2019 G - which battery runs the ballast pumps?

[DoubleUpDisaster]

My boat has the ON - OFF battery switch with the ACR. Does anybody know which battery runs the ballast pumps? I presume the left side would be the starting battery and the right battery would take the house loads, and that would include the ballast pumps. However, I can’t find a way to confirm.

[greggmck]

A perfect question for AI

Chat GPT says:
In a 2019 Nautique G23, the ballast pumps are generally powered by the boat's house battery, similar to the bilge pump. This setup ensures that the ballast system, which is crucial for adjusting the boat's weight distribution and creating wakes for water sports, has a reliable power source separate from the engine's starting battery.

[DoubleUpDisaster]

Hah! While that sounds great, I’ve seen ChatGPT write some very smart-sounding, very wrong things. Are there technical descriptions in service manuals or wiring diagrams available anywhere?

[bturner]

I don't own one of these boats with this configuration nor have I personally performed any testing but from what I've read here, in a Perko 1, 2, 1/2 battery configuration there is no dedicated house, start battery.. At least that's what others have seemed to find when testing in other threads on this board. Those tests I read tried disconnecting battery one, turning the selector switch to battery 2 and then trying to start the boat, the boat started. The opposite battery configuration was then tried and the boat stated. This would indicate that as configured with the 1, 2, 1/2 set up that battery redundancy is achieved by the configuration, not isolation of the circuits. Is your boat wired differently? It absolutely could be, I really couldn't say for certain without testing for myself.

As to which battery the pump is tied to..... On this one you would need to trace the wiring to see where they connected into the circuit or you could try the same test as above.

Could you separate the circuits using the Perko? Absolutely, but there are considerable downsides to doing this of which the greatest, at least to me, would be keeping the batteries charged without manually turning the switch between bank throughout the day.

In the Perko wiring diagram below you can see how you could isolate the house/start circuits either at the switch or the battery. The challenge would be knowing which battery needs charging and remembering to switch to them.



In an ACR (Automatic Charging Relay) setup you can clearly see how the circuits are isolated versus the typical 1, 2, 1/2 configuration and how charge selection is accomplished with the ACR.....



SI-ACR Automatic Charging Relay with Start Isolation
• Automatically combines batteries during charging, isolates batteries when discharging and when starting engines
• Supports high-output alternators up to 120 Amps • Ignition protected—safe for installation aboard gasoline powered boats
• LED light is ON when batteries are combined, and OFF when batteries are isolated
• Allows temporary isolation of house loads from engine circuit during engine cranking to protect sensitive electronics—start isolation indicated by a double flashing LED
• Under voltage lockout—will not close when the lower battery is below 9.5V @ 12V System or 19V @ 24V System—lockout indicated by a triple flashing LED
• For 12 or 24V DC systems • Dual Sensing—senses charge source on either battery bank

[aerojust]

I am 99% sure there is no dedicated house or starter battery. It is all run through the switch. When I first got my boat I was always running it off of one battery and of course the other one went dead. Now I sometimes use one and sometimes use 2 to ensure they both get charged.

[DoubleUpDisaster]

To clarify, there are a few different battery switches depending on options installed. The switch on my boat is ON - OFF and there’s an automatic charging relay which automatically isolates one of the batteries as a reserve “starting battery” any time the system voltage drops below 13.6 for 30 seconds.

[DoubleUpDisaster]

I reached out to Nautique tech support and got an answer right away. The starboard battery is the combined starting/house battery, and the port battery is dedicated only to the stereo. It's very much designed to sit somewhere blasting the stereo all day. I was thinking the house loads would be on that same battery, but that's not the case.

[MLA]

I reached out to Nautique tech support and got an answer right away. The starboard battery is the combined starting/house battery, and the port battery is dedicated only to the stereo. It's very much designed to sit somewhere blasting the stereo all day. I was thinking the house loads would be on that same battery, but that's not the case.

I would be leery of this response until I saw the schematic with my own eyes. In the case above, it is conceivable to have loads drawing off both batteries while at anchor. This completely defeats the Blue Sea Dual Circuit Plus switch and ACR system.

Logically, the main cranking battery is going to have the main engine ground cable connected to it and the house battery will be linked by the ground jumper.

[bturner]

Easy to verify, disconnect the port battery cables, turn the switch on and try to turn on the stereo. If it plays they're wrong. Then reconnect the port battery and disconnect the starboard, tun the switch on and see if the boat will start. This way you know for sure what's going on.