Battery life

[trevor]

Question with regards to the stereo. I have the factory setup on my rz4, with 2 amps, 4 tower speakers, 6 in boat coax, and one sub. Boat has 2 batteries, but only an on/off switch, not switching from one battery to the other. If I am anchored, how long will the batteries last with the stereo cranking? I have a jump box, but not sure if it is unsafe to use that to start the boat in case I ever killed the battery. Also, how long does the boat need to run to recharge the batteries?

Also, is there a way to plug the boat in for shore power? Would love to use the stereo when docked, or when out buffing cleaning the boat up. Is there a cheap way to hook this up?

[chpthril]

If the system is wired as it was from the factory, the stereo will only draw off the house bank, leaving the cranking in reserve for starting. Assuming you have a group-24 deep cycle in good condition, about 2 hours at 75% or more volume all speakers.

For shore power type use, you would want a large, like 40A or more on-board marine charger or an actual power supply. If this is going to be a regular activity and for a number of hours, a power supply is best as thats whats its designed to do. A charger is not designed to feed on going draws, just recharge the bank. Running loads for extended periods keeps the charger in bulk mode too long, which its not intended to be.

[trevor]

I would probably not go for more than 2 hours normally anyways. how long will it take to recharge with the boat running? For the on-board marine charger is this what you would recommend? https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GEN2-Wat...hargers+2+bank I am not finding anything that is 40 amps per cell. I would probably use it for 2 hours at a time, then plug in afterwards to recharge overnight, or go for a ride.

When I have the power switch off it seems everything but the sound system has power, and I am assuming I also cannot start the engine. Does that mean that I should be the factory wiring? How would I know for sure? Is there a wiring diagram? Sorry for all the questions, just don't want to end up anchored in the cove with 4 kids and not be able to start.

[cbath]

Battery life

Look really close at your on/off switch. Is their yellow marking beyond "ON" that says combine? Chpthril helped me with finding the combined position on mine since it's hard to see the switch. Turning to combine should use you're house battery and crank battery together in emergency starting situations.


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[chpthril]

It will take an alternator quite a long time to actually recharge a dead battery. The NOCO is on example of on-board charger that we use.

The on/off switch basically prevents the engine from running, but the house loads are wired direct to the house bank, so they still work. The stereo does not com eon because its switched ignition turn-on is going through the ignition key switch, which is supplied by the cranking bank, which is turned off by the master switch. IMO, id take the head unit off the key and wire it to an open ACC rocker on the helm.