Yes, I have done this a number of times. I run the starting battery on #1 and two deep cycles, run in parallel, on #2. This will simply keep you at 12V on battery #2 connection, but will give you pretty much twice the battery life. I like this especially for a boat with an upgrade sound system with amp.
If your accessories cable is only connected to post 2, why do your lights, etc, work when the battery switch is in Position 1? Shouldn’t battery 1, switch position 1, only provide voltage to the engine?
All positive power wires for motor and accessories hook to the shared or common post. Then the battery positives hook to post 1 and post 2. You’re selecting which battery is providing power to the shared post, not which accessory or motor is getting power. All accessories and motor will get power no matter which battery is selected.
I suppose you could, but ideally they stack right on the switch so they’re wired as directly as possible. It should just be your 12V accessory harness and outboard. If adding more positive accessory wires to the common/shared post I’d still keep the outboard positive directly to the switch common/shared post. Then run the other accessories on a buss bar that runs to the common/shared post. We don’t want to interrupt that draw of the outboard, especially in the newer EFI outboards.
What is the configuration so that my stereo is not getting a power surge when starting my motor? Currently my stereo pops and sometimes completely shuts off when starting the motor. Turn the switch from 1 to Both after starting? This, of course, would require turning the switch w/o first shutting off the motor.
I've never heard of that happening before. It might be that the head unit is a bit sensitive to power. Is anything other than your yellow and red wire from the stereo hooked to power?
@@tomspontoons not that I’m aware of but I will Check. My mechanic said the same was happening with his boats so he started wiring them directly to the house battery with its own switch. I’d rather not have two switches, though.
@@kyleybarra1830 Stereos can be temperamental for sure. I just haven't encountered that happening yet with the setups I've installed. I'd try reaching out to the manufacturer of the unit to see what they say. They might have some sort of in-line protection for those surges to keep it from causing problems.
Hi Tom, I have a different brand switch but the same idea. I followed your instructions but in the end, I found that my stereo which is on B2 works in all positions B1,B2 and B1+2. Is it normal?
All of your accessory positive leads should be stacked on the common post of the switch. When doing this, the battery switch is selecting which battery will power those accessories on the common post. It is not selecting which accessories receive power. Everything hooked to the common post will receive power when the switch is selecting one of the battery options or 1+2. Hope this makes sense!
As far as I know that does not matter as much as the battery types matching. I know combining 24 class starting batteries and 31 class deep cycle batteries doesn’t have a negative impact, and I’m sure their amp ratings are very different!!
Hello Sir Thank you for the help on my shifter it help me a lot. I have a question. I’m trying to figure out how to mount my leds on the sides. I don’t have a lip on the bottom of my rub rail so the only place I can mount them is on the toons or the fence rail. Which do you think would be best? I’m afraid they will not stick to the toons for a long time before they start falling off. Any suggestions would be appreciated Thank You
We often mount them to the underside of the plywood if there's room between the crossmembers and the deck trim. I use wire clips for that method, a clip about every 12" to 16", usually a 1/2" clip works well with a stainless screw. Otherwise you'll need to screw the provided strips into the plywood which will work too. The other way we've done is is by using wire clips on the tops of the brackets that hold the crossmembers. When doing this I use self tapping stainless screws into the aluminum of the bracket.
What about the difference in charge between batteries in the 1+2? This always bothers me because I know that batteries will equalize in charge when they are connected in parallel, which is why in my line of work we always parallel batteries that are fully charged and try not to parallel when one is massively discharged compared to the others, due to the current draw. But I also don't have much experience with Deep Cycle, maybe it's just not a problem?
I’ve never seen it become a problem. I’ve heard that it’s going to “preference” one battery over the other until one is fully charged. Not sure which one necessarily. I guess the safe bet there would be to start on battery 1 and carefully change to 2 while running to specifically push charge to it if you know it was worn way down. That’s my two cents anyway
I just show the simplest setup with a starting battery and single deep cycle battery. You could have two deep cycles if you want to start your engine off of one. It's also popular to run two house batteries in parallel and connect that to the house battery post.
Personally I would want each motor on its own starting battery if I were running a twin engine setup. I'm not super familiar with typical electrical setups for twin engine scenarios so I'm not the best to answer those types of questions.
100% correct. I usually install the motor battery cable on first, then the ground jumper wire on top going to the other battery. 4 gauge wire is what I use for everything in a battery switch setup.
