We got up about normal for us, 7 am or so. Had our breakfast and did our devotions. The only thing on the schedule for today is for Jesus Salas Phoenix Multiservice, to come by and look at/fix the alternator on the engine. He is the guy who fixed the bow-thruster the other day. He did a great job the with that, saving me a ton of work doing the wrong thing. So, that is what I am hoping for again.
I expected Jesus in the morning, but he did not show up and until early afternoon. He went right to work, first thing he did was figure out that the alternator was not a problem. We then took some time exploring what and how my system works. I now know hot the smart controller for the alternator works. I also know what to look for there, as it has a screen that only displays when the alternator is running. To see this I have to open the door on the side of the engine room and look across to see it. I normally rely on the video camera in the engine room to see what is going on in there, but the camera does not see that screen, so now I have another thing to do periodically.
We also checked to see if the alternator was charging the house bank (it was) and the engine start battery (it was as well). I really need to get a clamp on amp meter, this is the second time in recent history that I have seen a need for one. I will be picking one up this summer when we are back in the states.
Bottom line, what we think might be the issue with the discharged engine start battery is that it could be:
1. A conflict between the alternator and the solar controller
- dirty contacts on the alternator or the smart controller or something.
but at this point there is nothing wrong. All three batteries are fully charged, the alternator is working, both of the battery chargers are working, and the solar panels and charge controller are working too.
On another subject, Renee’ and I worked on our plan for going north to Puerto Penasco. We have decided that will haul out up there. The cost is reasonable, it is close to the boarder and we have heard good things about the yard as well. So, we made reservations for haul out on May 11, 2020. We have to be there within a week of that date or there will be higher fees for the haul out. Or possibly no room, especially if we are too late.
It is about 250 miles from here to there. We have about 49 days to get there, if we average 3 days per stop that gives us about 16 stops on the way up. So, we have some planning to do.
We do have room for guests, if anyone is interested in visiting and spending a week or so with us, drop us a line and we will coordinate. What you have to do/have is you need a passport and will need to be able to get to where we are when you are going to be down. When we know what time frame you are thinking about we can let you know where we expect to be so that you can make your travel arrangements.
If you want to know where we are, click this link:
https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Make_Me_Laugh_Again
Oh, and no pictures again today.
My sister has a condo in Puerto Peñasco. I’ll see if she and her husband will be in town while you are there!