Low Perfect Pass voltage causing alarm

[peteSki]

I've got a 'new to me' 2005 Nautique 216 and I've been hearing the PP beep from time to time presumably from low voltage. After searching through this site I've learned quite a bit about low voltage issues and what to check, so I've done a few basic checks but didn't find a specific answer to my issue, so posting up. Here's what I've found.

Battery is less than 2 years old, with engine off I see just over 13V on my multimeter at the battery terminals.
With ignition set to run but engine off, I see just less than 13V, say 12.9V on the analogue dash voltmeter and on the digital voltmeter on the tach. When I turn on accessories like blower, ballast pumps etc, I see a voltage drop in all locations so everything seems to match up and I'm not getting a huge drop between the battery and the dash. However, the volt meter within the Perfect Pass always reads about 1.2V less than what's on the dash voltmeters, so when I turn on the blower and one other accessory it drops to 11.2V or less and then I hear the PP beep to indicate low voltage.

I have not yet pulled the dash to look at where the PP gets it's power but assume it is as per the installation manual, so is there a known fix to improve the voltage getting to PP so the drop isn't at least a volt?

Another thing I've noticed and will confirm on next outing is that with the boat in the water and engine running at idle, I still hear the PP low voltage beep. Voltage displayed on the dash is around 12V at idle and jumps up to over 13V once the engine gets a few more RPM and no more PP alarm. Basically the same behavior as my engine off tests when the boat is at idle. Once warm, I'll see 13+V on the dash gauges when at idle. So it appears my alternator isn't really providing any charging power when I first start up the boat and it is as idle RPM, but does so with increased RPM and once the engine is warm. Is this a sign that my alternator is dying? Should it not provide 13+V even at idle RPM when cold? I think I've also heard the PP alarm after we've been skiing for a while and start the engine up after changing skiers, but I'll confirm. Again I only hear it when engine is at idle and voltage jumps up as soon as the RPM increases.

There is no visible sign of problems on the alternator, belt looks good and I don't think it is slipping. If it was I presume I would hear that and also see belt debris around the area.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Pete

[Tom_H]

You should be seeing higher voltage at idle, more like 13+. I'd start with pulling your belt, and see how freely the alternator spins (should be fairly easy). It could be that the bearing in the alternator is starting to go bad, so is slipping on the belt when cold, but loosens up when warm. Or you can just pull it off and have it checked at an auto store. It's possible your belt tension is too loose as well.

To me, it sounds like your alternator is probably the root cause of your problems, however, the voltage difference between your perfect pass and everything else needs to be checked out as well. It sounds like you likely have a bad connection (loose/corroded) for either the power or ground for PP. It's possible the wires are undersized as well. Given that you have consistent voltage just about everywhere else, it should be pretty easy to figure out where your problem is. Keep in mind though, the problem may be with whatever your PP is grabbing power from (i.e. ignition switch, tach post, some misc switched 12V in the harness)

[Muzzab]

peteSKI.

I had this exact same problem with my 2004 , 206 Ski Nautique.
I chased it like yourself and found some information on this forum relating to undersized/ poor earthing.

The fix for me was to run a second earth wire of around 6 to 8-gauge directly from the battery to the fuse box under the dash.

Have not heard that PP low voltage alarm since!!!!!
Good luck.

MuzzaB

[Rusty Barras]

just fixed a similar issue on mine. i was losing almost two volts from the gauge. I moved the ground source to the terminal on the fuse block and i was losing a volt through the inline fuse. so basically changing the power wiring got me going. IMO the wire is undersized for the amount of amps it pulls, so it's sensitive to voltage drop.

[peteSki]

Thanks all. I'll keep an eye on it for now, last time out I didn't get any alarms. Sounds like a winter job for me to replace the ground wire. For now my concern is making sure my alternator is not on its last legs as it sometimes doesn't provide 13+V at idle.

[peteSki]

So I pulled the alternator a few weeks back and took it to a shop to be tested, they found it to be working perfectly. Now that the boat is away for the winter I've started pulling it apart and am going to replace the ground wire from the battery to the fuse panel. Currently it looks to be a 16ga wire, so I'm going to replace with a 8ga. Also adding a second battery with start isolator so should be a good little project. I also noticed a second ground wire coming off the negative terminal of the fuse box, not sure where that goes yet. If it's the PP I'll be changing it out.

I noticed the positive side of the fuse box also has a 16ga wire going back to the battery via the main 'All Off' switch near drivers right side. It's got an inline 30A fuse right at the battery terminal. I'm no electrician but if I'm replacing the ground because it's too small should I also be changing the positive side as well to match?

[ski4evr]

Yes, had the same problem when I installed PP. Completely replaced pos and grd to dash panel. Mine had two fuse blocks (SE not Team), replaced main run from added circuit breaker near battery switch (added perko also). There was also a jumper from fuse panel 1 to 2-replaced too. Also look at the wiring from the fuse panel to the dashboard. There is an undersized purple wire that runs all the gauges that is daisy chained as well as the ground wire.

all was definitely under sized.

[peteSki]

Finished the rewiring yesterday, replaced the ground and the positive wires with 8 gauge that go from the battery to the fuse box with the positive going via the All Off switch. Also installed an automotive relay on the perfect pass and took a new positive and negative right off the back of the fuse box for it. Now I see only a 0.2V drop between the battery terminals and what is shown on both the analogue and digital volt gauges. The PP voltage also shows only 0.2V drop so that's a huge improvement over the 1.2V I saw before. Can't run the engine as it's winterized but I'm hoping it will be solid 14V or so when at idle. Fairly easy job, I removed the observer seat and the dash to make some room.

Now onto part 2, installing a second battery and start isolator relay!

Pete