i have a 2000 380 sundancer and...

[waycoolcars]

i have a 2000 380 sundancer and when i use the bow thruster the alarm sounds and there is a noticable power draw

both alternators are new and charging    the thruster seems to work fine when i use it    

any suggestions would be great thanks wayne

[wingless]

The alarm should not be sounding.

The thruster is a huge current draw.

Disconnect power, then disassemble, clean to shiny, tighten and protect every high current lug and post.

Batteries that have aged or deteriorated will droop excessively under high current load. My preference is the Lifeline 125Ah group 31 batteries. They beat the pants off of every flooded cell battery I've used.

[TimboSlice]

Load test thruster battery - more than likely, that is the culprit

[CurtP]

My bow thruster is a Progress One by Lofrans. It operates on 24 volts so there are two batteries wired in series dedicated to the thruster and independent of all other batteries on the boat. Is this what you have? Also, can you see what your Systems Monitor is telling you when the alarm sounds?

[waycoolcars]

it just says port alarm

[CurtP]

After reading my owners manual, I discovered the Systems Monitor is connected to the 24 volt battery bank through a circuit breaker. Perhaps the next step would be to check the condition of those two batteries. When my batteries were going bad the thruster would work but took a second or two to come up to full RPM.

[JILL]

I have a 2003 380 Sundancer. I wish I had a bow thruster. You must have put it in after? Or did it come with one from SeaRay?

[waycoolcars]

it came on the 2000 380 as standard equipment

[wingless]

A bow thruster is "easy" to add to the 380DA, either by the factory when the order is placed, or aftermarket when the boat has been delivered. It was an option that could be selected when ordering the 2000 380DA.

There is unused space in the compartment under the master stateroom matress for the thruster. There is space available in the battery shelf for another battery for an electric thruster, or the generator has a PTO location for a hydraulic thruster.

Routing wires or hoses from the engine room to the helm to the bow is very easy in the 380DA.

IMO, it is a luxury or toy on that boat. The engines are spaced far enough apart to make handling and docking a breeze. There are a small handful of times when a helper is required to snag a piling w/ a line to permit movement that is otherwise impossible due to wind or current where the thruster would be helpful.

If I were to do one it would be a hydraulic thruster to permit the 100% duty cycle at full strength.

[wingless]

Here is the sales sheet for the 2000 380DA showing the bow thruster as an individual option on page 3.


https://bbg1.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#E0000000Z21E/a/E00000000UYq/6MJZo.Lu7ZfxBLmV5JxeHIVIRTifkrgPQc_wfJHGQ80

[waycoolcars]

my mistake i see it was a option

[mandevic]

Most probably, it is your battery (ies) that is (are) not taking anymore enough charge (energy) to provide the required current for the bow thruster. When you operate the bow thruster, the current needed is so high (much more than the 70 A from the alternator) that the voltage drop on the battery and if the alarm sound, it is because the voltage is too low. It look like you do not have a battery just for the bow thruster. On my Sundancer 320, I added a battery in the front just beside the bow thruster with a battery isolator and no alarm anymore.

Also, when you winch the chain in of your windlass and you feel that it pull the boat, do you have the alarm ringing? If yes, it is a battery or batteries that are not good anymore. A too low voltage on an engine can damage the electronic module which is very expansive to replace. Have a look to the batter (ies) condition.

[waycoolcars]

thanks i will load test them this weekend

[mandevic]

Few weeks back, I was getting an alarm when I was using my windlass. One of the 2 parallel batteries on that side was not taking charge anymore which was also limiting the charging capacity of the other battery. A bad battery do not go up in voltage, any parrallel battery cannot go higher in voltage, this means the good battery do not take charge also.

I disconnected that damaged battery and now I have more "power" from the remaining one. I am not getting the alarm anymore. Next spring I will install two 6 V deep cycle batteries in series instead of two 12 V in parallel. This way, none of 2 batteries will limit the charging capacity of the other.

[Captain_Rick1]

Before you make an expensive mistake check to ensure you do not have a 24V bow thruster...sure sounds like it's a 24V system. The problems you describe could be either bad battery AND/OR bad ground. Normally corrosion is to blame. Need to check all connectors starting at the bow back to battery distribution connectors. There should be a terminal connector plate in the engine room very near the BT batteries.

[SeaMax]

Suggest you first ideneify the batteries for the thruster. If you have two and they are series connected, you have a 24v thruster. Remove the cables and do a load test on each battery separately. Also if 24v, you will have a separate charger for those two batteries and they will not be connected to your alternators.