Rulemate 500 constant draw.

[biglurr54]

Um working on the wiring in my boat to see why my battrys keep dying. I narrowed it down to stereo and bilge pump. Steneo was an easy fix. Hard wired switch in the main supply instead of using the remote wire. The bilge pump is odd. It is drawing .002 amps on the float switch wire side. Is this normal? Shouldn't it only draw when it is running? It has a "sponge" feature that keeps the pump running after the switch is closed for about 30 secs. Then shuts off and continues to draw the .002.

 

[GA_Boater]

I think you're seeing the current used by the water sampling circuit. In other words - - It never really turns completely off.

 

[Outsider]

If it's an automatic pump, it shouldn't need a float switch. Or have one, defeats the basic operating premise of 'automatic' ...

 

[UncleWillie]

0.002 Amps or 2 milliamps will not be a problem.
Assuming you have a small/weak battery that only has a 50 Ah capacity.

50Ah/ .002A = 25,000 hours to kill the battery. That is over 2.5 Years!
To drain off even 1Ah will take almost 3 weeks!

The Bilge pump is not your battery killer. Keep looking!

 

[biglurr54]

Outsider. It is an automatic pump. Its automatic because it has a float switch built into it. That's where the draw is coming from. Uncle Willie. That seems to make sense. Its drawing from two brand new group 78 starting batteries. So it should last a while. Every other week the batteries will be pulled to charge until my solar panels go up. So it should be an issue. I think the drain was the stereo amp which is solved by a switch. My zinks took a pretty bad hit last season and I wonder if its due to stray charges. Not sure how to find those stray charges.

 

[UncleWillie]

The easiest way to measure any currents that might be destroying the Zincs is to place a clamp meter on your shore power cable.
Any reading other than ZERO is a problem. The problem may be caused from current leaking into the water from the boats next to you in the marina.

 

[Outsider]

It is an automatic pump.

My post was in response to the one about 'water sampling circuit'. I think of 'automatic' now-a-days as a pump that turns on every couple of minutes (stays on if it 'senses' water present), or one with a 'sensing' circuit that never really turns off completely. Everything else (to me) is either manual, uses a float switch, or both. There should be no current draw when the pump is off if it is manual or has a float switch. The 'sponge' you describe is likely to keep the pump from cycling when water is sloshing. If your zincs were consumed quickly, that's a matter likely unrelated to a bilge pump. Good luck with it all, chasing electrons can be very difficult ... :facepalm:

 

[biglurr54]

There are no other boats or docks around. Its at my private dock on a private lake. I have no shore power and neither does anyone else near me. My zinks were in rough shape and my new prop was beginning to corrode. Could that happen from stray voltage or a 12 volt positive grounding out through the aluminum boat somewhere looking for a ground?

 

[biglurr54]

There are no other boats or docks around. Its at my private dock on a private lake. I have no shore power and neither does anyone else near me. My zinks were in rough shape and my new prop was beginning to corrode. Could that happen from stray voltage or a 12 volt positive grounding out through the aluminum boat somewhere looking for a ground?

 

[UncleWillie]

The hull and everything attached to it should be Grounded/Bonded to the battery NEG Terminal.
If the 12v POS contacted the the hull at any point it would cause fuses to blow or Smoke/Fire or severe corrosion at that specific location.

What kind of "Zincs" are you using? Zinc, Aluminum Alloy, Magnesium?
Are you in Fresh, Brackish, or Salt Water?

 

[biglurr54]

No idea what the zinks are. I have never replaced them because it has never been an issue. The boat is in fresh water. I dont know of anywhere where there is a grounding strap. Should i add a ground strap to the hull. I believe it would be grounded through the motor. It may not be grounded well through the outboard now. Last spring I replaced the transom and sealed everything in 5200. I may have isolated the motor, electrically, from the hull in the process. The issue with the zinks and the corrosion on the motor started right after the transom was replaced.

 

[biglurr54]

I am going to bond everything to ground to avoid any further issues grounds.

Currently, the battery has two ground wires. One is bonding the gas tank to the battery and they other ground runs to the motor. My plan is to take 4 gauge wire and run one to the aluminum hull, one to the engine block and one to the zinc on the motor mount then bond all to ground. Im still trying to figure out a way to see if voltage is being sent into the water or if there is a short.

The original wiring harness has no fuses in it that I could find. For all my accessories, I added a fuse panel and wired the bilge, stereo interior lights and my horn into the new fuse panel. I put a fuse on the positive feed wire right at the battery and then the fuse panel up under the dash so it is completely fused. The running lights, dash gauges and lights all run off a wire that comes from the motor that is not fused and wired into the ignition switch. Should I rewired the dash off the fuse panel? I wanted to leave the original wire harness in place. But after 21 years im sure there is cracks and breaks in the insulation.

 

[UncleWillie]

Place one meter lead on the Battery NEG terminal.
Measure with the POS Lead to the Engine, the Hull, the Water, and anywhere else you see fit.
ZERO is the proper number to see. Anything over ~0.2 is an issue.

 

[biglurr54]

Am i measuring amps or volts?

 

[GA_Boater]

Do not connect the battery negative to the hull of an aluminum boat. Any electrical device should be connected to an isolated ground buss, which is connected to the battery negative.

That would be VOLTS.

 

[biglurr54]

I dont plan on using the hull as the ground for things. I have read that you should bond everything together and tie it to ground. Thats the only reason that the negative from the battery would connect to the hull. Is that not how you bond? Should I not bond the hull? Seems like it should be bonded/grounded through the motor. Every electrical appliance in the boat has its own ground wire running to a ground buss which runs to the neg on the battery.

 

[UncleWillie]

You would have to go way out of your way to avoid having the Hull connected to the NEG of the battery.
The Engine, NAV Lights, and Fuel tank would only be the first items that would need to become isolated.
If the Hull doesn't already have continuity with the Battery, I would be surprised.

But otherwise do not use the hull as the return wiring for any thing electrical.
Run a separate ground so the return current is not forced to pass through the hull.