Battery switch built into Ignition switch?

[Bryan]

A buddy of mine had a '08 tige, which he sold this fall, and he told me that when he turned the ignition backwards, that it automatically switched to the stereo batteries.. When he cranked the engine it used the start/house batt... And while the boat was running, key in on position, it charged both.. Is this a thing? I'd never heard of this and have always had to manually change the perko when listening to the stereo with the boat off.

[chpthril]

Is this a thing?

Is it a thing, no, not really.

he told me that when he turned the ignition backwards, that it automatically switched to the stereo batteries

Rather then backwards, the key was just turned to the ACC position, but nothing was actually switch in regards to the battery banks, a main switch or the stereo. The stereo is powered off the house bank regardless what position the key is in.

And while the boat was running, key in on position, it charged both

This is done through the diode isolator thats mounted in the engine bay of the boat. Being a diode, its an electrical one way valve that allows the alternator output to go to both battery banks, while keeping both banks separate from each of their loads.

His boat likely still had a manual master battery switch, and certainly did if it was the factory Tige EIDB dual bank setup.

[Bryan]

Gotcha... I never thought a second thing about it until today.. I got to thinking that I've spent a few weekends a summer on that boat up until he sold it and we bought ours, and I had never seen him mess with a battery switch.. Is that something that can be bought and added, or is my current switch just a better option?

[chpthril]

A traditional 1/2/BOTH/OFF switch is a simple yet very effective setup and works great for most boaters. Its only real downside is that its 100% manual. You just have to remember to rotate the switch when needed.

You can swap out your setup for a more passive system, but it would require a new switch as well as an auto combiner relay. I prefer this option over adding a diode isolator to your current switch. The one down side to a diode is the small voltage drop through the diode. Choice between a relay that passed all the voltage or a diode that eats a little up, ill take the relay.

[Bryan]

Maybe I'll just leave mine alone.. 1/2/both/off worked fine for me this summer, so no sense in messing with it I guess. Thanks for the info. I like learning new things..

[jslayde1]

Mike,

If the new EIDB system only charges both batteries when in the "both" setting - what would you suspect to be wrong? --> According to the TT, one battery was dropping voltage while the other read 14v. When turned to "both", the reading on the TT changed and both were equal at about 14v.

[chpthril]

J,

1st thing i would do is make sure both batteries are fully charged and verify with a volt meter. Then with engine running, check for alternator voltage at each battery for comparison. If one is lower then the other, then trace the B+ cable back to the auto combiner relay. My gut says the ground control lead on the ACR is not connected.

[jslayde1]

Roger that, I will check it out.......in the spring...

One other thing, I noticed that the lights on the EIDB termnal box were still on even when the switch was at "off". Is that normal?

[chpthril]

Could be normal depending on the voltage levels of each bank. I need to look back at the ACR Tige uses as to how it specifically operates. I think its the BEP Marine VSR