Battery voltage at bow unit?

[twitch]

I have 2 HDS8's and the battery fully charged reads 12.65 at battery console unit is 12.21 and is direct to unit,bow unit I think is taken off of the wiring up front not direct too battery and reads 11.6,lately it has been freezing up and restarting during the fishing day all by itself. Should I run a dedicated line up to the bow unit and do you think this would help?

[Danrude]

That is the recommended way of supplying power to the front unit and will help your problem.

[twitch]

[ifishinxs]

Run a dedicated 10 or 12 gauge marine grade wire direct from the battery to your electronics. The 16 and 14 gauge are not adequate on long runs.

[Lou r Pitcher]

Should I run a dedicated line up to the bow unit and do you think this would help?

Running a dedicated power feed can help for those boaters that don't want to troubleshoot and correct their boat's wiring deficiencies.

[billnorman1]

Running a dedicated power feed can help for those boaters that don't want to troubleshoot and correct their boat's wiring deficiencies.

Yeah but if the wiring is too small to begin with plus as it ages it could get internal/external corrosion, sometimes it's necessary. Some weren't designed for high wattage units. A used wire sometimes turns brown and as we know, electricity travels on the outside of wire strands. Let the arguments begin (or continue).

[twitch]

my boat is a 1990 Ranger so the wiring is old and sen some moisture and weather for sure,and back then didn't have the kinda units we have now.

[blkfalc4]

and as we know, electricity travels on the outside of wire strands. Let the arguments begin (or continue).

Electrical wire skin effect is only apparent in AC circuits, not DC.

[billnorman1]

Electrical wire skin effect is only apparent in AC circuits, not DC.

Uh Oh, he might just be right.......

[Jonestrollingmotor]

Uh Oh, he might just be right.......

I've had the same arguments. The engineers will always argue "skin effect" doesn't take place in DC circuits. However, in the training I've had with Automotive wiring (starters and alternators) the teaching was multistrand is used for two reasons. One is flexibility, the the other is because the the DC current travels the outside of the wiring and AC travels through the wire. This is one of the reasons that fewer wires or romex works well for AC wiring. The more surface area, the more area for the DC current to travel on. I've personally seen wire corroded on the outside of the strands that wouldn't carry the needed current (inner core was good), but after cleaning or removing the bad spot (It's usually close to the power source) all worked with little voltage drop. I'm not buying into the discussion cause the engineers will be on here with their reasons, just saying what I've personally experienced in DC wiring.
John

[twitch]

I fished a tourney yesterday and before I did added the voltage to the HDS screen so I could keep my eye on it ,went from 11.8 when I first put boat in the water to 10.6 at the end of the day with livewells running and bow unit on all day,console only when running and put in stand-by after .Never froze or re-started and always have plenty to start my old 150 Fastrike . Gonna run dedicated lines to the hds unit to see if this will keep it up a little higher I also have a voltage guage on the dash and that is always higher then the bow unit shows

[Jonestrollingmotor]

On the Ranger, you have a fuse box in the front storage. You probably have an accessory switch at the dash that has to be on before the front electronics work. The fuse should be in between the switch and the front dash. There is/should be a diagram on the back lid to make certain. To check actual voltage drop, set the meter to volts, place one probe on the accessory switch let going to the fuse, the other end on the fuse and you will get a voltage reading. Battery voltage, minus the shown voltage will give a voltage drop. Now do the same from the fuse to the depth finder connection and check for the voltage drop also. Where you have the biggest drop is the wire(s) that need to be upgraded. The depthfinder needs to be on so it is drawing voltage for this test. Right now, on the system loop, considering a fully charged battery when you start, you have almost a 1V voltage drop.
John

[twitch]

my only fuse box is at the console and no switch to turn on the front power just the 2 breakers in the rear compartment that control everything

[hookbender]

Would somebody please clarify:

If a dedicated circuit is run from main battery to the bow for let's say a Humminbird Helix 10 gn2 and a 360.

Would you switch it to be able to toggle it on and off, so you don't ruin the main down?

Protect it with a fuse or circuit breaker?

[SkeeterStew]

Would somebody please clarify:

If a dedicated circuit is run from main battery to the bow for let's say a Humminbird Helix 10 gn2 and a 360.

Would you switch it to be able to tggle it on and off, so you don't ruin the main down?

Protect it with a fuse or circuit breaker?

Both. Switch for easy and absolute on/off, and fuse to protect against fire etc in the front of the boat.

[billnorman1]

When you fuse the wire do it at the battery and use the new blade type fuse for more reliability and less voltage drop than the glass type.

[ntslam]

I like these, they have worked well for me.


https://www.wholesalemarine.com/blue...block-kit.html

[hookbender]

Wish there was a switch-circuit breaker like the 60 amp one on my trolling motor. That way it's one and done.

But, what value fuse would be used to protect both Humminbird Helix 10 gn2 and a 360? I'm thinking 3 amps? Or should both be fused independently? At what value?

My plan is to run this:

https://www.amazon.com/Duplex-Tinned-Marine-Wire-Black/dp/B00MI5I98K/ref=pd_sbs_328_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=A0HPJ PDN1Z82R45YKMS5

from main battery to bow, I'm guessing if I use the same wire from the switch and block I'll have to have less voltage drop than I do now in my 2010 Skeeter ZX190.

[billnorman1]

The higher the fuse value the less voltage it drops. The fuse is supposed to protect the wiring, but I'd say whatever the size wire dictates for the bow wires.

[Lou r Pitcher]

Appropriate fuses/overcurrent protection should have no significant voltage drop whatever their amp value. Voltage drops are almost entirely due to the wiring losses and connections.

Fuses are usually much preferred over circuit breakers for small amperage circuits; Circuit breakers are not intended to necessarily trip right at their label's rated values.

If you are making a dedicated run from a battery to power a single device such as a sonar unit, only one fuse is required. It should be placed at/ near battery and be at the size recommended by the device manufacturer as its purpose is greater than just to protect the boat's wiring. If Lowrance recommends a 3 amp fuse, use a 3 amp fuse not matter how large the wire size used might be.

If as indicated above, you will be powering more than one device from an added power feed, each device's branch circuit usually needs to be individually fused. Each branch will include the device manufacturer's recommended size fuse. In such a setup, you need a third fuse as the wire feed from the battery also needs protected (at/near the power source) using a fuse value appropriate for protecting the boat wiring in the event of a short..... it will also be sized to be able to carry the sum of the maximum permitted loads possible on the protected branch circuits.