My onboard charger seems to charge only the starter battery. When we are underway I guess the alternator charges the other one. I want charge the other battery at the dock using a charger I keep in the garage. Is it okay to do this?
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Battery Charging on 2009 R21EC
- Thread starter BOBCAT
- Start date
LADYBUG TOO
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On the R-29 there are three sets of batteries. The charger has three outputs but there are also two combining relays that connect all three sets to the charger when the engine is not running. I would think that the charger on the R21EC would have two outputs and one charging relay. I would check all connections as the onboard charger should be doing the job easily. As for the portable charger, I have used mine when I did not want the shore power connected. I was charging the starter battery and sure enough the combining relays had my portable charger working on all three battery banks. I switched it to 10 Amps and eventualy it topped them all off. Mine are flooded cell so if yours are flooded cell you might want to check your battery fluid levels.
Pat, Ladybug, Too
Pat, Ladybug, Too
abcandjrc
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Ladybug Too: Not so for many of the R21-ECs. Ranger seems to have been on an economy kick back then. (I remember when we used to give $5000 awards for saving a nickle a car at GM. And that was when $5000 would buy of a Chevy or half a house for the ones who got those awards.)
There are several threads concerning this as it was a bit of a puzzle. Our 2007 R21-EC was set up the same way.
Using a second charger is fine but take a look at this link to see how I handled the problem, and also provided myself a "Both" in lieu of one on the main battery switch. You can use a lighter wire but this one allows me to start from the house bank if necessary. The key is to get the jumper on shortly after using the boat so the batteries are close to fully charged. Otherwise the charger may shut down due to an overload. I never had it happen, though.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=31086
It have mixed emotions and $100 less money, but a recent lightning strike to an oak tree alongside my driveway took out the original charger. I replaced it with a Guest Charge Pro - 2611A dual outlet charger while I was at it and now only need the jumper for jump starts.
I installed the new charger right where the old one was except horizontally across the battery box instead of vertically as the factory had originally done (?!?!??!?!?!). The hardest part was reaching all the nuts on the original installation. (And retrieving the nut and 2 washers I dropped in the bilge while removing them. My way, they are all out there where I can actually see them and a wrench can reach them, too. I used the top, forward, mounting hole from the old installation and drilled three new ones. Worked out fine.
There are several threads concerning this as it was a bit of a puzzle. Our 2007 R21-EC was set up the same way.
Using a second charger is fine but take a look at this link to see how I handled the problem, and also provided myself a "Both" in lieu of one on the main battery switch. You can use a lighter wire but this one allows me to start from the house bank if necessary. The key is to get the jumper on shortly after using the boat so the batteries are close to fully charged. Otherwise the charger may shut down due to an overload. I never had it happen, though.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=31086
It have mixed emotions and $100 less money, but a recent lightning strike to an oak tree alongside my driveway took out the original charger. I replaced it with a Guest Charge Pro - 2611A dual outlet charger while I was at it and now only need the jumper for jump starts.
I installed the new charger right where the old one was except horizontally across the battery box instead of vertically as the factory had originally done (?!?!??!?!?!). The hardest part was reaching all the nuts on the original installation. (And retrieving the nut and 2 washers I dropped in the bilge while removing them. My way, they are all out there where I can actually see them and a wrench can reach them, too. I used the top, forward, mounting hole from the old installation and drilled three new ones. Worked out fine.
Prior to today my starter battery was strong but the house battery seemed to have low charge. Both batteries were professionally installed new 3 weeks ago. Today I tried to charge the house battery using a portable charger. When I checked the progress several hours later the GFI circuit to the charger had flipped off. When I attempted to start the engine there was no response at all. Tomorrow I will try to get a pro to straighten the whole mess out.
abcandjrc
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That's bizarre.
If you do only have a single-output charger, I would also suggest that you have the worker you call in move the charger to the start battery. I find it much more logical to always have a fully-topped-up start battery than a fully-charged house battery. The factory was connecting the charger to the house battery back then, according to Andrew. My logic tells me if I can start the engine I can charge the house battery but being able to have a lot of light does absolutely nothing toward starting the engine. It is an easy swap, just moving the wires to the other battery.
Again, building and using a jumper as I indicated solved the problem of charging for me, and also gave me the way to use the "lights" to start the engine if I really had to.
Best of all, of course, is to replace the charger. But spending 100 bucks until one needs to do so is not always the best use of resources when alternatives like a jumper will work.
