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Dual Battery question

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3-legged-dog

Contributing Member
i have a 2003 Crownline, 350 Mag, merc. bravo iii, dual batteries, with a control knob which allows battery 1 or 2 or both. i am now pulling the boat out of winter storage. batteries are fully charged. the boat started up ready to go. so i am doing my initial check of things. Nav. lights and horn not working. started getting dark, so a called it a night. everything worked last Dec. So before i start looking for fuses and pulling the dash to look at the switches.

Question on dual batteries. i have 2 batteries, each has main positive and negative wire feed. 1 battery has additional 5 positive 14 gauge wire connections some with inline fuses connected to the batteries. 2nd battery has 3 connections some with inline fuses. each battery has 1 14 gauge wire on the negative connection.

if i missed wired the smaller connections could that effect the lights and horn. positive on battery 1 and negative on battery 2.

thanks
 
The quick answer is no... lights and horn usually fed from a panel at the helm that is only hot when the ignition is on.
That said... I'm concerned about the number of additional "#14's" on the batteries. On my twin battery single engine boat, there is only one additional #14 on each battery and that is the feed to the "automatic run" feed (float switched) on my two (float switches set at two different levels) bilge pumps ( one on each battery). The second battery, a dual purpose battery also had a 30A fuse to a heavy gauge pair which feeds the electronics @ the helm. When last I rewired a boat that required multiple feeds direct from the battery, I mounted a "BlueSea SafetyHub 150", a water proof, ignition proof, fused distribution panel ( less than one foot of wire from the panel hot feed in to the battery). Some folks like to use the lug on the battery switch as a common connection point leaving only one wire to the battery. I dislike both, from an aesthetic viewpoint and a practical (reliability) one, having a cluster of dangling fuse holders...anywhere. Furthermore, I feel that the blade ones are more reliable in a marine environment than the glass cartridge ones.
 
so i am the 2nd owner, i have not spent anytime on others boat, just mine. this is what i have. i have a big CB on the engine. doesnt seem to trip. then i have a panel in the rear seating area, 4 red push button breakers, 2 30's 2 5's DC cabin panel, DC helm power, fwd bilge pump, aft bilge pump. they also dont trip. then at the wheel i have the push button breakers, white stem inside the clear rubber housing. also never trip. in the boat at the 12v panel i have cb/switches and also 120v cb/switches these control and work. back at the wheel, i have switches to turn on nav. wipers, bilge, deck lights, horn, etc. now under the steering wheel in a cabinet i have inline fuses for search light, at the batteries in the bilge, i have those inlines, and other connections to the batteries. i think trim tabs and maybe sterndrive trim are 2 of the connections.

i have never seen the soft push buttons or the 30's or the engine trip.
 
personally, I don't like the pb breakers. You could try cycling the relevant breakers a few times, sometimes the contacts get crappy and a few cycles will clear it up.
BTW... when the big red CB on the engine trips, that is a HOLY S##T issue. Usually, the trim tab fuse is in the control switch lead (assuming Bennett Hydraulics??) @ the helm and the only connection to the tabs to the battery is ground. The trim/tilt is another issue.

Also, neither nav lights nor horns are bastions of reliability and fail with regularity.
 
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