Radio to Batter connection

[Catch22]

I have a 2016 2500, the radio is wired to my starter battery. Been told that this is not correct, it should be connected to the house battery as it may cause problems with other electronic on the boat. Does it matter which battery the radio is connected to?

[cbsmith]

I wouldn’t want it connected to my starting battery if you have a house battery onboard. If you are using the radio a lot with the engine off as it could run down your starting battery.

[Chris_in_Texas]

You have a dedicated house battery? Or do you have a battery switch with dual batteries? Seems strange that a bow rider would have dedicated house battery, but could be wrong.

[gofast24]

You have a dedicated house battery? Or do you have a battery switch with dual batteries? Seems strange that a bow rider would have dedicated house battery, but could be wrong.

Same question, house battery on a 2500? On the other side the last 4 "smaller " boats I have had I always installed a second "house" battery with a isolator module as cranking the audio for hours on end would have totally killed my starting battery! Even our Group 8D AGM house battery on the 4160 my sons seem to be able to discharge down to 50% with 800 watts of audio system. I installed a Blue Seas OLED volt meter at the helm and told them (when I am not on board) to start the great (so far) Westerbeke 7 kW gen set and bring the house battery back up to 95/100% . A AGM battery is considered 50% discharged when it reaches 12.4 / 12.5 VDC open circuit voltage (but to be precise, that voltage should be read after 24 hours of no load/no charging) so we just go by the actual under load voltage and react from that reading of less than 12.5 VDC. Sorry to ramble on as usual

[Catch22]

I do have two batteries with a battery switch (battery 1 and emergency start, not a 1-2-all switch). According to the owners manual it is separated to starter battery and house battery. WHen I wasn’t on the boat for a couple of weeks the radio was pulling on the starter battery for memory and draining it. All the other electronics worked (tower up/down, engine hatch, blower, etc.), but I wouldn’t start until I put to batter switch in the emergency start position. I’ve ask two different mechanics got two different answers.

I have installed a batter charger that charges and conditions the batteries to solve the problem, but just wanted to make sure the hook up to the starter battery would not cause other problems.

[Chris_in_Texas]

That's strange that there isn't a 1/2 or ALL switch in there. Either way yes it can go either way. If it has a ACR (Automatic charging relay) or battery isolator then you are good, however traditionally they don't do that in the bow riders. They could be doing that now, but normally you have the selection to charge and or use either battery. Ideally if there is an ACR then yes you would want the entire stereo system put on the "House" bank. In a 1/2/ALL situation then the fuse panel is normally wired to the output of that switch so it doesn't matter. If you have a Fusion Stereo there is no MEMORY wire needed as all setting are stored in flash memory. You don't even need to wire it up. If something is still draining the battery you would need to see what is pulling the current. I assume based on the other posts you have an EVC based boat which does require power even when the engine is off. The only way to stop that current draw is to turn off the battery switch each time. Its a low draw but will kill the battery pretty quickly. For confirmation on that simply raise the engine hatch and then turn off and on the battery switch. You will hear the clicking of the relays for the computers.

[Catch22]

Each time I get off the boat I put the battery switch to the “off” position. I do hear the clicking when turning the battery switch on and off. I believe I do have the ACR. I also noticed that I have a positive and a negative wire (small wires) on the two inside posts on the starting battery. I guess I will unhook them then go through the boat to see what doesn’t work. Not sure what those wires would be if they are not radio. Is there any danger/problems that would result if I disconnect the two smaller wires on the starting battery that I mentioned?

[cbsmith]

Those smaller wires could very well be the float switch for the automatic bilge pump. If the boat is in the water be very careful disconnecting them in case it is the bilge pump float switch. If the boat takes on any water and the float is not energized it could become a big problem.

[gofast24]

Those smaller wires could very well be the float switch for the automatic bilge pump. If the boat is in the water be very careful disconnecting them in case it is the bilge pump float switch. If the boat takes on any water and the float is not energized it could become a big problem.

Agree 100% Do not disconnect any wires from either battery unless you know what they are powering! Typically the bilge pump is always connected directly to one battery and even if turning off the main battery switch the bilge pump remains connected. Better to have a vessel that didn't sink as the bilge pump operated as required even though that battery no longer has the capacity left to start the engine

[Catch22]

All - I spoke with Regal today. Support told me they have had issues with some Fusion radios pulling on the battery for memory. As stated in an earlier post (I believe Chris' post) stated that the radio should not pull for memory, which is correct. Support told me that some Fusion radio's have a glitch or error and it will pull from the battery even though it is not suppose to. Regal recommended removing the radio fuse to test it. If it is the radio making the pull Regal said they would send a new radio. Thanks to all who contributed!

[gofast24]

All - I spoke with Regal today. Support told me they have had issues with some Fusion radios pulling on the battery for memory. As stated in an earlier post (I believe Chris' post) stated that the radio should not pull for memory, which is correct. Support told me that some Fusion radio's have a glitch or error and it will pull from the battery even though it is not suppose to. Regal recommended removing the radio fuse to test it. If it is the radio making the pull Regal said they would send a new radio. Thanks to all who contributed!

Glad you actually got a live person at Regal. Who Did you talk to? Just to be totally safe I would still connect your radio/head unit to the "second" or house battery regardless if the Fusion radio maintains memory or not when disconnected from battery power.

[Chris_in_Texas]

If you look at the fusion manual they say just leave the stereo memory line disconnected, as there is no need for it. Check their website for any software updates as well.