Blue Sea Add a Battery Questions

Ok, I was in the process of preparing my boat for adding the Blue Sea Add a Battery System. More of a challenge than what I thought, I assumed I would have room in the back by the other battery, but I don't like it there and there is no where to mount the switch and acr. So after some thought, I decided to move both batteries to the front of the boat.

Hopefully you guys can help me out on these questions.

1. What gauge wire do I need to run from the Alternator to the ACR?
2. Where does the wire connect to the Alternator at? I see a small orange wire that goes to the starter, do I remove this? Also, it looks like the wires on the Alternator are in the form of a 2 or 3 wire plug?
3. What gauge wire do I need to run from the Starter to the Switch? Looks like 0 awg or 1 awg right now.
4. What size of wire do I need to run to the Ground post?
5. Is there anything I am missing? I have all amp/stereo cables ran to the front already...
6. For the battery, should I get something close to what I currently have or does it matter? I have a deep cycle now with only 650cca, is getting a more powerful starting battery better or worse?

All help is much appreciated!

For the cables you want to keep the same size as the factory put in or go Bigger, never smaller.

For cables from the alternator to the switch system to change it you will always want to run 2 gauge or bigger.

Ground cables need to be the same size as power cables.

As for batteries the 650 is plenty big as a starting battery. If your going to a second battery it would be the bigger one for the stereo.

As i understand or have been told you want to stay with similar batteries in these setups, or maybe its same brands. You don't want to run a Wet cell Deep Cycle with a Gell Cell Deep Cycle.

Im no expert in batteries this is just how i understand from the other guys on here.

I do know that Power and Ground always need to be the same because those are your voltage pipelines and the return path needs to be the same as a supply path size.

Sounds good, I will use the same for Power & Ground, They are not the same now, they are definitely after market cables though. I'm not sure how I can tie in a 2 gauge wire into my alternator either, any suggestions? And what are the other wires coming from my alternator? Shouldn't I just need the positive at the switch?

As for the batteries, I have been told to stay the exact same, but I am thinking about just getting another Wet Cell Deep Cycle battery. That should be fine right?

thanks for your help

Sounds good on your batteries.

As for the alternator generally there is a power line to the battery directly off the back will have a stud with a screw on it. It will have a Ground line also. Then a plug for the wires to the dash of the car, this would be ignition and a gauge for your charging.

Like i said i don't have the boat here at the moment its at Exile still i can look it over and send you some pics of how its wired if you like. PM me your email and when i get down there later today ill snap some shots and email you or just email me real fast at

[email protected]

I sent you an email quick.

Where are you getting all of your heavier guage wire at for your project?

When I did mine two weeks ago, I bout 2/0 from Home Depot, it was .79 a foot. Pretty cheap but this wire has 8 big strands, you have to be "HeMan" to bend that stuff...lol. and they only sell black.

Needless to say, I'm looking for some cheaper 2/0 more flexable wire so I can clean up my mess. I found some at a local boat store but they want $6 bucks a foot.

Someone mentioned using welding wire on another forum post but I wasn't able to find any.

Derek, don't forget you need to install fuses on the lines from the ASR to the batteries.

Yeah, I am installing ciruit breakers inline instead of fuses though.

You can get 1/0 at www.knukonceptz.com for $1.75 a foot, but I do need alot of it, and would like to find it somewhat cheaper. However, the skip from 1 to 4 gauge wire, no 2 gauge wire, but comes in 4 colors. That may be the cheapest route then, I like the .79 a foot, but I need to be able to make one sharp corner so that won't work to well.

Ive been using Metra products.
I ran 4G to power and ground my amps.
0 Gauge to power and ground my distro blocks.
2 Gauge to run my battery power and grounds.

I will look at the spool names and such tomorrow to get you some brand names.

Most of what i use is Tsunami

You can expect to pay a pretty penny for it though.

I will do a build sheet on my system when i get some time, I want to post a parts list of some sorts. Ruff ball park is around 300 to 400 in cables, distribution blocks and accessories related to mounting everything. I go back to Exile Wens for some wrap up things before we o on vacation and ill see about getting you more info on the cables and such.

Ok, I am still confused on how this Add-a-Battery systems works. It looks like to me the alternator does not have a seperate wire going to the ACR or Switch, how does it charge both batteries?

Looks like, to me, from this diagram that I don't have to do anything with the wiring from the alternator. My alternator already has the ground to the post & the power to the starter. If I am reading this correctly I can simply take a Power from the starter and run to the ACR and be done? Is this right?

Please tell me what I am missing in this diagram, just doesn't seem like it would charge both batteries this way, but I may not know how exactly the ACR works. Thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dereklschmidt

Ok, I am still confused on how this Add-a-Battery systems works. It looks like to me the alternator does not have a seperate wire going to the ACR or Switch, how does it charge both batteries?

Looks like, to me, from this diagram that I don't have to do anything with the wiring from the alternator. My alternator already has the ground to the post & the power to the starter. If I am reading this correctly I can simply take a Power from the starter and run to the ACR and be done? Is this right?

Please tell me what I am missing in this diagram, just doesn't seem like it would charge both batteries this way, but I may not know how exactly the ACR works. Thanks

---

Blue Sea has a tech support line and are excellect talk to. You can find their number on the their website. One ten minute phone call and you will have this hooked up.

Your not connecting anything directly to the ACR except for the batteries. You are connecting everything to the switch first. The switch connects to the ACR and to the batteries.

I wouldn't worry about running a seperate wire from the alternator to the switch. Most ski boats wire the alternator to the starter & the starter to the battery. You can ignore the wire in the diagram that shows a wire connecting the aleternator to the switch (this has already been done in most cases).

