DC Voltage

[Rwnorton]

Why would the DC volt meter at the helm show a battery charge of 14.2v with the engine and battery charger off and the generator running? When the generator is turned off the voltage drops to 13.8 immediately and settles down to 13.2

 

[Dale777]

You should have a transfer switch. This switch lets you transfer incoming AC from either shore power or generator power. When the generator is running and the switch is set to generator then the generator is supplying AC to the charger, hence you see a larger DC voltage coming from the charger.

 

[Romakeme IV]

Not sure about your generator or how it is wired but a lot of small portable generators have a 12 volt output - something around 10 amps to charge a battery. If this output is connected to the battery that your helm gauge is monitoring then it could account for the increased voltage even though your onboard charger is off.

Regards, Rob

 

[SGIDAVE]

Why would the DC volt meter at the helm show a battery charge of 14.2v with the engine and battery charger off and the generator running? When the generator is turned off the voltage drops to 13.8 immediately and settles down to 13.2

Hello RW,

Do some more checking. If the DC volt meter jumps to 14.2 while the genset is ON, then clearly the batteries ARE getting charged. Are the indicator lights on the front of the battery charger ON or OFF while the genset is running.

/dave

 

[Rwnorton]

Thanks all. I've now learned that the generator has a small, 12 amp built in charger. So what I was seeing was the output from that charger.
HRowland explains better at:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4100&p=30186&hilit=Starting+battery+Mase&sid=bda0a11cda68c6ea8145587e3a75f6da#p30242