Apologies if this has been covered before but because the search facility doesn’t work on the Forum I am starting a new thread.
I noticed yesterday whilst cruising under engine that the Model 702 ‘Multi-Battery Isolator’ on my 2003 Bavaria 32 with a MD2020D engine gets quite hot when the engine is running. This demonstrates clearly what is well-known – these split-charging diodes waste a lot of power. I’m on a round-Britain cruise at the moment so maintaining the batteries is a major issue for me. The owner of the boat I am cruising in company with, a Westerly, has replaced his diode with a VSR and I have seen his installation. It would be easy to replicate on my B32.
However, I have looked up the installation instructions for the VSR (https://allbatterysalesandservice.com/information/Instructions/SurePower/Marine_Isolators.pdf) and they say: “Be sure that the alternator has remote sense capability. Most single-wire Delco alternators do not have this provision”. I don’t understand this and I don’t know whether or not the original alternator on the MD2020D does in fact have that capability.
Any advice?
Many thanks, Jonathan (www.yachtbubble.com)