
Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:13am
Post Subject: 12V System ProblemsA little while ago, I noticed that the battery charger was louder than normal. Since then it has varied, sometimes loud, sometimes normal and sometimes very whirry. About a week ago, I was on the boat and noticed that there was no running water. I thought that maybe the fuse had come loose and when I checked, found that it was actually quite hot. I quickly pulled it out, slightly burning myself in the process. Also at this time the battery charger was whirring and didn't want to stop even though nothing seemed to be switched on. Eventually, it stopped but came on more often than normal. I tried putting a spare fuse in place for the water pump but this didn't work and it also started to warm up. Because I was a liitle concerned about the battery charger coming on too often I decoded to turn the battery isolation switches to off and remove the knobs (there are two isolation switches, one for the starter battery and one for the leisure battery). However, much to my surprise the 12volt lighting still worked even with these switched off and the battery charger still came on. After a while I checked the water pump and found that the area underneath it was slightly wet. The pipes seemed to be dry. In the week since the area has dried fully although I noticed that there is condensation on the outside of the water tank but only from a point about six inches from the top downwards. I put this down to the fact that it was a particularly hot day and the water (which I hope is still in the tank) would be cool. The battery charger seems to be charging only when something is on now but is still noisier than usual. I have still not replaced the water pump fuse. I suspect that there may be more than one problem but what I would like an answer to is: 1) What would make the battery charger noisier than normal? 2) How can 12volt items still work when the isolator switch is turned off? 3) Why would it be damp under the water pump without there being any obvious sign of a leak? My battery charger is a ProBudget digital automatic battery charger from Sterling Power. The water pump is a Diaphragm Pump for Shurflo. Both of these were fitted before I bought the boat about two years ago. The isolation switch is a single circuit 6005 from Blue Sea Systems with a max 40V. These were fitted last Summer together with a new engine. I hope you can help. Many thanks. Claire Collinson