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  hi everyone jeff cote here with voting   tech talk   uh we've got a question from a fellow   boater benjamin benjamin found himself   after three nights at anchorage and woke   up to a dead starter battery on   his starboard engine so benjamin keeps   on going and says my mechanic discovered   that although there was only one visible   connection on the starter battery post   further down the line there was a bus   bar which had multiple connections   one was the dinghy lifter   and the other one was a winless   the boat is a little bit older it's a     and i'm the third owner so can i   can't vouch that the boat was   manufactured this way and i have no   wiring diagram   now i am suspect how could i figure out   this out on my own   well the reality is boating is not easy   and   if you want a easy hobby you do an   all-inclusive so the first thing is yeah   it's tough   especially with boats that have left the   factory and things get it on and on   it's not uncommon in in this case not   uncommon for benjam to find   a starter battery to do more than just   starter loads   decisions are taken all the time when   new gear is added in this case it would   be for example a dinghy lifter and then   maybe even the windlass probably not   added later on but dingy lift probably   at the commissioning stage   and electricians or installers have to   make this decisions and one of them is   where i'm going to run all these loads   am i going to run it on the house   battery or i'm going to run it on the   engine battery   and sometimes   owners make decisions based on   assumptions of behavior in this instance   for example the previous owner of   benjamin's boat could have said hey   listen i'm only ever going to use the   dinghy lift when the engines are running   because i'm only going to take the   engine the dinghy out of the water   before i leave an anchorage and i'm   always going to put the dinghy in the   water when i get to an anchorage and   that's a rule and as long as the owner   follows that rule then using the dinghy   lift won't cause   the   starboard engine battery to die   as because you're running a dinghy lift   off that battery   but most of the time the reality is   people forget those things or the next   owner doesn't know these rules   and so goes back to benjamin's question   is well you know i need a diagram how am   i going to figure this out well you're   going to figure this out by curiosity   and that means staring at wires   and it means literally being curious   follow the wire where does it go to now   of course none of us are going to have   this time to do this every day and we're   not going to be able to do this on you   know but some days boating is a little   bit more mellow than others maybe the   weather's not as great and i certainly   invite all of you uh benjamin included   to be curious and to find out what is   connected to what   and especially in the absence of a   diagram which makes it even more sort of   worrisome is not knowing what we're   doing now in benjamin's case um   especially as a new boat owner what i   would recommend is look at battery   voltages even when you're at anchorage   especially even your engine battery   voltage and make sure that that battery   voltage does not fluctuate   when you're actually not running your   engines   so for instance here's an example that i   advice i'd give to benjamin and all of   you boaters if you come to an anchorage   and   you stop the engine i would ask all of   you to look at your analog voltage gauge   which all of us should have at the very   least or a digital one and see what is   the battery voltage when you stop the   engines and after a little period of   time   that battery voltage should steady out   to around   . .  if the battery if it   was a volt battery um   and then what you want to do is you want   to glance at that voltage that starter   battery voltage it should not be going   down while you're anchorage certainly   not for three days if it was done in a   way that you would expect now if you for   example suddenly are doing loads and   you're doing stuff and you've noticed   every time you glance at your ac panel   or dc panel you're seeing that now the   battery voltage is  . it's        .   why is your battery voltage   going down over time that's a legitimate   cause for concern doesn't mean it's bad   because i wouldn't say that you know   having a dinghy lift on an engine   battery is a bad thing as long as you   know it's there and as long as you know   that you should only uh run the windlass   and the dinghy lift when   your engines are running which means   your alternators are recharging your   battery and then therefore you're not   actually um   affecting the battery capacity for your   starter battery   but that comes from curiosity and that   curiosity is looking at the voltage so i   invite all of you to make sure that your   starter battery voltage stays relatively   steady   while you're at anchor or even at the   dock if you're not connected to shore   power and if it isn't which is could be   normal find out why   what are your dc loads that are   connected to your starter battery and   should those dc loads ever be running   when you're not actually having the   engines uh turning which would create   output which would recharge the   batteries   so curiosity   is important and remember boating isn't   easy and those sort of mishaps happen to   all of us   happen to all of us so thanks for tuning   in and i appreciate benjamin's question   and to all of you safe boating   thanks for watching so if you're curious   again go on our website and find out   more answers and solutions with this   sort of setup and thanks for asking and   thanks for all of you for listening and   tuning in Videolytics    Tools 

