I’ve inherited a Skipjack24 and have questions about it. There are 4 12V batteries in two banks. One controls the motor and electronics and the other powers the bait tank.
There are these switches and I was wondering how I should configure them in normal operation and what I should do in case one of the batteries dies. I assume I can somehow use the bait tank batteries if the engine batteries fail. The engine batteries are on the port side with the two red circular switch thingamajigs.
There are two pull switches on the console which I have no idea what they do,. Here is a picture of the dashboard with the mysterious switches on the right.
Thanks in advance.
Skipjacks carry a good reputation, congratulations.
Red round switch on the right is a “battery isolator” switches commonly known by the brand name Perko. They serve to isolate, combine (in parallel), or completely disconnect your batteries. You will most likely want to leave them in the “all” position, at least while using the boat so that the alternator can charge both. You will likely want to turn the switch to off while docked/trailered in case of errant loads draining your batteries, all to frequent on a boat.
The emergency crossover will likely do as you mentioned and use the aux. batteries for engine/electronics in case of battery failure. Hard to say though without seeing connections and a simple multimeter will be your friend here. Leave “off” in normal usage.
No idea on your pull switches but if I had to guess it would be navigation/anchor lights. Only one way to find out!
Keep an eye out for a shore power/battery charger connection, and use it if available. Replacing four heavy batteries due to full discharge gets old quick.
Thanks. This helps. Skipjack has responded, but your explanation is better. I’m digging through the documentation that was given to me and I hope that there is a wiring diagram.