Be sure to let us all know what they find and how they resolve it.
If you do only have a single-output charger, I would also suggest that you have the worker you call in move the charger to the start battery. I find it much more logical to always have a fully-topped-up start battery than a fully-charged house battery. The factory was connecting the charger to the house battery back then, according to Andrew. My logic tells me if I can start the engine I can charge the house battery but being able to have a lot of light does absolutely nothing toward starting the engine. It is an easy swap, just moving the wires to the other battery.
Again, building and using a jumper as I indicated solved the problem of charging for me, and also gave me the way to use the "lights" to start the engine if I really had to.
Best of all, of course, is to replace the charger. But spending 100 bucks until one needs to do so is not always the best use of resources when alternatives like a jumper will work.
Be sure to let us all know what they find and how they resolve it.
These battery threads always give me a headache, but I would like to understand the subject. So you are saying the factory:
1. Installed a charger that only charges one of the two batteries?
2. They chose to charge the house battery only?
Thanks
Jake
1. Installed a charger that only charges one of the two batteries?
2. They chose to charge the house battery only?
Thanks
Jake
abcandjrc
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Yes, indeed! Here is the original thread.Jake":2pax7036 said:These battery threads always give me a headache, but I would like to understand the subject. So you are saying the factory:
1. Installed a charger that only charges one of the two batteries?
2. They chose to charge the house battery only?
Thanks
Jake
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1573
It is interesting that someone (dealer or previous owner) had switched ours from the house battery to the start battery. Whoever did that must have agreed with my thinking that getting started was more important than lighting the lights when launching.
Thanks for clearing things up. Don't think saving 5 cents is really worth it in this case, at least give the consumer a choice. Personally, I would always want both of my batteries charged, but I also don't know the price difference between a single and dual outlet charger.
Jake
Jake
abcandjrc
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About $45 retail. Probably lost more in PR from those early boats than the cost would have been to install the dual charger. We found that at GM, too, when the bean-counters dictated how engineers should built transmissions, for instance. Having someone see a neighbor's car towed in because you substituted a plastic part for an aluminum one is not a good idea........even if it saved $1.87 per transmission. 🙁Jake":68b1s3y1 said:.......but I also don't know the price difference between a single and dual outlet charger.
Jake
PROBLEM SOLVED
Turned out to be an intermittent failure due to a faulty connection in the AC power plug assembly. Two white wires that are wrapped and soldered together were supposed to be inserted in the plug but had pulled free and barely touching the plug. The technician secured the connection, the batteries charged, the engine started, and all is well.
Turned out to be an intermittent failure due to a faulty connection in the AC power plug assembly. Two white wires that are wrapped and soldered together were supposed to be inserted in the plug but had pulled free and barely touching the plug. The technician secured the connection, the batteries charged, the engine started, and all is well.
abcandjrc
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Does that cover your first post of only one battery charging, or both that and the no battery charging problem? Do you indeed have only a single output charger and the first post is still a problem?BOBCAT":s9zhiyz8 said:PROBLEM SOLVED...........
RE: PROBLEM SOLVED
The charger is a ProTech 1215i and it is charging both batteries very nicely right now. Because of the bad AC connection it wasn't actually charging any battery at all. The starter battery had a charge on it from the beginning and the house battery did not. My assumption that the starter battery was getting charged was wrong- it just kept going on original charge. Since the boat had very little use during this period, the alternator didn't get a good chance to charge anything. Thanks for all the suggestions and I'm sorry for the confusion I have caused.
The charger is a ProTech 1215i and it is charging both batteries very nicely right now. Because of the bad AC connection it wasn't actually charging any battery at all. The starter battery had a charge on it from the beginning and the house battery did not. My assumption that the starter battery was getting charged was wrong- it just kept going on original charge. Since the boat had very little use during this period, the alternator didn't get a good chance to charge anything. Thanks for all the suggestions and I'm sorry for the confusion I have caused.
abcandjrc
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Glad you got it solved, and also glad you have a charger able to handle both batteries. I don't know when they switched, but based on Andrew's original response to me it was sometime between April of 2007, when our boat was built, and his response in January of 2010. Apparently early enough to cover your 2009. Enjoy!BOBCAT":1gdkvylo said:RE: PROBLEM SOLVED
The charger is a ProTech 1215i and it is charging both batteries very nicely right now..............
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