Getting Boat Voltage to an acceptible level

[Poe]

I have browsed the forums and researched all the older posts regarding boat voltage. Unless I missed it completely I could not find anywhere where it says how to adjust the voltages or rather adjust them to an acceptable level, (aside from the black box which is not in the budget).

My boat was putting out .986 volts....I changed the zincs and found a broken wire to my lights and repaired it. This resulted in lowering it to .856 volts[V] and from what I am reading it is still way too hot.

My question is this.
How do I lower the voltage my boat is producing?
What is it that produces this high a voltage?


I am running a 17 Boston Whaler with a 50hp Yamaha 4 stroke, no kicker. Lowrance gps plotter, no VHS, 2 downriggers scotty electric, bilge pump. Any more info needed?

Appreciate the help

Ian [8D]

 

[nedarb2]

the pro-troll black box is like 100$ locally, im sure you can find it way cheaper on the web too.
Try putting a snubber inbetween your wire and cannonball??
or switch to braided line

 

[island idiots]

Poe,
In my experiance, poor grounds, green or contaminated electrical connections, power wires that go no where, all leak voltage. Check all of your electrical. Ground anything that touches the water to your battery. Clean up any connections at your fuse box if you have one and keep your batterys dry, with clean connections. Cheers.

 

[danthewire]

Ditto to what island Idiot says,I don't know how many boats I've fixed that have wires just flapping in the breeze,it doesn't take much to cause a voltage leak.A well maintained,clean,and properly sized system will virtually eliminate your problem.Go through it and look at everything.Dan

 

[Poe]

Thanks for the input..I have been through the wiring and the fuse panel is clean...I will do a more in depth search with my meter...only thing in the water is the motor and the sonar..sonar is new...I am a tradesman so wiring is something I am quite familiar with...If anyone can shed any light or personal experience I would also appreciate it.

Thanks again

Ian[8D]

 

[danthewire]

Was thinking about that last night,do you have an automatic bilge?I ran into one where the always hot wire was laying in the bilge, poorly insulated splice....but thats another story.Good luck with it,Dan

 

[Sea Morgan]

Here's another thing to look at. I had used my boat on a lake and had run the skeg through some sand, it removed the paint from my leg and the bare metal reacting with the stainless wire caused my voltage to go way up, I just painted the leg were the paint was removed and no more problem.

 

[gutchucker]

http://www.scotty.com/marine/support/PDF/BBox Booklet 2003.pdf

this is scotty's black box instructions. On page 6 it has the various voltages for different fish. Best voltage for springs is .6 volts according to the directions.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Seems like you could save a lot of effort and uncertainty about your voltages by switching to braided rigger lines. I orderded 450ft of 200 lb power pro over the internet for $42. Split it between two riggers to give it a try. It is awesome compared to stainless, today I had a 15lb spring wrap around both my rigger lines and it never broke off. If it had crossed stainless wire it would have been long gone. Braided all the way for the riggers, and kiss your voltage worries goodbye.

 

[Kisinana]

Boat voltages especially when higher can be a big problem. Do you have a location on your yammy where an extra zinc can be added?
On my Merc besides the ones on the lower leg there is a location underneath the tilt.
I would be inclined to take a meter to your wiring and look for loose or dirty connections. The sockets for your scottys cann also be a point that gets dirty and has a large amount of leakage.

 

[Poe]

As soon as the boat gets out of the shop and back int he water I will go over all of these. Appreciate the input and the response from everyone. I will post what I did and the results so others can draw on this for future.

Ian[8D]

 

[gutchucker]

wonder what works better .. 0.6 volts or no volts (ie:spectra)

 

[Kisinana]

Most people seem to confuse the information about boat voltage and downrigger fishing voltage.
If your boat voltage is too low i.e. (below 0.5 volts) then your zincs are either dirty or worn out out. What will begin to happen is you will get pitting on any exposed metal on your boat, the leg, through hull fittings etc. If you happen to reach as low as 0.2 volts then your aluminum leg will begin to be eaten away before the zincs will.
If your voltage is too high then it affects your fishing and you have electrical leakage on your boat. You have to find the source of the poor connection, maybe bonding, corrosion, or something shorted. A positive connection is leaking electricity across your hull and into the water. This is common with battery switches or bilge wire connections.You can disconnect one circuit at a time (removing the fuse is a good way) and watch for a change in the natural voltage reading. Above 0.75 volts is considered high.
Fish studies show that they are attracted or deterred by minute voltage amounts. Downrigger wire will carry your boat voltage down its length and so can attract or repel fish in the area. Spectra will not, so you are now fishing in the natural enviroment.
Where you will notice the difference is when you get the fish close to the boat, if your voltage is too high fish will fight to keep away from the boat and will make it more difficult to net as they will have the tendancy to keep pointing away from the boat.
One last thing do not check your voltage in the boat harbour or in fresh water both will give erronious readings.