Rewiring my start battery wall

[Mike]

After running into several concerning issues with my engine start batteries, I decided to completely rip apart the stock battery cabling on my Nav 4800.  I decided to do this because I noticed several concerning issues.

1. Old charger - No temp monitoring and aging gear without a status panel
2. Excess cabling - too much extra cabling on the wall and under the floors just sitting in the bilge
3. Battery terminals overloaded - the terminals had up to 4 connections
4. Lead acid batteries used automotive connectors
5. Stiff cables - these get very stiff with age
6. No fuses - No protection
7. No temp monitor - No protection 
8. Glass fuse block - older fuse block and cheap quality
9. No inverter or thruster battery alternator charging
10. Extra devices without a fuse block
11. Non-labeled cabling - remove and trace all wires and add labeling

So my plan was to remove all parts from this wall and rewire with buss-bars and updated electronics.  I also removed the house cable loop and terminated it near the new inverter at the front of the engine room.  Cables shortened and zip tied so they are no longer sitting on the bilge floor or draped over engine mounts.

Here's a photo of the start of my project (during the flooded acid battery removal)

 

Photo of the floor with batteries removed.

And finally with most of the wall components removed.

[Mike]

If you notice there's a single 2/0 cable in the center with a switch and fuse.  This is for the house panel which was originally connected to a single 8D in the battery bank.  If you see my other posts, this battery was completely fried which is what prompted this work.

[Mike]

I then tried fitting different battery solutions on the floor.

Group 31:

These are a good option and would work fine.  However, there are literally no box options for dual or quad G31's on the market.  My G31 placement tests were done using the batteries from my thruster bank.

[Mike]

I then found a good solution using G24's and an 8D box.  A good substitute if you don't want to move around the large 8D batteries yourself.

[Mike]

My battery choices still in the air, I decided to start installing the new battery bus bars.  I'm using the Victron Class T Power In and a Victron Distributor (both M10 versions).  I decided to install these in the center bottom of the wall.  The Class T power in gives me battery protection while the distributor gives me a fused connection to each engine plus the generator.

 

[Mike]

I wasn't able to stretch the ground wire from the starboard engine any further, so that's essentially what controlled my placement on the wall.  In this configuration, I will need to run a new ground wire for the generator because it's too short.  I'm also planning to replace that glass fuse panel and relocate the A/C outlet once I have everything installed on the wall.

Did you also notice that beautiful newly painted floor?  Bilge paint specifically designed for engine rooms.