To my knowledge these switches are made to run with 12V systems only. If you were going to power a surveillance system on your boat and needed longer lasting power you could put as many batteries in parallel as you want in order to allow for longer lasting power supply. Then attach the single positive lead from the paralleled batteries to the switch.
How do you know what batteries to buy. I currently only have 1 right now but want to get a secound one so i can run the stero and such. What is the best battery for the stereo.
You could take your current battery in with you to a marina, auto parts store, or even Batteries Plus and let them help you match them. If I'm starting from scratch with new batteries I would go with a Dual Purpose (starting + deep cycle) for my starting battery, and then add in a 31 Class Deep Cycle battery for my house battery. For 99% of pontoon boats standard lead acid marine batteries will work perfectly fine and will last year after year if kept charged and stored properly in the off-season (topped off with a charge and kept off concrete at reasonable temperatures in the winter).
I currently have that switch. It is original. The internal engine vessel has been modified to a single bank system with house power and engine starting on one large bank. I wish to add a separate new starting engine battery to the switch system. Should I put the alternator output charge cable and starter draw cables on the second post away from the house? or other method? Thanks for your detailed explanation but I am missing something in my case. Diesel with 70 amp alternator.
Unfortunately I am no help in your case. I've rarely dealt with inboard gas engines let alone a diesel with an alternator. With outboards the alternator feeds power right back through the battery cables to the switch or battery. Your best bet would be to check with a local marina, maybe purchase a bunch of parts for your boat and ask them, or just offer some cash for a quick minute of their time.
Thank for the great video! I decided to use a positive busbar connected to the feeder post in the switch in addition to the negative. My question is where should I put the connections for a dual bank 110V charger? I assume that both negatives would go on the negative busbar, but would I connect the positive connections to the positive busbar, or on the 1 & 2 posts inside the switch, or on the positive terminals of the batteries?
I strongly advise against a positive buss bar when using a switch like this one, especially for the motor connections. I like the motor to be connected directly to the common post, and the first terminal installed, to create as little of power flow restriction as possible. You could run a buss bar for additional accessories if you wish, but normally you’ve got just the motor positive and accessory harness positive (that runs to the dash for switches and lighting), and maybe a stereo lead for an amplifier if you’ve got an upgraded stereo. For a duel bank charger you should attach the charger leads directly to each battery positive and negative post respectively. I never rig a charger through a switch or buss bar, only directly to each battery.
@@tomspontoons Thank you for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense! I moved the motor connection and main accessories to the feeder post on the switch to reduce the chance of failure and put the battery tender connections directly on the battery terminals. I left the Positive busbar in place for ease of installation of future accessories. Thanks again!
@@Teltec77 That's exactly what I would have done if someone wanted to have easy access for additional accessories. Just make sure that positive buss bar is covered or protected. Happy to help!
Bro thanx for screwing it facing up can't see the front !!! So #2 facing the switch is your comun ? Right ?engine etc .....I'm thinking 2 is for #2 battery but is not ! OK thnx
Turning to setting two will pull/push power from/to battery 2 and only battery 2…being whichever battery you connect to post 2 on the back. Common or shared post is where all your positive wire leads go like motor battery cable and electrical accessories. Remember, the switch is only controlling which battery (or both in parallel) is powering ALL of the items hooked to the common or shared post.
Hi Tom, one question I have is about starting the engine. I thought one shouldn't start the engine from the house battery. But if I should turn off the engine before switching for example to both batteries so that house and starter battery are charging when the engine runs, wouldn't this mean that the house battery is also used to start the engine? Thanks for helping out and great video.
I think that used to be more of an issue, but with the new deep cycle batteries they’re making them with better cranking amps to where a quick start doesn’t hurt them like it used to. It was always “starting battery for starting and deep cycle for trolling motor and accessories”. Now days some marinas only carry a dual purpose starting/deep cycle combo as the option for starting. Our local marine shop sells all brands of outboards and they actually recommend a 27 class deep cycle as the best option for a single battery set up (starting and electrical accessories). I’ll have to do some more digging into that one, or get with a battery rep to get their take!!
Would you be willing to look at my configuration? I installed a 4 position switch today. With two batteries. I ran two busbars, one for positive and one for negative to make installing accessories easier later.
I'm not sure why you would run a positive buss bar? You need to keep the positives running from each battery to each respective post on the switch. We want to keep positives running as clean and free of interruption as possible. A negative buss bar makes sense on this switch though.
