Volt meters on all the time

[night moves]

Hi Group!

I just replaced my volt meters over the winter on my 34 Santego. I noticed that with the battery selecter switch off, the volt meters still work(?)I checked the old gauges and they were wired the same. I checked the wiring in the book and it shows the wiring from the gauge to the main panel to the battery switch and contacted to the cables from each battery. No place is there a switch(?) I don't remember what they did last year. bitch getting old) Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[mandm1200]

Sounds like somone may have rewired the boat and didn't do it right. I am not familiar with your boat. I would think the proper way to have it wired is to take the common connector of the battery switch and have it feed the DC panel.
Here is what I would do. With an Ohm/Volt meter, check and see which lug the DC panel is connected to on the battery switch. It should not be connected on the same lug as Batttery 1 or Battery 2.

 

[Y2K996]

My Carver has a pair of low amperage circuit breakers near the battery switch that control the voltage gauges for both stations.

 

[awboater]

Yep same here. Each voltmeter has a breaker under the step where the battery switch is.

I bet the current drain for each voltmeter is only a couple of mA. At that rate, the battery's self discharge rate will probably discharge it before the voltmeter will.

Still, the conventional wisdom is to disconnect everything from the battery for storage. But my guess is with this setup seemingly common with Carvers, those breakers probably get left on over the winter by lots of folks.

 

[night moves]

Yes, I do have those two 3 amp breakers. By the manual, the gauge(s) wires go to the breakers and then to the posts on the switch that the batterys are on. These wires (V1 & V2)run from the breakers to the DC panel, where they go to a DPDT switch to one gauge so you can check each battery. Maybe one of the bridge breakers on the DC panel has room for these, then I could shut them off(?)