets and a battery charger.

I want to be able to run the DC power on the boat (Stereo, cabin lights) while not draining the battery.

I plan on installing a proper 30 amp shore power inlet and connecting that directly to an AC distribution panel with three breakers. One breaker will go to the outlet. One will go to the battery charger. One will remain open or will be connected to the second outlet.

My questions are:

• Is my thinking correct?
• Is my wiring scheme proper?
• If I have the battery charger connected will I be able to run the DC on the boat without draining the battery?

No one at the marine shops I go to seem to be willing to offer an opinion. Maybe that is out of ignorance or maybe out of fear of liability. What do you think?

Garrell

Hi Garrell,

You thoughts are correct, but the number of breakers that you are planning on may be overkill.

If you are only running outlets and a battery charger, you could easily use an AC panel with just a single 20 amp main breaker with outlets connected through it.

When your shore power is connected, the battery charger will be on and your outlets will be live. The charger will draw a maximum of 5 amps leaving 15 amps (1800 watts) to run everything else.

The simplest system that I have seen for your application is from our partners at EzAcDc.

They have a new marine shore power kit that gives all of the components that you are looking for. The panel has a main breaker rated at 20 amps. There is a GFCI on the panel. This system also comes with a remote outlet kit that plugs directly into the back of the panel. The wire on this remote kit is 10′ long. The AC panel has an outlet on the back. This outlet is ideal for built in battery charger applications. It provides a handy location to connect to AC power and allows for the built in look.

All outlets in the panel are protected by the GFCI. All components are rated at 20 amps.

The kit also includes the power on light, reverse polarity light, and AC to DC grounding wire required by the US Coast Guard.

Installation is simple and safe.

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Kevin