Flashing Red LED on Bavaria Shore Power Panel

Jon magowan

Jon magowan

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I have a 2013, Bavaria 33 Cruiser. It has a ‘302’ shore power panel.

Recently a red LED started to flash on the panel when connected to shore power. Actually it is steady sometimes and flashing other times and sometimes just disappears altogether. When the red LED is present I don’t appear to have shore power onboard. I have had the boat for about 6 months and had no problem with the shore power up until now.

The red LED is labelled “POL”.

The owners manual is not too helpful but says something about reverse poles.

Has anybody seen this before ?

Where do I start to look to diagnose this fault ?

Could it be a problem with the supply from the pontoon ?

Any suggestions, as always, very gratefully received !

Regards to all.
 
Thanks ithet. The thing is, I’ve been plugged into the same supply at my marina (Plymouth Yacht Haven) on and off for the last 6 months and this problem has only just appeared.
 
I would report to marina that you shorepower is showing polarity reverse and get them to check. There might have been some wiring update ashore. You could double check that it's not your system
by using a 13A polarity tester plugged in to a 16A - 13A lead direct on the pontoon box (so not via your boat system at all).
 
Do you always plug in to the same socket? Where we are moored, two of the four outlets are phase reversed and the other two are correct!
 
It could also be a loose or faulty neutral connection within the Dock supply, not on the boat, if the voltage of the neutral rises too much above earth, it will show the same pol indication.

Get the marina to urgently check their installation.
 
Jon magowan said:
I have a 2013, Bavaria 33 Cruiser. It has a ‘302’ shore power panel.

Recently a red LED started to flash on the panel when connected to shore power. Actually it is steady sometimes and flashing other times and sometimes just disappears altogether. When the red LED is present I don’t appear to have shore power onboard. I have had the boat for about 6 months and had no problem with the shore power up until now.

The red LED is labelled “POL”.

The owners manual is not too helpful but says something about reverse poles.

Has anybody seen this before ?

Where do I start to look to diagnose this fault ?

Could it be a problem with the supply from the pontoon ?

Any suggestions, as always, very gratefully received !

Regards to all.
Click to expand...
You say you "Don't appear to have shore power on board" Is it connected at this stage and just appears to be "Not available" or what? Do you have an isolation transformer and or a Galvanic Isolator? Are you on a drying berth or continually afloat, or are you in a yard?
I came across a similar problem with a boat which when in the yard or dried out lost the "Earth connection" from the transformer and showed reverse polarity.
More likely to be your installation as the shore supply won't swop polarity.
More info please!
Edit: I could be a bad connection anywhere between the shore outlet and somewhere in your system. May be worth checking the shore connection lead and doing a continuity test on the cable if you don't find any bad connections in the plug or socket.
 
Last edited:
That may have been my boat Alec. After studying the wiring diagrams I found a strap was missing that bonded all the boat earths together on the boat side of the galvanic isolator. When I fitted the strap the polarity light performs normally. As you suggest I would look at the boat electrics first.
 
CJU said:
That may have been my boat Alec. After studying the wiring diagrams I found a strap was missing that bonded all the boat earths together on the boat side of the galvanic isolator. When I fitted the strap the polarity light performs normally. As you suggest I would look at the boat electrics first.
Click to expand...
(y):p
 
starfire said:
It could also be a loose or faulty neutral connection within the Dock supply, not on the boat, if the voltage of the neutral rises too much above earth, it will show the same pol indication.

Get the marina to urgently check their installation.
Click to expand...

Or perhaps more likely in the shorepower connection cable.

Possibly a loose neutral connection in one of the end connectors or a break in the neutral wire.

I'd check the end connectors and also check the cable ( all three wires) for continuity.
I'd also check the boat wiring for loose connections ( or breaks) between the shore connector and the shorepower panel.
 
Also useful if you have space to have a couple of shower power leads and a connector so if worried about the marina plug socket you can reach another socket by joint together and some spare plugs as the plugs do rust . Marina will have a nifty tester on a short lead to check the plug socket I’m sure.
 
Thanks everybody.
Skylark, why did you change the 32A male plug, what about the other connectors, why did you suspect this plug in particular?
 
Jon magowan said:
Thanks everybody.
Skylark, why did you change the 32A male plug, what about the other connectors, why did you suspect this plug in particular?
Click to expand...
Jon, I opened both, plug and socket and found socket connections good but one inner wire in the plug ready to fail. The outer wire anchor mechanism had worked lose over 10 years of use and was ready to pull/break one of the inner wires, L or N, can't recall, out of its screw connector. I had two symptoms, one was difficulty in establishing connection, the other was intermittent reverse polarity LED illuminating. I cleaned the socket and replaced the plug, problems solved.
 
Hi Jon
did you get this resolved? I have a Bavaria 37ht - landpower works fine. I have placed a battery and an inverter to have 230V on the boat when on the water. When I activate the Inverter (landpower disconnected) I see the POL light on and the panel will not allow 230V to the boat...
Any ideas?
BR Soren
 
Isn't French (and German, Dutch etc.) custom to use double pole switching so phase reversal isn't really an issue? Certainly when travelling for work, the chances of an EU to UK distribution being reversed is about 50:50.
 
sfleron said:
Hi Jon
did you get this resolved? I have a Bavaria 37ht - landpower works fine. I have placed a battery and an inverter to have 230V on the boat when on the water. When I activate the Inverter (landpower disconnected) I see the POL light on and the panel will not allow 230V to the boat...
Any ideas?
BR Soren
Click to expand...
Hello,
The situation seems to have resolved itself. I get an occasional flash of the red LED ‘pol’ light but it generally stays off. Pretty sure it’s down to the shore supply and not a problem with the boat. Sorry I can’t be more specific.
 
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