Bavaria 44 Wiring

[Jodel]

Hi,
I have just bought a 2002 Bavaria 44.  I have no Owners Manual or Wiring Diagram.  Any links to download them?
More importantly, I notice that if I disconnect all the domestic batteries and just connect the engine battery it powers all the lights fridge etc.
How do I ensure that the engine battery only powers the engine starter?  I notice an amber led on under the symbol for the interconnection of batteries 1 and 2 on the 12v panel.

There are two switches under the chart table.  One is an original Bavaria switch and seems to switch on everything (including engine start),  the other is a different make of battery isolator switch and switching it on and off seems to have no effect what so ever.
Is there a diode in the system, where is it and could it be faulty?

Regards,
Jodel

[Salty]

Before you bought it, was your boat previously used for charter work ?

The reason I ask this is that when I bought my B36, it was a charter boat and I was required to fit a switch and wiring which would allow the domestic batteries to be used in an emergency to provide current to drive the engine starter motor. This crossover if left switched on would allow your domestic circuits to be powered from the engine battery. To try to ensure that charterers would not use the change over switch inadvertently, I placed the crossover switch in an area well away from the main battery switch, and the key needed to operate the switch was secured inside the battery compartment using two screws. That way a conscious decision was needed firstly to select a screwdriver, unscrew the securings, and then find the crossover switch. As a result the switch was never used.
That might explain why you have two battery switches, and what the second one is for. Tracing where the heavy cabling goes, and looking to see how the cables connect to your domestic batteries might give a further clue. Good luck.

[Jodel]

Thanks for your help.  As far as I know the boat was never used for charter.  Is there normally only one main switch under the chart table?
Where are the charging diodes located?
Thanks
Jodel

[Brian]

When my 44 came out of charter in Greece, it had a dedicated battery for the radio, maybe you had a similar arrangement.  I removed mine soon after I purchased my boat, your switch could be a legacy of that setup.

[B41]

Hi,

I have a Bavaria 41 of 2003 and have also 2 switches under the table. The rear one is for both battery banks (engine and domestic) switching the common poles ( mass). The other one is the main switch for the bow thruster.

Regards

[Jodel]

Hi,
Thanks a mill. I am now getting closer to understanding what might be going wrong.  The reason I thought the forward switch was doing nothing was that I forgot to check if it switched the bow thruster. 
As the main switch switches both batteries, the separation between them has to rely on a diode in the charging circuit.  I now need to find that diode and check it.  A wiring diagram in English for the Bavaria 44 would be useful.
Thanks,
Jodel

[Brian]

The bow thruster was an after market addition, and there is no mention of it on the wiring diagrams that I have for my 2004 version.
Ps the diagrams are in German.

[B41]

Hi,
the 2 diodes for charging ( from engine ) are in the blue metal box with heat sink ( one input from alternator and 2 outputs for connecting the batteries) in the engine compartment, the separation for the batteries of the AC charger is inside the AC charger ( simply 2 or more outputs). In my case the engine battery is only charged by the engine ( like in a car) and not by the AC charger, to ensure entire separation. In case of the "unlikely event" of trouble I have a starter bridge cable next to both batteries...
Regards

[Jodel]

I hope to get to the boat tonight so thanks for the that.  I'll check out the diodes.

[IslandAlchemy]

I believe that B41 is talking about the diode splitter, which shares the charge between the 2 battery banks.

Your isolator should switch-off both circuits.

[Jodel]

Problem solved and thanks for all the help.   The issue was the diodes as suspected.  One of the diodes had zero resistance in both directions.  A new diode charge splitter solved the problem.
Jodel