It’s time

[bumpdraft]

So, most of the 18 years that my 225 Yamaha was on my boat, I ran one battery for the motor and one for the accessories. The accessories battery was charged by an isolated charge wire from the motor. Starting the motor had no effect on the electronics, unlike a friend’s boat that when he started his motor, it turned off his gps/ sonar unit. My cranking battery was hooked up directly to the motor and the accessories battery was wired to battery switch. I had a jumper cable to the switch as an emergency connect for both batteries. My cranking battery is rated at 1000 cca.
I got the boat back from dealer and noticed that the switch was on for both batteries. The only way to charge the second battery is to connect them, or start on the battery that really doesn’t provide enough for starting. I have been doing some research lately and from what I have read, the Suzuki 225 does not have an option for a separate charge wire. It seems as though the lowly 225 is the “plain Jane” model of the line. Maybe that explains how I was able to find a motor. I would really like to have a way to charge that battery without running the two batteries in parallel. It bothers me having two batteries that are different from each other hooked together.

[Old'sCool]

[QUOTE= I would really like to have a way to charge that battery without running the two batteries in parallel. It bothers me having two batteries that are different from each other hooked together.[/QUOTE]

An ACR (Auto Charging Relay) will accomplish that. I had one on my 23', have one on the 17' Whaler, will have one on the 20' SeaCraft, and have a spare here for sale. All these on two batteries.

[PackRat]

On my 20’ and 23’ used Blue Seas mini add-a- battery ACR. One battery for engine and one for the “house”. The relay switches over to charge house battery once the start battery is at 13v. Has worked well with no issues on both boats. If you go that route suggest installing the toggle switch they mention to isolate relay when boat is l stored / tied up as there is a small current for circuitry that , over extended time, can drain down the battery.

[bumpdraft]

I was looking i at those ACRs. Seem pretty straight forward and probably wonÂ’t be an issue as long as the boat doesnÂ’t sit so long. The dealer put the switch to both batteries on and I show 12.3 volts, which seems a little low. I switched to measuring one battery at a time and one had 12.3 and the other had 12.2. My motorhome has a BIRD battery isolation relay delay? Connected to a solenoid for joining the battery banks.

[bumpdraft]

Got to finally put her in the water today. After break in period I ran motor to wot at 6000 rpm, 42 mph gauge reads 2.1 mpg. At 4400 rpm, 30 mph gauge says 3.2 mpg. The motor was mounted a couple of inches higher than my Yami. Cavitation plate a couple inches higher than the bottom of keel. While running, it appears to be submerged, but just a little bit of trim and it sounds like I’m pulling in air.

[bumpdraft]

Still getting boat back together. It sure came apart a lot quicker, but then I am trying to clean and paint. Having an issue with the smg4, not reading fuel in tank. From what I have read and what the motor salesman told me that the gauge should come up when I put gas in. Motor guy put 10 gallons in and I added 40.

[bumpdraft]

I told the salesman at the dealership to run the steering hoses and throttle/shift cables through the hole in the shelf. The rest goes up the corner of the console and I could do the rest. This is not exactly what I had in mind.

I couldn’t find a plastic platform that I liked, so I went back with teak. Parts for my trim tabs have been trickling in, but finally got them installed. The motor has been on for a while now and only have about 2 1/2 hours on it. Got to get out this week.

[Old'sCool]

What platform is that? Teak is not near as slippery as the starboard.

[bumpdraft]

Originally Posted by Old'sCool

What platform is that? Teak is not near as slippery as the starboard.

My daughter bought it for me for Father’s Day. Amarine Made product bought through Amazon. Think it was about $110. It must weigh close to 20 pounds, I was impressed with the item for the price. I’ll have to wait to use it when in the water. Just looked online for it and it was unavailable. Think they had a three step one. I had to cut half of a hole in it to accommodate the tab actuator, hope I didn’t compromise anything.

[bumpdraft]

So I cleaned up the nest of wires. I ran the steering hoses through the hole in the shelf along with the throttle and shift cables as they have been since I bought the boat almost 30 years ago.
My original plan was to put the gps puck (point 1) that came with my motor gauge on top of t top. I don’t think the cable is long enough to reach the top. It seems to work sitting under the console. I was thinking about mounting it to the top of the console. Any thoughts?