wiring a 3rd battery

how do you wire a 3rd battery

What's the set up in your boat now? and what are you powering?

I assume you are wiring 3 12vdc batteries together? First, you want to make sure all 3 batteries have similar ratings as far as amp hours go. You want to wire them parallel so you add together the amps, but keep the output at 12 volts. All of the negatives should be connected together and all of the positives, then one of the positives will run to your main supply connection and one of the grounds to your main ground. Make sense?

(Message edited by drknute3 on October 26, 2008)

There are lots of correct ways to add additional batteries, but IMHO, it's best to add a means of isolating the primary starting battery from your accessory "House" bank by either a manual switch or an electronic device such a the Blue Sea ACR or diode type isolator.

The Set up i am thinking about doing this winter is to run three batteries in parallel with a manual 4 way switch, with the amps connected to the second. But for the third batt i would have a simple cut off switch between the second and third. My thinking is that i will start the day with three fully charged batteries and run the 4 way switch on both but with the third battery cut off. When its time to party i will select the switch to Batt 2 only and close the switch for the third battery and run on the second and third for the tunes. When its time to head out i will select the 4 way switch to 1 only and be good to go. Of coarse the tunes might not work but by then you'll probably be tired of music anyways. When I put the boat up I will charge batts two and three at home, all this so the alternator will not be overloaded.

But what i am not sure of is that if I can safely run a kinetic or stinger battery on the third, I want to do this cause those batts rest at over 13 volts.

my set up now is i have 2 batterys with aperko switch the stereo system that going in this winter is 2 kicker 700.5 and a wet sounds sny 4 i dont know if i need a third battery

Just wire the third battery to the stereo battery in parallel. This will give you two stereo batteries and one boat battery.

Postive to Positive
Negative to Negative

thanks thats what i'll do