Bluesea add a battery system and kicker motor hookup

[staying alive]

Ok so I have added the Bluesea add a Battery system , done a bunch of rewiring , spent a lot of money on Bluesea gadgets and tinned wire
My question to my boating brothers is, on my old Honda kicker you can get a wiring harness to hook up to it and it puts out 6 amps ( @ 6000 rpm ??? ), is that worth the trouble. Just thinking it might help keep the house battery topped up? when I am doing hours of trolling with the kicker and listening to tunes and playing with elec. gadgets , What about connecting it, i assume it would just connect to the battery switch with the leads from the main motor
???
Undecided

 

[Sculpin]

I have my honda kicker hooked up to help charge my system. I would do it. Being able charge even a little bit while trolling is better than nothing.

 

[kanuckle head]

My trusty honda 2000 i inverter gen
Will have my back

 

[GLG]

I would do it also.
My old Honda is wired in with my own wire not the factory plug.
Simple job to make your own connections inside the motor cowl.
I used male and female spade connectors.
Use the female for the positive from the battery.
Reverse the connectors on the negative side so the can't be hooked up wrong.
GLG

 

[staying alive]

good idea ,thanks ---never thought of making my own plug ---finally I can save some money

 

[Theb55]

I think Bluesea has an isolator battery switch that automatically isolates your engine battery. So, if you run down your house battery down, for whatever reason, you always have a good battery. And, it will charge the depleted battery almost to the top before charging both batteries.

 

[Foxsea]

I think Bluesea has an isolator battery switch that automatically isolates your engine battery. So, if you run down your house battery down, for whatever reason, you always have a good battery. And, it will charge the depleted battery almost to the top before charging both batteries.

Just installed one with a battery distribution panel: ACR = automatic charging relay or VSR = voltage sensitive relay. Here's info:
http://www.fishyfish.com/boards/index.php?topic=102.0;wap2

With the ACR installed, the Start battery will always be fully charged before the relay switches to House. It will then switch back and forth automatically to maintain both batteries. In an emergency you can combine both batteries. It will also stop voltage drop to the electronics at start-up, perhaps saving data or clock settings. The kicker and the main engine can be connected to the Start terminal on the switch - the ACR takes over from there. Blocking diodes in the engine charging circuits prevent feedback to the engine that's not running or that's producing a lower charging voltage.
http://bluesea.com/category/78/79/productline/overview/387

 

[Sushihunter]

Yes. Hook it up so that it charges your battery. Any charging is better than none, and if you ever kill your battery, you have half a chance at getting it charged enough to fire the main motor.

 

[bardfromedson]

I would do it also.
My old Honda is wired in with my own wire not the factory plug.
Simple job to make your own connections inside the motor cowl.
I used male and female spade connectors.
Use the female for the positive from the battery.
Reverse the connectors on the negative side so the can't be hooked up wrong.
GLG

could you mabe throw up a pic? The boat i just bought has a honda kicker but doesn't have the charging cord. i would love to do it myself and save a few bucks. any idea how much it puts out while trolling around all day?

 

[GLG]

could you mabe throw up a pic? The boat i just bought has a Honda kicker but doesn't have the charging cord. i would love to do it myself and save a few bucks. any idea how much it puts out while trolling around all day?

No I can't throw up a pic as I not that good. Have you seen my halibut quota pic?
I will try to give you a description of what I did do.
First I went and searched to find out what year Honda I had.
It's based on the serial number of the motor.
After I found that I went to the Honda site and downloaded the manual.
In it I found the wiring diagram to trace what does what.
On my Honda there are two separate circuits.
They both start under the flywheel, one to run the CDI (all motor related) and one for the charging.
They both have coils under the flywheel with no connection between them.
Two wires come from the flywheel, and on mine they are Blue.
Those blue wires go to a rectifier and come out as Red and Green.
So you understand the electricity comes from the coil under the flywheel in AC form.
The rectifier converts the AC to DC for your battery.
On my Honda the Red wire has a fuse and is Positive and the green wire is Negative.
Those two wires end at the plugin on the motor case.
It was a simple process to snip the wires at the inside of the motor case and put my own connectors on.
I they ran new wire from my battery to the inside of the motor and made the connection there.
The fuse on the red wire is still in the circuit just in case.