So only run positives to either the switch or the positive battery post? I was trying to avoid removing the switch to add more positive connections to it when I add more stuff to the boat. I assumed the positive bus bar would help, but i can definitely remove it. Thank you
@@DrJeffM So you ran the positive buss bar off the common post, right? I can see where that would make sense in case you want to add accessories. Personally I would omit it altogether, but if you want to keep it for convenience I would run the motor battery cable directly to the common post to make sure there's no drop of flow there, then you could stack accessories on the buss bar. Typically on the shared post you should only have the motor positive and a dash accessory harness positive...in some cases there will also be the positive for an amplifier for the stereo. All of those will fit on the shared post together. And at that point anything added would be wired in under the dash where the accessory harness is supplying power to. Hope this makes sense!
Hi tom love your videos i have installed a switch for my two batteries the way you showed. How do i install a solar panel so i can charge both batteries thank you in advance
Thanks for watching the channel!! You’ll wire in your charger(s) to each battery individually….so directly to each battery’s positive and negative post from the charger. Hope that makes sense!
@@georgecanakis1075 Really shouldn't matter as the batteries will be taking charge independently. Can't hurt to keep it in the off position while on the solar chargers though and not in use.
I would guess your motor battery would go to terminal 1 and your two house batteries, which are “seen” by the switch as one battery assuming they are similar as Tom warns in this video, so they would go to terminal 2. The basics don’t change with the number of batteries. I used Tom’s simple electrical tutorial videos, plus some extra electrical switching, to combine, or isolate, the 12 and 110v on my pontoon houseboat with solar, a wind turbine generator, and a dual fuel generator. I plan a lot of off grid traveling with my houseboat and not having power aboard is not an option. Good luck with your project!
I've done this on a boat with a seriously upgraded speaker. Starting battery will still go to the #1 post. The two house batteries will be put in parallel, so the positive coming off of the paralleled batteries will connect to the #2 post on the switch, and a ground from the paralleled batteries will tie to the ground buss bar. Let me know if that makes sense. Here's that battery system on the upgraded stereo. Doesn't go into great detail, but shows the setup I used. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TkGn1gtVLNs.htmlsi=7XcMkikDV2giVzKv
Perfect video. Thank you for such a great, incredibly thorough explanation. I was curious about the usage when the motor is running and when the motor is stopped. Answered most everything. The only other question is, being that I have a new 55amp alternator, when I have the stereo, amp, and LED's on while I'm cruising, when I turn on too many LED's, I'm charging below 12 amps (too much draw). Does this mean I'm actually not charging the batteries at all? I would think not. I noticed that the digital ammeter falls to 11.7 when I have a bunch of things on. My switch is on both.
Thanks for the kind words and for tuning in. In that case if you watch your voltage drop to 12v or below you’re likely just maintaining charge at best, possibly losing a little power. Stereo amps are a HUGE draw, most folks don’t realize just how much juice they pull. The LEDs are minimal, but on top of the amp and other accessories they’re not helping.
I have 6 led cups, 2-7 foot led strips, led red and green 18 inch strips in the front of the boat and 2 blue led strips in the rear of the boat, and 2 led strips inside the boat. Those alone are bringing me under 12v
@@tomspontoons WITH the motor running. I'm at 14v before I start turning on the lights. Now I do have the green and red lights on the side that are LED and they are hooked up to green and red LED Strips on the front of the boat. I have 6 cups that have LED's (15 leds each x 6) I have 2 blue led strips on the stern. 2- 7 foot led strips under the front cushions, one 18 in led strip under the steering wheel and one 36 inch led strip to the right of the captains chair. That is a lot of led's burning at the same time. I can use some of them without issue at night while driving, but I stop the power draw when I get down to 12.1. I wanted an led strip the length of the boat on each side on the outside (like a neon tube), but 2 x 25 feet would probably use more than I can without any of the others.
If the battery has enough charge and has the appropriate cranking amps then yes, you should be able to start off #2 alone. You'd have to check the level and condition of your battery #2 to confirm that it's capable of starting your motor.
@@tomspontoons its charge and capable of cranking and everything but it dosent crank correctly from the battery in front of the boat i thing the 3 way switch has a connector for that battery that said protected for a black ground wire
@@crazygamer-qr1or Adding longer leads than the factory engine battery cables can cause serious starting issues due to the drop in power, even with 2 gauge wire making the run. The bigger the HP the more likely the issues to arise, as well as with the newer EFI motors...they need all that cranking power to start properly. I would try to tighten up the whole battery system if you're able to! A volt meter testing at the battery and then at the starter will tell you how much power loss is happening, and I'll bet you'd be surprised how much it will drop if it is indeed an issue with the long run from battery to switch and then to motor.
