10 marine troubleshooting
NEW METHOD
OLD METHOD
SYMPTOM
Battery Chargers and Inverters (2)Inverter DC input: Test amperage draw and excessive voltage drop from the battery supply with a
diagnostic meter (Chapter 2).Using a conventional multimeter, perform multiple steps using a “split” shore cord adapter to take voltage and current
measurements in the hot, neutral, and ground conductors. This method doesn’t have the advantages of data logging.Low AC output
voltage.Batteries keep
going dead. The charger
is functioning, and the
batteries have been tested
and should be able
to accept a charge.NEW METHOD
OLD METHOD
SYMPTOM
Battery Chargers and Inverters (3)Battery charger DC output: An oscilloscope (Chapter 7), or other DVOM with data-logging
capability, perhaps connected to a laptop computer if an intermittent problem is suspected
(Chapter 8), would be a great choice for tracking both amperage and voltage outputs over
time.Using a conventional multimeter, perform multiple steps using a "split" shore cord adapter to take voltage and current
measurements in the hot, neutral, and ground conductors. This method doesn’t have the advantages of data logging.Battery charger AC input: Use the SureTest tool to use to confirm proper power supply to the battery
charger (Chapter 4).Using a conventional multimeter, perform multiple steps using a “split” shore cord adapter to take voltage and current
measurements in the hot, neutral, and ground conductors. This method doesn't have the advantages of data logging.NEW METHOD
OLD METHOD
No output
from the battery
charger.Battery Chargers and Inverters (4)