I have no idea how much it kicks out in power(Amps) but I tested it for volts and it's 12
The manual you download may have that information.
GLG

 

[Theb55]

5 yr old batteries and sitting out there Hali fishing. Sonar, radio, GPS all on. Then my sonar began acting up. Realized I forgot to switch battery selector from two to 1. Sure enough. After 1/2 hr got kicker to turn over and that charged battery enuf that I could start my main engine. Next step is to get newer, larger batteries and one of those switches. Maybe opt for a good solar charger in future so I won't be caught again. Also got a battery boost, just in case.

 

[Sculpin]

5 yr old batteries and sitting out there Hali fishing. Sonar, radio, GPS all on. Then my sonar began acting up. Realized I forgot to switch battery selector from two to 1. Sure enough. After 1/2 hr got kicker to turn over and that charged battery enuf that I could start my main engine. Next step is to get newer, larger batteries and one of those switches. Maybe opt for a good solar charger in future so I won't be caught again. Also got a battery boost, just in case.

Very good post. Also switch out (over time) all your lighting to LED's to help save energy. Every little bit helps.

 

[Foxsea]

when I am doing hours of trolling with the kicker and listening to tunes and playing with elec. gadgets , Undecided

I've always had my kicker charging but your post got me thinking about 2 downriggers hauling 15 pound balls up 100 feet every 20 minutes, for example. If you troll with the kicker at 2200 rpm then the output is maybe 1/2 the rated? I believe Scotty downriggers use 12-15 amps. Apart from the electronic loads, can the kicker even keep up with downriggers? More reason to have the battery management system that you have installed. Once it's hooked up, check the charging voltage at trolling speed; should be ~ 13.4 - 13.7 V. If it's not at that level, there isn't much charging happening. I'm checking mine next time out - just out of curiosity. A solar panel would be a great idea, if we ever see the sun!

 

[staying alive]

ok I did everything by the book with the bluesea add a battery but I am stalled at the last thing ---connecting the SI (start isolator) wire to the key switch (ignition)
how do I determine which is the correct wire to connect to--- got a red another red and a yellow/red there is no place to use a test light to find the right one I guess I will have to poke a hole in the wires and test--- if nobody has a better idea
here is my pic of what I have done so far The SI wire is the last thing

 

[Theb55]

Actually. If it is day light, it will charge unless covered with snow. While I have not had mine in long enough, got to thinking about battery replacement. As I see it, when your "house" battery begins to loose it's effectiveness, replace only that one. Use the new one for your engine and use your old engine one as your house one IMO.

 

[Foxsea]

-connecting the SI (start isolator) wire to the key switch (ignition)how do I determine which is the correct wire to connect to--- got a red another red and a yellow/red there is no place to use a test light to find the right one I guess.
View attachment 3362

Yellow wire from the ACR terminal to the yellow terminal at the key switch. If that wire is yellow/red, it's the one to connect to. (I would not be connecting to the red.) When you turn the key, the ACR isolates the start battery, although without it, everything still works. Blue Seas says it's optional but a nice option to have.

 

[Foxsea]

Actually. If it is day light, it will charge unless covered with snow. While I have not had mine in long enough, got to thinking about battery replacement. As I see it, when your "house" battery begins to loose it's effectiveness, replace only that one. Use the new one for your engine and use your old engine one as your house one IMO.

I bought solar panels for my RV about 4 years ago - 2/80 watt panels for about $1200 with the wiring, panel and charge controller. Prices have come 'way down. A Sharp 230 watt panel is only $460 now - 1/2 the price of 2008! This is a great little company in Chemainus: http://www.wegosolar.com/categories.php?category=Sharp-and-BP-Solar-Panels.
They are experts and carry all you could ever need and also provide design and good advice - 'way better than going to Corporate Tire. Panels on a boat should work better than on my RV because there's no shading (trees, etc.) My RV system produces it's maximum output only about 10% of the time: mid-day on clear, sunny summer days. Cloudy summer days; about 30% of max - that's only 5 amps from that 230 watt panel charging the battery (less covered with seagull crap - lol). With the kicker that's enough, though. Make sure you have a charge controller or it will cook the batteries.

Have you considered 2 - 6 V. golf cart batteries, in series, for the House loads? Again, on the RV but it seems to work very well: more capacity and long life. They are built to be drawn down and banged around. I'm going to try it when my current House battery dies. On a boat, 5 years for a battery is great service - they take a beating.

 

[staying alive]

Foxsea thanks for the info ----yeah i know its optional but I have gone to all this effort I may as well do the last step