first230sl
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 145
- Hatteras Model
- 58' YACHT FISHERMAN (1970 - 1981)
Hi there. I had a charging problem that I diagnosed to a faulty NC (normally closed) solenoid. Tracing the wires, I see that the solenoid is used to open the alternator field wire connection when the bow thruster is on. The bow thruster is powered by the same battery bank that that alternator charges.
My question is - how necessary is this solenoid? Is it dangerous for the alternator to be generating output when there is a really high battery load such as the bow thruster?
Thinking about it I can imagine that the voltage drop during thruster operation could cause the regulator to try and feed a lot of current, and at the same time the resistance between the output and ground (due to thruster operation) would be very low - possibly being very hard on the alternator.
Is that why the solenoid is there?
Do others with an electric thruster have the same setup?
I also noted that the windlass is not wired in the same way. Maybe it consumes much less current than the thruster? Don't know it's rating.
Let me know if I am on the right track and if such a setup is common.
Thanks - Murray
My question is - how necessary is this solenoid? Is it dangerous for the alternator to be generating output when there is a really high battery load such as the bow thruster?
Thinking about it I can imagine that the voltage drop during thruster operation could cause the regulator to try and feed a lot of current, and at the same time the resistance between the output and ground (due to thruster operation) would be very low - possibly being very hard on the alternator.
Is that why the solenoid is there?
Do others with an electric thruster have the same setup?
I also noted that the windlass is not wired in the same way. Maybe it consumes much less current than the thruster? Don't know it's rating.
Let me know if I am on the right track and if such a setup is common.
Thanks - Murray
