DanD

I’ve seen a lot of systems wired with cranking and accessory batteries in series parallel configuration; like the diagram below. It does away with having a third battery or a converter/transformer for 12 volts, to crank the engine or run other 12 volt devices. Maybe this guy was doing the same thing by only connecting to the one battery of a 24 volt battery pack and didn’t feel like or couldn’t go into an explanation. When using one of the batteries to power a 12 volt device it will not drain the other battery. The only time both batteries are being drained by one device is if the device is connected to the 24 volt circuit. As for connecting a 12 volt trolling motor too 24; man do they ever spin fast for a short period of time and it’s amazing how much heat & smoke can come out of such a small unit. It’s not a complete lost though; on that ONE colder day, he’ll have a place to warm his hands; in mosquito season he can fog the bushes in that back bay. Just thought of another good reason to try this; he’ll get an upper body workout; as he’s paddling the boat out of that bay. Sorry my attempt at humor. LOL I do agree with Tybo that the total amount of available voltage depends on the condition and state of charge of both batteries. Dan.

As Lew said don’t screw around with used tires or put a passenger vehicle tire on this trailer. Make sure you have at least a 25% margin from the maximum weight rating of whatever tire you decide on. Also check the date code on the tire; as to when it was made. Anything older then 2 years, I wouldn’t accept; even if, it had never seen the road. Rubber never stops curing and they become hard and porous. Once moisture gets to the steel cords; they begin to degrade and what else holds a tire together? All tires have a ply & date code stamping; the last three or four digits are the date. The middle two digits are the week, the last two are the year; they were made. The tire above was made on the 8th week of 2006. If a tire was made before 2000 it’ll only have three digits. Ie. 235, this tire would have been made on the 23rd week of 1995. The MTO is seriously thinking (no one will make a stand) of initiating a “best before” date of six years old and then the tire must come off the road. It would also be illegal to sell and install a tire of six year of age; regardless whether it was new “looking” and never used. Dan.

Jc2ho, I agree with you (in part); the slide contacts of the three power positions are very close and you can’t feel or see the momentary break in the connections. I’ve forgotten a few times and switched batteries, while under power and got away with it. I’m still concerned with voltage surges; so I connected my lab scope to the charging system's output circuit and tested what it was really doing. Sure enough you can see a small voltage spike on the scope; kind of like a hiccup on the trace line. The faster you rotated the switch the smaller the spike; but it was always there. I’m not sure how much of a spike it would take, to let the smoke out of the electronics; so I try my best not to switch batteries with the motor running. I’m not all that worried about the VHS radio or fish finder; it’s the control module (computer) under the hood of the Honda, which scares me. Maybe I’m just being paranoid; but its $800. for this box and she’s not going to run without it. Dan.

All I can say GBW is good for you; what you did/got will hopefully help other respectful people access. You got more then just access though; you gained the land owner’s respect and a possible future friendship. If more people did this there would be a lot less NO TRESPASSING signs. Thanks. Dan.

What I’ve done, is to install a two battery, battery switch with an off and both battery position. That way regardless of what I’m doing, I can switch to what’s required. If I happen to drain one of the batteries; I can switch to the other or have both batteries on line to get me out of trouble. Also while I’m powered up I can charge both batteries. I did have a small issue with the fish finder and VHF radio; while using the trolling motor; but a few automotive style capacitors (condenser) seemed to cure the problem. I connected the capacitors across the power feed and ground of the finder& radio and a third at the trolling motor. The capacitors are cheap and can be had at any automotive supplier. As long as the kid behind the counter, knows what a condenser is; yes I’m talking old school, points & condenser. LOL Another good thing about the battery switch is that you can shut all power off, when leaving the boat. The only bad thing is that you should never switch batteries with the main engine running. There’s a chance of a power surge from the charging system; that could hurt the electronics’. There are isolators for the charging system but I never worried about it; I’m almost always the one at the controls. Dan.

I’ve never been to the East cost; just the north in Puerto Plata; a lot of people casting into the surf from the beaches there. But I bet if you post this same question on the east coast forum; you’ll get some worth while replies. Dan.

Gerritt. Check out this place. http://debsdrtravels.proboards47.com/index.cgi The people there are quiet friendly and are usually ready to help with info. I believe that Mike is one of the regulars on the board; he goes by mikefisher. Dan.

No he didn't say the misfire went to the other coil he said. I feel for Entropy’s mechanic; there’s nothing worse then trying to repair something that’s kind of broke. If whatever is causing this would out and out break/burn out a couple of meter checks and he’d find the problem. Dan.

With what you’re saying that the misfire follows a coil when the leads were switched; I would be replacing that ignition coil. It may have an internal short that when under load the secondary voltage (spark) is to low in KV and cannot bridge the spark plug gap. I’m an automotive tech and we’ve been seeing this kind of problem more and more with the multiple coil ignition systems that most manufacturers have switched to. Dan.

If not too late, here’s a wiring diagram that may help you sort this out? Dan.