24V/12V wiring question.

I have three batteries, one starting battery in the back of the boat and two batteries in the front of the boat. In the front of the boat I have two 12V receptacles/plugs, each of the front batteries is wired to a separate receptacle. I have been using one for a 12V trolling motor and one for my depth finder.

I just purchased a 24V trolling motor and I am needing to re-wire. I bought a new receptacle and plug to use for the trolling motor. These have three wires and the package shows a diagram for wiring them to run 24V or 12V from the same plug. I am planning to wire the trolling motor plug/receptacle for 24V only, tie the two front batteries together in series.

I was just wondering if I can tie the front batteries together in series for the trolling motor receptacle/plug and then also wire one of the existing receptacles to the same batteries for a 12V connection. Can or should this be done and if I use this to run my depth finder will/might I have interferance or problems? Or should I run the depth finder off the starting battery?

I also have a 3 bank charger and was told I could leave it hooked the same, one positive and negative wire set to each battery. Is that correct?

Thanks,
Patrick

My guess would be no. You are creating 24v by hooking the 2 batteries in series. Suggest you hook the electronics to the starting battery. As for the charger? run a separate lead to each battery from the charger. You may have to lenghten one of the leads to reach the starting battery. All depends on charger and battery location. Just use the same gauge wire.

If you have two batteries hooked up in series and you are using +ve from one and -ve from the other going to your 24v terminal, you should still be able to connect to the +ve and -ve of only ONE of the batteries and still be running 12v.

I'm trying to remember how I had my house power on my houseboat a few years ago. I used golf car batteries and had 2 sets of 2 batteries wired to have 12v but both sets were connected to the inverter.

Now, I'm no electrician either! :bigsmile:

YES, you can series the two batteries in front for 24V and still tap off of the - & + terminals for a 12V connection too. It's possible you will experience some interference on your electronics connected to the 12V connection, but this can usually be eliminated by the use of a filter later on. Yes, you also can & should leave your 3-bank charger connected just as it is now or as you described. If you need a diagram for your wiring/connecting do a simple google search, there are many out there.
Good luck!

It will work but if you use the same plug for the 12 and 24 you could plug the wrong thing in and fry something. Its best to change the plug.