Guest battery switch is half broken

[bowman316]

About a year ago, I bought one of those Guest brand battery switches. The kind for 2 batteries. And I just figured out tonight, what Battery 1, on the switch, is not working. I can hook the wire from a battery up to that terminal on the switch, and no power, then hook the same wire to terminal number 2, and I have power.

And the strange thing is, If i only have one battery hooked up, and that is hooked up to the bad terminal on the switch (#1), then I will still get power if I put the switch on "both".

So the switch would still be useful in the fact that I can still start the motor with the power of 2 batteries.

But how can a switch break? I suspect rust is involved. Everything on that boat rusts. But this is supposedly marine grade. I have household wiring that lasted longer that this piece of crap. And it cost 40 bucks ar west marine.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

Over tightening the terminals and/or over tightening mounting screws are these switch's enemies.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

well i never mounted the switch to anything, just let it hang above the batteries. But I did tighten the terminals really tight. Because one time the mortor would not start, and I tightened the terminal on the negative side of the battery, and it stated. where the negative wire from the motor met met the other negative wire, at the battery, it had to be really really tight.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

well i never mounted the switch to anything, just let it hang above the batteries.

LOL...like to live dangerously do ya?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

If you hook a wire to terminal 1 and the switch is set to BOTH you SHOULD get power on the COM terminal. That's the way the switch works. Just like the switch says: BOTH takes power from BAT 1 AND BAT 2 and feeds it to the COM terminal. In the BAT 1 setting, only BAT 1 powers everything. In BAT 2 it powers everything. The switch is working properly -- but the operator apparently isn't.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

the switch works now. I think i had the red wire from the mortor hooked up to bat 2, and the red wire from bat 2, hooked up to the feeder terminal.

It was confusing, becaue the bat 2 terminal was in the middle of the switch, instead of on the other side of bat 1.

Would crossing those 2 wires have any ill effects? would that mess up my rectifer?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Guest battery switch is half broken

No ill effects.