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Replacing original onboard battery charger

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hat43c1981
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Hat43c1981

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May 25, 2020
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132
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  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
Hatteras Model
43' CONVERTIBLE-Series I (1978 - 1983)
Hello All,

I believe my onboard (original) battery charger is on it's last leg. I am amazed the charger has last for 39 years! Impressed! It does not appear to be charging the port bank of batteries and it is short cycling while its powered up. Comes on for about 8-10 seconds, shuts off for about 8-10 seconds and then turns back on. I will be replacing it with a new charger over the winter. our 43 convertible has a 12v system and I am trying to figure out which charger to buy that will be the most "plug and play" option. Wondering how many amp charger I should purchase. Our Hatt has two battery banks. Each bank has (2) 1400 CCA 8D lead acid batteries. We spend most of the time docked and on shore power and if we are out on the lake for extended periods of time I use the genny for electrical power. So we don't really use the batteries for much with the exception of starting the Detroits and powering the vacuflush waste system, oil change pump once a year and a few DC lights. Thanks in advance for any advice or direction you can provide.

Stay safe and healthy out there!
 
There is plenty of options in the 12V world, I think 30amps is good but I can’t recommend a manufacturer.
 
Are the engines 12v as well? Hatteras has a 12/24 system where there is one dual bank 12v charger for two 12v taps and then 2 single bank chargers for the second battery in each group. That is because the second battery negative is connected to the first battery positive. Therefore the second battery charger “negative” is not/cannot be grounded.
 
I believe the Detroit 6V92's are 12v. I will admit, I am not completely familiar with the battery set up. We just purchased the boat this year and I am attempting to learn and gather as much info as I possibly can. I tested the batteries and the port bank (2 8D batteries) were reading only a 30% charge on both. So I am left to believe the charger isn't doing it's job. Plus with the charger coming off and on like it is. Thanks for all of the input so far!
 
Take the covers off the battery boxes and post a picture. Very easy to tell you what you have.
 
I will take a few pictures when I am on the boat later this week and post them to this thread. Thanks!
 
Im pretty sure it's a 12 volt system. And for 4 x 8D batteries where its not heavy deep cycle use 60 amps will be enough. If its for a lot of DC usage I'd recommend larger.

10 percent of the AH need for charger sizing. 4 x 200 (estimated 8D) is 800. If you draw them down often get 80-100 amps of charger.

Also keep in mind wire size, dc fuses and battery types.
 
It’s a good chance the batteries are bad not the charger
 
rsmith said:
It’s a good chance the batteries are bad not the charger
Click to expand...
I tested the 4 batteries. 3 of the 4 are good. One needs replaced.
 
Hat43c1981 said:
I tested the 4 batteries. 3 of the 4 are good. One needs replaced.
Click to expand...

One bad battery will make the charger act funky. You need good batteries first.
 
Agree on making sure the batteries are good, first, and THEN a new, smart, charger. As to what make, do your research and look at some. I think you need a minimum 40 AMP charger, and 60 wouldn't hurt.
 
If you don’t have an inverter you might consider getting a charger/inverter. Outback makes a great one. Good luck
 
Charger/inverters are single bank and would not charge the second bank.

The battery issue is the first step. And you must change the bank not a single battery. Its a bit more complicated than just swapping out a single piece of the puzzle.

If you need an inverter its best to add a battery bank for it. Using a house/start/inverter bank makes sense. Using a house bank for an inverter too will be quastionable..
 
I still have the original Sentry charger on my boat. 1973 and still working. I have the same battery setup as you. Last spring I had one bank on the edge of dead from a light being left on and the charger would not keep working, doing the same as yours. I brought another portable charger down to bring it back up to full charge then the Sentry was fine after that. I know the Sentry is old school tech but it works, I put a drop of light oil on the fan shaft each spring as it tends to dry up over the winter storage period.
 
Great information! Thank you. Now that I am reading your post, I remember I left the DC lights on in the engine room for a few days on accident. Things have been acting up ever since. I will try bringing them up to full charge with a battery charger and see how it does. I haven’t looked at the sentry charger in detail. Is the fan easy to access to oil? Is there a specific location on the fan motor where the oil goes?
whoover said:
I still have the original Sentry charger on my boat. 1973 and still working. I have the same battery setup as you. Last spring I had one bank on the edge of dead from a light being left on and the charger would not keep working, doing the same as yours. I brought another portable charger down to bring it back up to full charge then the Sentry was fine after that. I know the Sentry is old school tech but it works, I put a drop of light oil on the fan shaft each spring as it tends to dry up over the winter storage period.
Click to expand...
 
There are two screws to hold the cover on. Take it off and you can see the fan on the right hand side. The fan motor is mounted up and down, just drop a few drops of sewing machine oil onto the shaft between the fan blades and the motor. Keeps it running quieter.

Walt Hoover
 
Thanks!!
whoover said:
There are two screws to hold the cover on. Take it off and you can see the fan on the right hand side. The fan motor is mounted up and down, just drop a few drops of sewing machine oil onto the shaft between the fan blades and the motor. Keeps it running quieter.Walt Hoover
Click to expand...
 
whoover said:
I still have the original Sentry charger on my boat. 1973 and still working. I have the same battery setup as you. Last spring I had one bank on the edge of dead from a light being left on and the charger would not keep working, doing the same as yours. I brought another portable charger down to bring it back up to full charge then the Sentry was fine after that. I know the Sentry is old school tech but it works, I put a drop of light oil on the fan shaft each spring as it tends to dry up over the winter storage period.
Click to expand...

I wish I had fixed my sentry as a lot of people have said over the years I’ve had nothing but trouble with smart chargers and put a timer on mine because I don’t trust it
 
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