Low batt warning

[dm001681]

2 hours ago, Ottomatic said:

I can tell you right now I don't think it's the altornator I have had mine replaced and still having the issue. Maybe we need bigger altornators but I don't think the one you have is defective.

Interesting.  The strange thing then is why hasn't this happened from the start?  I've put over 60 hours on the boat and it's only started happening in the last 5 or so.  Any ideas?

[Ottomatic]

1 hour ago, dm001681 said:

Interesting.  The strange thing then is why hasn't this happened from the start?  I've put over 60 hours on the boat and it's only started happening in the last 5 or so.  Any ideas?

That's a good point mine has read low from the start

[ctvandy23]

6 hours ago, Ottomatic said:

That's a good point mine has read low from the start

Mine as well

[kx250frider617]

I would clean and check the connections for sure before spending any money. 

 

I I have the factory battery switch. My #1 is a starting battery and #2 has two deep cycles in parallel. I NEVER use #1 unless my #2 battery bank dies. But, I also trickle charge both banks at the end of the day. 

 

Now since my my deep cycles are in parallel, I keep the same voltage but double the cranking amps, so I have no problem starting the engine with deep cycles. 

[dm001681]

Ok guys,

I did some more troubleshooting tonight and I wanted to let you know what I learned.

Neither the alternator nor the batteries appear to be the issue as both batteries were showing over 12v using a handheld volt meter with the motor off and over 14v with the motor running.  I also put the volt meter on the input hot wire going into what I believe to be the main bus (both sides of steering wheel) and was getting 12v with motor off.  The Viper II volt meter appeared to be consistently reading lower than the handheld however, in the range of .5v.

I was able to get the volt meter on the hot wire coming out of what I'm calling the "stereo amplifier bus" (the little unit that splits the power off the battery switch into 3 hot wires for each of the amplifiers) and that was only reading 11.1v.  Could that little splitter be causing an issue?

The other thing we tested that happened in EVERY scenario, boat running, boat not running, battery selected 1 or 2 or both is when I turn the volume up to 23+ which would cause the 'LOW BATT' warning all of the ballast percentage readings would go from 0% to 25% and sometimes up to 50%.  The warning beep would come out of the speakers and sometimes the speakers would cut out altogether.  At this point I'm guessing its the Viper II unit?

What else can I check to pin point the issue?

[MLA]

16 minutes ago, dm001681 said:

was getting 12v with motor off.

What was your meter's ground source during this test? 

 

18 minutes ago, dm001681 said:

was able to get the volt meter on the hot wire coming out of what I'm calling the "stereo amplifier bus" (the little unit that splits the power off the battery switch into 3 hot wires for each of the amplifiers) and that was only reading 11.1v.  Could that little splitter be causing an issue?

Sure, for anything supplied by that cable. Again, what what meter's ground lead on. 

[dm001681]

Just now, MLA said:

What was your meter's ground source during this test? 

 

Sure, for anything supplied by that cable. Again, what what meter's ground lead on. 

Ground source for the main bus was something under the dash.  Ground for the little bus was probably the black wire coming out.  Out of curiosity, as long as it's grounded somewhere why does it matter?  Thanks!

[MLA]

Just now, dm001681 said:

Ground source for the main bus was something under the dash.  Ground for the little bus was probably the black wire coming out.  Out of curiosity, as long as it's grounded somewhere why does it matter?  Thanks!

Because a poor ground would result in low voltage, same as a poor battery POS. Takes both circuits to make 12V.  

[dm001681]

Just now, MLA said:

Because a poor ground would result in low voltage, same as a poor battery POS. Takes both circuits to make 12V.  

Gotcha ok, thanks.  Any thoughts as to what my issue is?  Have there been issues with the Viper II unit that anyone knows of?  

[dm001681]

Ok, latest update from my marina is that Malibu just sent a bulletin about some faulty 7" screens and they will be replacing mine.  I guess problem solved, we'll see once it gets installed.  Thanks for the input everyone!

[dm001681]

Ok guys, I need your help again.  I installed a replacement 7" unit and that didn't resolve my issue, same thing as before.  A couple things that I don't quite understand.  Does anyone know how the floats in the ballast tanks measure % filled?  As soon as I turn the stereo on all 4 tanks immediately show 25% filled and when I turn the stereo power off the go back to 0% filled.  That symptom is repeatable every time.  

Also, can anyone tell me what voltage I should have AT my amplifiers?  I've measured with a volt meter and with the motor running I'm only getting 11.1v.  Wouldn't I expect to see much higher?

