Shore power clicking sound - what is it?

[Smoothgred]

Hi all,

We have bought our first boat a Doral Monticello motor cruiser 25', had it surveyed, trialled etc and have spent our first night on board and we're loving it!!

She is at a marina in Plymouth and is connected to the shore power supply.

Throughout the night there was a regular click sound every 12 seconds which was followed by a different sound click a few seconds later whilst the shore power was connected.

To try and identify the source I had turned off the battery charger, same clicking continued, also turned off the mains switch on the panel in the cabin, still clicked.

It sounds like a circuit breaker is opening then resetting.

I have removed the shore power until I know if it is a fault or not.

Before I call an electrician do any of you have an idea of what this could be?

Any help appreciated.
Regards
Smoothgred

[mlines]

Sounds a bit like a voltage switching relay (VSR) which is faulty or not sensing correctly. Could be in anything from the charging input circuits to the battery charger to the fridge (trying to switch between mains and battery)

Martin

[Ianfs]

Congrats on your boat purchase, what a great choice.

+1 for Martin's suggestion. Just a further idea though, is the clicking definitely inside the boat? Could it be a noisy shore power meter?

Also, could it be something to do with the rear cockpit seat switch. We looked at one which was sticking and it had a strange clicking when the seat was returned to its normal position.

[Smoothgred]

Thanks guys,
It obviously isn't right so I'll get an electrical engineer to check it out.
Thanks for your help.

[Ianfs]

Let us know what he finds.