Single Engine Dual Battery Wiring

By tom burden last updated 6 1 2020.
Single engine dual battery wiring. Proper battery management including switching and charging is essential for safe and reliable operation. Boats often need two banks to have a reserve bank to be sure the engine will start or to have a large house bank so you can run bigger dc loads for longer time periods. If your boat came from the factory with only one battery or with two batteries of inadequate size consider installing a second battery bank. Connecting two car batteries to your vehicle s alternator while adding in an isolator of some sort to keep the batteries separate isolated.
The following basic wiring diagrams show how batteries battery switches and automatic charging relays are wired together from a simple single battery single engine configuration to a two engine one generator and four battery bank system. 2 3 connect the thin black earth wire from the vsr to the vehicle chassis or the starter battery s negative. Port switch indicates which battery 1 all 2 is connected to the port engine and the starboard switch indicates which battery 1 all 2 is connected to the starboard engine. Blue sea two battery switch acr dual charging system.
This dual battery setup for boats uses the blue sea add a battery kit for charging marine batteries. The diagram below shows the typical wiring. Connect the positive wire coming from the circuit breaker to the terminal on the vsr marked red. A dual battery with an isolator for those who don t know is pretty much what it sounds like.
Mount the circuit breaker under the bonnet close to the starting battery. In order for the dual battery system to operate properly you need a crossover cable between the negative terminals of the two batteries. Dual battery wiring single engine dual battery. I allows your house and start battery to remain isolated except for emergency conditions.
Two battery boat setup with wiring diagram. Also connect the negative cable lug from the engine ground and the negative accessory wire to either of the negative battery posts and make sure all terminal nuts are tight. A double pole on off combine battery switch like this one is a great choice for a single engine two battery boat wiring system. The starboard battery positive is shown in dark red for clarity.