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A few of years ago I had a professional marine mechanic (whose work I still trust) install a new shorepower circuit with battery charger and a new battery selector switch, cables and DC bus.
The next year I upgraded the DC system myself, among other things installing a Xantrex Link 20 battery monitor, removing the (orange I think) ammeter wire from the ignition harness and rerouting all the negative leads to the new bus (as I recall, the engine was being used as a sort of bus as it seemed various nuts on it were being used as grounding points. I also changed the prop from a 2 to a 3 blade.
What I notice is that the Link 20 shows -0.00 A drain from the starting bank when the battery switch isn't even on. This seems ok on the face of it, but there is a reduction of Ah after a couple of weeks if the charger isn't plugged in. (The Link 20 power is hooked up to the house bank.)
I also have noticed what I thought was an inordinate amount of surface corrosion on the new prop. The old prop had essentially none after more than 25 years and also after the first year with the new AC system (we're on Lake Ontario - fresh and cold!).
So I have this nagging feeling that, even though I'm pretty sure I did everything right in redoing the DC system, I may have a stray current problem. The lightning grounds (mast, stanchions, rudder and keel) are still grounded to the engine as before.
I suppose the battery itself could be the reason it's not holding the charge (it's a 6 year old Surrette that I've never equalized, but I have maintained religiously with distilled water), but the corrosion issue has made me think the battery isn't the problem. Or maybe the new prop just isn't as corrosion resistant as the old (the new one is a Campbell Sailer) but I find that hard to believe too.
What I'm wondering, is, how and where do I start to look to troubleshoot a stray current problem?
Thanks.
The next year I upgraded the DC system myself, among other things installing a Xantrex Link 20 battery monitor, removing the (orange I think) ammeter wire from the ignition harness and rerouting all the negative leads to the new bus (as I recall, the engine was being used as a sort of bus as it seemed various nuts on it were being used as grounding points. I also changed the prop from a 2 to a 3 blade.
What I notice is that the Link 20 shows -0.00 A drain from the starting bank when the battery switch isn't even on. This seems ok on the face of it, but there is a reduction of Ah after a couple of weeks if the charger isn't plugged in. (The Link 20 power is hooked up to the house bank.)
I also have noticed what I thought was an inordinate amount of surface corrosion on the new prop. The old prop had essentially none after more than 25 years and also after the first year with the new AC system (we're on Lake Ontario - fresh and cold!).
So I have this nagging feeling that, even though I'm pretty sure I did everything right in redoing the DC system, I may have a stray current problem. The lightning grounds (mast, stanchions, rudder and keel) are still grounded to the engine as before.
I suppose the battery itself could be the reason it's not holding the charge (it's a 6 year old Surrette that I've never equalized, but I have maintained religiously with distilled water), but the corrosion issue has made me think the battery isn't the problem. Or maybe the new prop just isn't as corrosion resistant as the old (the new one is a Campbell Sailer) but I find that hard to believe too.
What I'm wondering, is, how and where do I start to look to troubleshoot a stray current problem?
Thanks.