Take your starter wire (this is the wire that is connected to the battery now) and connect it to the proper lug on the switch. Then connect the switch to the battery from the other lug. You will have to cut & connect new terminals.

Now you can connect the ACR to the switch. This part of the diagram is correct. As long as you leave the switch in the "on" positon, the ACR will allow both batteries to charge at the same time while isolating the power output each battery controls.

The longer you stare at the diagram, the more confused you will become. Call Blue Sea to make sure you are wiring correctly.

flex-

I was hoping someone would reassure me that would be ok. Check out the new diagram and see if it is correct. The alternator is currently wired to the starter now so all I need to do is take the starter wire to the switch? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

The best way to answer your question about the charging is to look this diagram on the ACR it’s self and read what it says on this URL. I was confused about it initially too but after reading this it makes better sense.
http://bluesea.com/viewresource/59

I wired mine exactly as you are about to do using the diagram you posted and during my test run this past Sunday everything seemed to be working just dandy. I do plan on bringing a volt meter with me on my next run as I want to make sure the second battery (house) is getting charged.

Just remember, as you are looking at the diagram you posted, you are looking at the back side of the switch so when you flip it around…… the top right pole is crank battery and the top left pole is accessory or house battery. The lower right pole is crank wire and alternator cables and lower left pole is accessories and stereo. I got that backwards initially.

Don't forget to use fuses on the ASR cables that connect to the batteries and also the ASR ground wire needs a small fuse.

An easier picture to understand is right here:
http://bluesea.com/category/1/productline/overview/329

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ausbill32

Don't forget to use fuses on the ASR cables that connect to the batteries and also the ASR ground wire needs a small fuse.

An easier picture to understand is right here:
http://bluesea.com/category/1/productline/overview/329

---

Correct, it's actually easier to use thermal breakers like the factory stock unit for the batt cables from the acr.

The picture you supplied there is a very simple and accurate description, just eliminate the top one going to the meter console and you have it. Look at mine below (ignore the two small cables passing through the switch.) and you'll see how easy it is. Look behind the battery box and you'll see a thermal breaker back there, there's two for the acr there.

Awesome guys! THANKS! I do already have the thermal breakers. Only thing I wasn't planning on was using a fuse on the ground, good thing you guys said something about that. Looks simple enough now. Got the mounting board and carpet today, as soon as my add-a-battery system shows up, I'll wire it all up and do the final install. I'll get some pictures up when it's all done too. Thanks for all the help!

Hey Derek,

I wired my boat the same as you listed in your diagram but for some reason my starting battery did not charge this weekend which is odd because my starting battery is on post 1 and ASR A. Common sense would say that this battery would charge before the house battery on post 2 and ASR B. My house battery on the other hand was fully charged, I put it on the trickle and it went green right away. I called BlueSea tech support today and shared the diagram you made and he said it looked good so no worries there. He told me to watch for the green indicator light the next time I go out. He said wait about 1-2 minutes for the boat to start and you should see a solid green light on the ASR. If there is a solid green light on the ACR, that means both batteries are charging (he also said the SI and remote LED lights are optional but you definitely have to have the ground wire in place from the ASR). I wanted to share this info with you so when you see that solid green light you know both are charging. Lastly, he said it didn't matter if you have the battery on the top or bottom posts, as long as everything on switch side 1 is together and switch side 2 was together. You could have the battery on the top or bottom post.

His recommendation to me is wait till this weekend and check for that solid green light. If not solid green light then maybe I have a, faulty fuse, bad ASR, bad wires, bad ground wire, or bad connection otherwise, if the solid green light is there; my battery is probably bad. I'm going to test this out on Friday. I'll report back as I'm sure you'll want to know. I may go get the cranking battery tested as that is a bit easier than dragging the boat to the dock.

cheers

-Bill-

aus:

I will be interested in what you find out. I finished my install up this weekend. Haven't got on the water yet though, but everything seems to check out without the engine running. When your battery did not charge, were you able to "Combine" batteries and start the engine? Just curious.

Let me know what you find out. Thanks

I didn't know the crank battery wasn't charging until I got home. I was cleaning the boat and decided to throw the trickle charger on the house battery as I figured it might need a little charge because we played the radio a lot. To my surprise, the house battery #2/B was fully charged but the crank #1/A was not. I'll get it figured out this weekend.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ausbill32

I didn't know the crank battery wasn't charging until I got home. I was cleaning the boat and decided to throw the trickle charger on the house battery as I figured it might need a little charge because we played the radio a lot. To my surprise, the house battery #2/B was fully charged but the crank #1/A was not. I'll get it figured out this weekend.

---

Did you ever figure this out Ausbill?
you don't have to have the boat in the water to see if the relay is working? Just connect your batt charger to one battery and look for the green LED to light indicating a charge. If so, it works. Then connect the charger to the other batt (house or crank - the one you didn't check first) and see if the green LED lights there. If it works on one side or the other you'll narrow down the problem. The system will sense the charge on either battery when working properly and start to charge both batts.

can you simplify for a big dummy like me? boats are new to me. i need a list of everything i need.

1. http://bluesea.com/category/1/productline/overview/329, got it.
2. a battery. i have a crappy interstate 24M-RD, 400 CCA, 500 MCA. i plan on getting the same for now for battery #2. maybe upgrade later.
3. battery box, tie down, those anti-slider bars.
4. lots and lots of cables, wires, connectors, crimps, etc. my plan is to buy a bunch of 4 awg red, 2 awg red and 2 awg black, some battery terminal connectors, a bunch of other connectors, and hope it works out. if anyone can simplify, that would be nice.
5. two thermal breakers. where do you get these? bass pro shop? west marine? online? is there a size or model i'm looking for?
6. ground fuse, this i'm really lost on. amps? what's it look like? i'm sure west marine or somebody has this?

anything else?

luke