  hi everyone jeff cote here with voting   tech talk   uh we've got a question from a fellow   boater benjamin benjamin found himself   after three nights at anchorage and woke   up to a dead starter battery on   his starboard engine so benjamin keeps   on going and says my mechanic discovered   that although there was only one visible   connection on the starter battery post   further down the line there was a bus   bar which had multiple connections   one was the dinghy lifter   and the other one was a winless   the boat is a little bit older it's a     and i'm the third owner so can i   can't vouch that the boat was   manufactured this way and i have no   wiring diagram   now i am suspect how could i figure out   this out on my own   well the reality is boating is not easy   and   if you want a easy hobby you do an   all-inclusive so the first thing is yeah   it's tough   especially with boats that have left the   factory and things get it on and on   it's not uncommon in in this case not   uncommon for benjam to find   a starter battery to do more than just   starter loads   decisions are taken all the time when   new gear is added in this case it would   be for example a dinghy lifter and then   maybe even the windlass probably not   added later on but dingy lift probably   at the commissioning stage   and electricians or installers have to   make this decisions and one of them is   where i'm going to run all these loads   am i going to run it on the house   battery or i'm going to run it on the   engine battery   and sometimes   owners make decisions based on   assumptions of behavior in this instance   for example the previous owner of   benjamin's boat could have said hey   listen i'm only ever going to use the   dinghy lift when the engines are running   because i'm only going to take the   engine the dinghy out of the water   before i leave an anchorage and i'm   always going to put the dinghy in the   water when i get to an anchorage and   that's a rule and as long as the owner   follows that rule then using the dinghy   lift won't cause   the   starboard engine battery to die   as because you're running a dinghy lift   off that battery   but most of the time the reality is   people forget those things or the next   owner doesn't know these rules   and so goes back to benjamin's question   is well you know i need a diagram how am   i going to figure this out well you're   going to figure this out by curiosity   and that means staring at wires   and it means literally being curious   follow the wire where does it go to now   of course none of us are going to have   this time to do this every day and we're   not going to be able to do this on you   know but some days boating is a little   bit more mellow than others maybe the   weather's not as great and i certainly   invite all of you uh benjamin included   to be curious and to find out what is   connected to what   and especially in the absence of a   diagram which makes it even more sort of   worrisome is not knowing what we're   doing now in benjamin's case um   especially as a new boat owner what i   would recommend is look at battery   voltages even when you're at anchorage   especially even your engine battery   voltage and make sure that that battery   voltage does not fluctuate   when you're actually not running your   engines   so for instance here's an example that i   advice i'd give to benjamin and all of   you boaters if you come to an anchorage   and   you stop the engine i would ask all of   you to look at your analog voltage gauge   which all of us should have at the very   least or a digital one and see what is   the battery voltage when you stop the   engines and after a little period of   time   that battery voltage should steady out   to around   . .  if the battery if it   was a volt battery um   and then what you want to do is you want   to glance at that voltage that starter   battery voltage it should not be going   down while you're anchorage certainly   not for three days if it was done in a   way that you would expect now if you for   example suddenly are doing loads and   you're doing stuff and you've noticed   every time you glance at your ac panel   or dc panel you're seeing that now the   battery voltage is  . it's        .   why is your battery voltage   going down over time that's a legitimate   cause for concern doesn't mean it's bad   because i wouldn't say that you know   having a dinghy lift on an engine   battery is a bad thing as long as you   know it's there and as long as you know   that you should only uh run the windlass   and the dinghy lift when   your engines are running which means   your alternators are recharging your   battery and then therefore you're not   actually um   affecting the battery capacity for your   starter battery   but that comes from curiosity and that   curiosity is looking at the voltage so i   invite all of you to make sure that your   starter battery voltage stays relatively   steady   while you're at anchor or even at the   dock if you're not connected to shore   power and if it isn't which is could be   normal find out why   what are your dc loads that are   connected to your starter battery and   should those dc loads ever be running   when you're not actually having the   engines uh turning which would create   output which would recharge the   batteries   so curiosity   is important and remember boating isn't   easy and those sort of mishaps happen to   all of us   happen to all of us so thanks for tuning   in and i appreciate benjamin's question   and to all of you safe boating   thanks for watching so if you're curious   again go on our website and find out   more answers and solutions with this   sort of setup and thanks for asking and   thanks for all of you for listening and   tuning in Videolytics    Tools