Battery - 1 or 2 or Both

[TAQ44]

On 7/25/2022 at 7:01 AM, PopsA22 said:

That is not correct.  To prove my point switch to battery 2 and your boat will start up just like if it were on battery 1.  

This is not in the manner to prove a point, but I decided to start reading the manual for my boat today while bored at work. Turns out that what I stated actually was correct. Directly in the axis manual, it states that battery 1 is the ignition battery and battery 2 is the house/electronics battery. The section continued on to mention that users who want to get most out of their battery power should start the ignition with battery in the 1 position, run the boat during normal operation in 1+2 position, and hang out/float/listen to music in the 2 position. I’d post a pic from the manual but I don’t know how haha. Sorry. 

[PopsA22]

No worries.  I like meaningful discussions. Like I said earlier your battery control method was a good one. Actually recommend by Axis. I just don’t find it practical for how we use our boat. I read a lot of people here have two different batteries. Deep cycle would definitely be better for listening to music for long periods of time. And a marine type could be used for starting. That would be a great system. My boat came with two of the same DC Interstate Batteries so I could theoretically start on battery 2 and listen to music on battery 1 and it wouldn’t make any difference. At the end of the day I think we all want the batteries to 1. wear out around the same time, 2. Have one battery with enough energy to start the engine, 3. Be able to listen to music, blow up our inflatables and charge our phones while hanging out. 
I turn my battery switch on in the morning and off in the evening. That’s it.  Simplicity is key for our group for fun. Heck, that’s the #1 reason I went with Axis PW3. I thought it was the simplest wave system out there. 

[shawndoggy]

6 hours ago, PopsA22 said:

No worries.  I like meaningful discussions. Like I said earlier your battery control method was a good one. Actually recommend by Axis. I just don’t find it practical for how we use our boat. I read a lot of people here have two different batteries. Deep cycle would definitely be better for listening to music for long periods of time. And a marine type could be used for starting. That would be a great system. My boat came with two of the same DC Interstate Batteries so I could theoretically start on battery 2 and listen to music on battery 1 and it wouldn’t make any difference. At the end of the day I think we all want the batteries to 1. wear out around the same time, 2. Have one battery with enough energy to start the engine, 3. Be able to listen to music, blow up our inflatables and charge our phones while hanging out. 
I turn my battery switch on in the morning and off in the evening. That’s it.  Simplicity is key for our group for fun. Heck, that’s the #1 reason I went with Axis PW3. I thought it was the simplest wave system out there. 

have you confirmed which post on the battery switch your amplifier distribution block is wired to?  It *should* be wired to the common post on the switch, but I found that the factory actually wired mine to the battery 2 post (which is really dumb and against any recommended best practices).  So you could start and run only on 1 and rock the stereo... but only until battery 2 gets depleted from stereo use.  

Like I said, you should be right, but you may need to move your amp power wire from the battery 2 post on the switch to the common post.

And all of this is why an ACR setup is soo much better.  None of this "start on 1 then switch to 1+2 but remember to switch back to 1 when the boat is turned off and then back to 1+2 when running" nonsense.

[shawndoggy]

7 hours ago, TAQ44 said:

This is not in the manner to prove a point, but I decided to start reading the manual for my boat today while bored at work. Turns out that what I stated actually was correct. Directly in the axis manual, it states that battery 1 is the ignition battery and battery 2 is the house/electronics battery. The section continued on to mention that users who want to get most out of their battery power should start the ignition with battery in the 1 position, run the boat during normal operation in 1+2 position, and hang out/float/listen to music in the 2 position. I’d post a pic from the manual but I don’t know how haha. Sorry. 

You've confirmed that your amps are actually wired to the battery 2 post on the switch?

[shawndoggy]

7 hours ago, TAQ44 said:

This is not in the manner to prove a point, but I decided to start reading the manual for my boat today while bored at work. Turns out that what I stated actually was correct. Directly in the axis manual, it states that battery 1 is the ignition battery and battery 2 is the house/electronics battery. The section continued on to mention that users who want to get most out of their battery power should start the ignition with battery in the 1 position, run the boat during normal operation in 1+2 position, and hang out/float/listen to music in the 2 position. I’d post a pic from the manual but I don’t know how haha. Sorry. 

You've confirmed that your amps are actually wired to the battery 2 post on the switch?

The switch manufacturer recommends wiring like this (all loads and alternator input on the "output" post):

However my experience and your reading of the manual suggests that malibu is intentionally miswiring the switches at the factory.

Edited July 30, 2022 by shawndoggy

[PopsA22]

My setup is wired so that my amp is wired to the common post on the on - off switch.  So I guess that is correct.  However, I'm wondering why I don't have an ACR.  Did yours come from the factory with this? (ACR).  I just watched a YourTube video on it and in theory it sounds good.  Especially for people like me who don't want to fuss about switch location.  I didn't think I had this as an option when I custom ordered my boat in 2019.    

[MLA]

23 minutes ago, PopsA22 said:

My setup is wired so that my amp is wired to the common post on the on - off switch.  So I guess that is correct.  However, I'm wondering why I don't have an ACR.  Did yours come from the factory with this? (ACR).  I just watched a YourTube video on it and in theory it sounds good.  Especially for people like me who don't want to fuss about switch location.  I didn't think I had this as an option when I custom ordered my boat in 2019.    

Its uncommon to pair the 3 post OFF/1/1+2/2 switch with an ACR, where its typically paired with the 4 post OFF/ON/COMBINE switch. 

I know on a Bu, the OFF/1/1+2/2 is the bass switch option and the up-level is the OFF/ON/COMBINE and ACR. 

[shawndoggy]

49 minutes ago, PopsA22 said:

My setup is wired so that my amp is wired to the common post on the on - off switch.  So I guess that is correct.  However, I'm wondering why I don't have an ACR.  Did yours come from the factory with this? (ACR).  I just watched a YourTube video on it and in theory it sounds good.  Especially for people like me who don't want to fuss about switch location.  I didn't think I had this as an option when I custom ordered my boat in 2019.    

No I don't even think Axis offers an ACR.  This was the first mod I did when I took delivery.

[shawndoggy]

20 minutes ago, MLA said:

Its uncommon to pair the 3 post OFF/1/1+2/2 switch with an ACR, where its typically paired with the 4 post OFF/ON/COMBINE switch. 

I know on a Bu, the OFF/1/1+2/2 is the bass switch option and the up-level is the OFF/ON/COMBINE and ACR. 

Right.  So when adding an ACR, you need to replace the switch too.