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Messages - britinusa

#46
Modified as per Ken's suggestions.

Thanks Ken!
#47
Ken, good points.

I like your idea of having the Green LED indicate that Shore Power is connected to the boat ie. Plugged in! An easy change.

Yes, the wires will connect to the breakers and not be spliced.

I was not changing out the Dual Circuit breaker. But I am replacing the lead Outlets (Port & Stbd) for GFCI.

Paul
#48
Thanks Ken, I really appreciate the effort you put into that.
You are correct, the GI should be shown on the boat side of the diagram.

Using that, and talking (email) with blue sea, and re-reading Don Casey's Sailboat Electrics Simplified, I came up with this schematic.

It provides continuous indication of a reverse polarity test and shows when Shore Power / Gen Power is connected and switched on.

Blue sea confirmed that the LED's that I purchased have 33kΩ but I will test that they illuminate when connected.



#49
Thanks Stu.

That's the basis of my circuit. They do have a really nice panel with their system installed for both shore and gen power circuits. I couldn't find the circuit they used for it however.

:)

Paul
#50
When  I view the blueseas link, none of the images show:) I'll see if contacting them gets anywhere.   (I'm using blue sea terminal blocks and new LEDs - surely they'll respond as I'm such a big spender    :D  )
#51
I believe that the freedom was installed according to the Rabbit DIY kit sometime around 2006.

The wiring is a nightmare to figure out on the boat, so I'm going from their diagrams.

A second issue is that I know the some of the wiring is incorrect and the on the boat wiring does not match the installation instructions. eg. The boat has two external regulators, one is connected to the link 2000 system, but it's not connected to the Alternator, the 'standby' regulator is connected to the alternator.  The Solar output is not connected according to the wiring diagram in the diy kit.

So I'm anticipating that there will be other errors/alterations. It's because I couldn't make sense of it that I drew the diagrams from the hand drawn sketch in the docs that came with the boat and from the dozens of photos I have taken.

At the end of the day, when we start to pull all of the wiring from behind the panel, I'll have a better idea of what was there.  I have figured out the correct wiring for the panel, but that's pretty straight forward. I'll follow the link you provided Stu to see if I can adapt what we have to what we should have.

Paul
#52
After reviewing the actual wiring -v- the sketch that came with the boat docs, I conclude that this is the actual wiring's diagram

#53
Thanks Ken.
NC - NO Switch Common is to the lamp
The NO is to Hot
The NC is empty

The RP lamp is connected to the switch common and to to the Neutral pre-switched side of the circuit breaker.

The GI is connected to the earth just inside of the Boat Side Connector before the the AC Main Switch

The 110v is routed from the AC Main Switch -> the Inverter and from there to the Panel.

I left out the GI and the Inverter just to keep it simple.

I'll re-label the switch and include the GI and Inverter for clarity.

:)

Paul
#54
Main Message Board / Re: Access Panel in Head
October 17, 2020, 07:13:12 AM
Here's an idea that I use.
When I replaced the Engine Raw Water Filter I purchased 3 of them. The 2nd is used for our Air Conditioner Raw Water and the 3rd is a spare.
If we ever had an issue with the Engine Raw Water Filter housing, I have 2 that I can use to quickly replace it.

Paul
#55
Currently (no pun intended) the light works. When I press the spring loaded Lamp Test Switch, it illuminates.

The issue is that I cannot test if the shore power terminals were incorrectly connected - reverse polarity.

Right now, if we plug in Shore Power, the AC Ready light illuminates, we then have been operating the Lamp Test switch, just to test the lamp. But we didn't realize that the wiring was not installed correctly, as a result, if the polarity was reversed, we would not be aware of it.

I'm not replacing the panel, which has the two lamps installed. I'm just rewiring it so that it's easier to maintain and I should sleep better at night (subject to the weather)  :D
#56
Sorry, I should have labeled both indicators. (and spelt Neutral correctly  :D )

The second (top, unlabeled) LED just shows that Shore Power is available before making the AC Main Switch.

If the Neutral line is HOT then the Reverse Polarity Warning Lamp would illuminate.

If the RP  Warning lamp is not illuminated, then a quick press of the spring loaded Lamp Test Switch will illuminate the lamp (because it connects the lamp to the correctly HOT line and Earth.)

#57
Main Message Board / Reverse Polarity Indicator Wiring
October 16, 2020, 07:52:05 AM
Yes, I searched for this issue, mine is a bit unique.

Our boat (1987 Mk 1) had a new electrical panel or update around 2006 looking at the documentation that came with the boat (I'm at least the 3rd owner).

Over the years, the wiring behind the panel has turned into spaghetti junction, the wire terminals are awful, AC connections are Wirenuts, Circuit breakers have as many as 4 terminals connected on the switched side, there are more butt connections than I have ever seen on a boat. Wire colors and sizes are not either consistent or appropriate and labels - electrical tape that may have something written in crayola years ago.

As I prepare for a major update on the wiring behind the panel, I inspected the AC breakers and in particular, the Reverse Polarity Indicator. The attached photo shows the R.P. Test Switch and lamp, note the empty switch tab. The attached diagram shows what I believe is the correct wiring for the Reverse Polarity Indicator system. (the red wire is the one I believe is missing).

I know that I can purchase a Reverse Polarity Plug to test the shore power at any dock we plug into, but the existing system has the facility, it's just that it doesn't work (at least, I can't see how it works)

Any suggestions? Note. We do have a Galvanic Isolator installed between the Shore Power boat side plug and before a Zantrex Freedom 20 Inverter Charger.

TIA.

Paul
#58
Our trips are always two days minimum, mostly 4days, many longer. We spent nearly a month cruising over to the Abacos (Bahamas) and back.

We carried full Midships and Aft tank plus 24gallons in external water containers (4x6 gallon blue water jugs)

We blew out a hose fitting when the water pump was on, that got rid of all the water in the remaining tank, we went through the 24gallons pretty quickly and topped up from a local, another 12gallons.  We were able to fill all tanks the night before we left the Bahamas headed back to Lake Worth (Anchor) and then Home. We got back to our dock with enough water for a few more days.

We refresh our water tanks every couple of weeks adding 1 cap full of chlorine to each of the boat tanks.

We also have 3 carbon filters in the fresh water system as well as UV lamp for the final preparation of water from the Drinking water faucet.

Just in case anything gets grotty, we carry water tank treatments and 2 sets of new filters.

Hope that helps.

Paul
#59
Main Message Board / Removing the Nav Table
September 17, 2020, 07:36:52 AM
Prepping for my rewire of the electrical panel, I recognize that it might be easier if the Nav table was moved out of the way for the project.

Anyone done that (removed the nav table) that can give any 'be careful' hints.
OR - don't botther, moving it doesn't help.

Thanks.

Paul
#60
Main Message Board / Re: Shore power electrical shock
September 14, 2020, 07:09:30 AM
Agreed with above - disconnect the power!

Almost certainly there's a connection below deck to the stanchion. Start there with mk1 eyeballs.

Paul