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Watch out for this grounding issue

Bill Kinney
 

I have looked at two separate installations of Beta Marine engines in Amels recently. The engines were ordered with the isolated ground option (as they should have been) and with ann optional, second alternator.  

In both cases the engines were properly configured as isolated ground engines, but in both cases the factory then bolted on a NON-isolated high output alternator, causing all sorts of complications that were very hard to track down.  In addition to permanently connecting the house battery negative to the engine block and bonding system, it also cross connects the negatives of the 12V and 24V batteries.  This is not the way an Amel electrical system was designed, and needs to be avoided.

I have no idea if these are isolated screwups or if Beta just doesn’t understand what “isolated ground” actually means.  But if you have repowered with a Beta engine, and had a second alternator factory installed, it is worth a look to see if they got yours right.

Bill Kinney
SM160, Harmonie
Daytona, Florida
http://www.cruisingconsulting.com
CW Bill Rouse
 

Thanks for that. With you permission I will forward this to the owners of Beta UK & US. 

Best,

CW Bill Rouse 
Amel Owners Yacht School
+1 832-380-4970 | brouse@...
720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
www.AmelOwnersYachtSchool.com

On Sat, Mar 25, 2023, 18:50 Bill Kinney <cruisingconsulting@...> wrote:

I have looked at two separate installations of Beta Marine engines in Amels recently. The engines were ordered with the isolated ground option (as they should have been) and with ann optional, second alternator.  

In both cases the engines were properly configured as isolated ground engines, but in both cases the factory then bolted on a NON-isolated high output alternator, causing all sorts of complications that were very hard to track down.  In addition to permanently connecting the house battery negative to the engine block and bonding system, it also cross connects the negatives of the 12V and 24V batteries.  This is not the way an Amel electrical system was designed, and needs to be avoided.

I have no idea if these are isolated screwups or if Beta just doesn’t understand what “isolated ground” actually means.  But if you have repowered with a Beta engine, and had a second alternator factory installed, it is worth a look to see if they got yours right.

Bill Kinney
SM160, Harmonie
Daytona, Florida
http://www.cruisingconsulting.com
Bill Kinney
 

Bill, 

By all means.  I believe both of the engines with this issue came through the standard US distribution channels.
Alexander Ramseyer
 

Bill Kenney,
thanks for sharing this. I'll check that on my Beta 85T (but need to first buy new batteries for my multimeter Today...).
Could you please also share what kind of "hard to track problems" the other owners faced?
I have a load of problems with my Beta85T ever since it was installed in 2020, too much to share here and now, but will come back with the unsolved main problem.
Thanks for your help!
Alex
sv NO STRESS
AMEL54#15
Bill Kinney
 

Alex,  

The problems that were hard to sort out were different on the two boats.  One had an Onan that was also new, and was installed with an unisolated ground. This left the 12 and 24 volt battery negatives connected.  It was a complex set of tests to sort them out.  In the other case it was an older boat without a MAS light.  So tracking down any ground fault was a challenge

Bill Kinney
SM160, Harmonie
Daytona, FL
http://www.cruisingconsulting.com

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