Prawn 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Help! Since maintaining inboard Bukh to prevent minor oil leak (ie replace seal and gasket etc) the battery doesn't appear to be charging and the 'Next Step Alternator Regulator' is now showing a continuous red light (rather than a flashing red light, or better still a green light like it used to show) Observed even when engine is off. Is this when we call in a marine electrician? Or can someone advise what the problem is? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erice 732 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 got a multimeter? could you attached the wires wrong? http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Bukh-DV10-sail-drive-is-not-charging-the-batteries/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,235 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 In the manual it will tell you what that means. Manual is available online. Should not be hard to fix. Sorry I'm out sailing, and cell service here is poor. Back in a week if you have not sorted it by then... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Yes we have a multimetre, but don't think any wires were changed about during engine seal replacement. Yes, have manual which advises various faults based on flashing red light 'patterns', but no clues for a fixed/continuous red light... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin McCready 83 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Nigel Calder’s excellent book “Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual” is a priceless resource and should be aboard at all times. Unfortunately mine is aboard and I'm not. It has lots of brilliant troubleshooting charts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brendon 0 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Are you sure you haven't knocked any wires off? either from the alternator or a return wire bolted to the motor frame? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Farrari 4 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 The V2/v3 manual I found showed solid red error indicated the float rate is set higher that absorbtion rate. There were two test points and a reference ground that you can use a multimeter to check. I'd guess either a faulty unit or maybe a dirty adjustable pot. If the latter you maybe able to clear it with a couple of turns on the pot. The voltage should change on the respective test point. Make sure you set it back to manufacturers specifications. Sorry I'm operating from my phone out on the boat otherwise I'd include the URL references and pictures. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erice 732 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 http://www.boatservicehaarlem.nl/bukh_dv10_dv20_workshop_manual.pdf 12.5mb 324pg section P is electrical seems electrical system went through a few changes over the years so best to work out what you have Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Aha, we had old manual that doesn't advise error like the new one - 'float setpoint higher than absorption'. However, interestingly on reading, Float = 1.325 volts and Absorption = 1.44 volts, ie float is lower than absorption and both readings seem to be out by 10 fold! Doesn't seem to make sense? Note: Starter battery reading = 13.74 (and 13.89 a second reading) and House battery 14.32 volts. We do have solar batteries too. We have a copy of Nigel Calder's book too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Yay, just read in manual that the voltmeter regulator readings are one tenth of the desired battery charge. So that sounds all fine. Just still a puzzle why red light when it seems our floating volt reading is less than absorption volt reading. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,235 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 There are several generations of next step reg. Make sure you have the correct manual for your model. For a start, what colour is the regulator? And the red error led is normally on at start-up, but should go out after the self check is complete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheels 543 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Check all Wiring connections, especially Earths. Bad earths can always cause weird behavior with electrics. Sure, the unit may be faulty, but if you have done work somewhere and then the fault shows up, there is always a greater chance a connection has been bumped somewhere. It is best to consider the obvious before going with hunting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Farrari 4 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 As a test I'd suggest temporarily disconnecting the sun bug catcher as the smartcharger may be getting confused with the second power source. I only run one at a time on my boat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Rechecked wiring and it looks tidy, although there is a wire from alternator labelled 'ground' that doesn't connect to anything and I couldn't see any loose wires it could connect with. And my husband who replaced engine seal etc is sure he didn't touch the wires. Before engine work he observed that the Alternator Regulator light was green. We have covered up the solar panels for now to see if things go back to normal. (Else it may be a sparkie who will have to sort it out.) Pretty sure we have correct manual. Thanks everyone for all your input. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Some good news this arvo. Things appear to be behaving! We have the green lights back. We powered down the regulator (by disconnecting the wire to pin 1), and then re connected. When we started the engine the regulator red light came on for a short time, and then the green lights kicked in. This probably allowed the logic circuits to reset themselves. Bit like when a modem or computer is giving problems you can turn off and then reset. However, perhaps the additional solar energy has been confusing things so will keep an eye on it. (After blocking panels for a few hours the house battery = 13.50 volts, starter = 13.27.) Note: before powering down we started engine to see if blocking solar panels alone would rectify problem, but there was no change. Thanks again everyone for all your help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheels 543 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 No they aren't quite that smart. So, no reset should not have done anything, but then hey, if it works, it works.But the earth on the Alt is of concern. Is the Alt a genuine Marine unit? Marine ALTs are normally isolated bodies. So you need to have a negative connection. That negative should be connected at the same negative terminal the Battery is connected to the engine at. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prawn 0 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Thanks! We will have to check if 'earth' wire is a spare or not!! Wah, so much to do! Getting there slowly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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