26' TOLLYCRAFT electrical

[Steve Kraus]

Members**  have been very gracious to assist with electrical info on a late build 1986  26'.

It would be helpful to have some pictures of the engine compartment battery setup. Perhaps identifying which is the dedicated start battery; AND how  the house battery( or batteries )are wired.

** Namely Brian and Dennis. thanks,steve

[Brian Edmondson]

Hi Steve,

Here is a place to start.  I took photos of the drawings that I have and have uploaded them here.  The "Guest Battery Switch" drawings are clear and useful.  The Tollycraft electrical drawings appear to be copies of copies, and the drafting hand lettering was too stylized to begin with, so much of the text is hard to read.  Scanning them on a high-res scanner might produce better results. Before spending a lot of time on this, I wanted you to get an idea of what they look like and what they hold.  The "255 Mercruiser" appears to simply be a common example.  I would be surprised if they actually created a diagram for each power package.  My 1983 came from the factory with a Crussder 270 (HP) and a V-drive.

Let me know whatchathinkee.

Brian Edmondson

Kent, WA

[Brian Edmondson]

Hi Steve,

One additional note.  You originally asked about battery wiring and that's part of the reason I posted up the Guest battery switch drawing.  While those drawings are useful, I'm going to be researching and selecting a more modern system as I believe some valuable improvements have been made in the area of battery switching.  Those "Off, Bank A, Bank B, Both" switches are everywhere and they are not all the same.  With some switches you can damage your alternator when switching from A to B while the engine is running because in between the A & B circuits the charging current has no place to go.  I have NO idea when they fixed this or if these old style switches are still sold.  My OEM switch was one of these old style switches, but it also had an isolator.  That said, I'm not certain the old isolator was designed or wired to protect the alternator.  I will share what I learn in the process of selecting my switching system.  Right now, this information only serves the understanding that we need to know more.  There are some very serious issues related to battery switching.  We need to get it right.