Other than taking it to my dealer 40 mins away and having them trace every wire is there any other troubleshooting I can do?  Thanks!!!

[MLA]

22 minutes ago, dm001681 said:

Also, can anyone tell me what voltage I should have AT my amplifiers?  I've measured with a volt meter and with the motor running I'm only getting 11.1v.  Wouldn't I expect to see much higher?

With engine off, it would battery voltage. If lower, theres an issue between the battery and amp

Engine running, it would what ever the alternator output is, minus a little to account for load. At idle, 13+ volt is normal. 

Fallow the cabling back to its source until you find the point of the low voltage. 

[Steve B.]

24 minutes ago, dm001681 said:

Ok guys, I need your help again.  I installed a replacement 7" unit and that didn't resolve my issue, same thing as before.  A couple things that I don't quite understand.  Does anyone know how the floats in the ballast tanks measure % filled?  As soon as I turn the stereo on all 4 tanks immediately show 25% filled and when I turn the stereo power off the go back to 0% filled.  That symptom is repeatable every time.  

Also, can anyone tell me what voltage I should have AT my amplifiers?  I've measured with a volt meter and with the motor running I'm only getting 11.1v.  Wouldn't I expect to see much higher?

Other than taking it to my dealer 40 mins away and having them trace every wire is there any other troubleshooting I can do?  Thanks!!!

Good question. I'll be interested to know the answers. I question also whether the amplifier is on, will affect the voltage shown, going into it. I would think engine running, you want 13 volts going into an amp. Maybe under load, especially engine off, guessing a lower voltage will be shown. (because of no power reinforcement from an alternator)

Steve B.

[dm001681]

Just now, MLA said:

With engine off, it would battery voltage. If lower, theres an issue between the battery and amp

Engine running, it would what ever the alternator output is, minus a little to account for load. At idle, 13+ volt is normal. 

Fallow the cabling back to its source until you find the point of the low voltage. 

Thanks MLA and that was my thought too.  Any thoughts on the ballast tanks and why they read differently?

[MLA]

The ballast level senders work same as a fuel tank sender. They use a variable resister. The gauge converts a voltage level, based on the resistance through the level sender, into the indicated level. Its accuracy is based on normal system voltage. 

[dm001681]

8 hours ago, MLA said:

The ballast level senders work same as a fuel tank sender. They use a variable resister. The gauge converts a voltage level, based on the resistance through the level sender, into the indicated level. Its accuracy is based on normal system voltage. 

Ok cool, then that explains why those would be funky.  Does the correlation of turning the power button on for the stereo tell us anything more about where the issue is, or is it just the thing that breaks the camels back that makes the issue appear?

Also, anyone know where I can find a wiring diagram for the boat?

[MLA]

Adding that extra load skews the ballast gauges, seems to point to a voltage problem. This can be either on the positive side or the negative side. Thats why I asked about where the meter ground lead was.   

[dm001681]

Just now, MLA said:

Adding that extra load skews the ballast gauges, seems to point to a voltage problem. This can be either on the positive side or the negative side. Thats why I asked about where the meter ground lead was.   

Ya looks like we need to go wire by wire to figure this out.  Any wiring diagrams out there?  Thanks!

[Cucol2009]

I had the same issue, my fix was the ignition switch harness had a loose connection.

[BSUBU_Kris]

I have had the same issue.  Was it at the actual key unit or somewhere else in the Viper system.  Will be taking some time to check all connections.

[MalibuWantToBe]

@Ottomatic or @Ctvandy23 my problem seems to be the same as yours.  From day 1 of owning the boat my volt reading would go from 12.2 to 11.5 and set of the threshold warning within 5 minutes of playing the radio at a stand still.   I tested the battery at the source and it reads 12.4 while the engine is off and the dash starts at 12.2 but within 5 minutes it is down to 11.5 with the alarm going off.  

Were either of you ever able to track down the problem?

[ctvandy23]

49 minutes ago, MalibuWantToBe said:

@Ottomatic or @Ctvandy23 my problem seems to be the same as yours.  From day 1 of owning the boat my volt reading would go from 12.2 to 11.5 and set of the threshold warning within 5 minutes of playing the radio at a stand still.   I tested the battery at the source and it reads 12.4 while the engine is off and the dash starts at 12.2 but within 5 minutes it is down to 11.5 with the alarm going off.  

Were either of you ever able to track down the problem?

Never did.  I eventually sold the boat and told the new buyer about it.  Sorry not much help on this one!