ProSafe 1
Monitor Installation and Trouble Shooting Overview

The ProSafe 1 Monitor System consists of three components. The Zinc Saver, the Main Control Unit and the Display Panel.

The Zinc Saver is spliced in to the green wire coming from the shore cable. There are two ¼” gold plated terminal studs on the right and left side of the unit. The stud marked SHORE GROUND is connected to the green wire going off the boat to the dock post. It is the only connection made to this green wire. The 1/4 “ gold stud marked BONDING SYSTEM is connected to the on board Main AC Grounding Buss.

The Main Control Unit has four connections to be made.

1. The Brown (line) and Blue (neutral) are connected to the input side of the AC main breaker and the Green (ground) is connected to the AC bonding system buss bar. The AC NEUTRAL and LINE are used to power the monitor. The Neutral wire is also used in the ground wire test.

2. There is a small diameter “sense” cable with 4 pin connectors on both ends. This cable plugs into the main unit on one end and into the Zinc Saver on the other end. Through this cable the ground wire test and the Galvanic Isolator test are performed.

3 . The cable from the display unit plugs into the side of the Main Control Unit just next to the sense cable connector.

Use of the ProSafe 1 Ground Wire, Galvanic Isolator Monitor

Automatic Operation: To use your ProSafe 1 Monitor the following steps are suggested: Be sure your main AC panel breaker is in the off position. Also be sure your dock post AC breaker is in the off position. Attach both ends of the vessel shore cord, one end to the power inlet on your vessel, then the other to the dock post receptacle. Turn on the dock post breaker. The presence of AC on the input side of the Main Panel Breaker will activate the ProSafe 1 Monitor. After the ProSafe Monitor cycles through it’s test it will display the condition of the shore ground wire and of the Galvanic Isolator. The ProSafe 1 Monitor will repeat this test automatically every 3 hours.
Manual Operation: To operate the ProSafe 1 Monitor manually you simply press the “TEST” button on the display panel, wait for the test to complete (about 5 seconds) and read the displayed test results.

Interpretation of test results.

The display consists of six LEDs, three green and three red. The three green LEDs should be lit to show proper polarity, good ground wire continuity and a good galvanic isolator.
A Reverse Polarity Red LED indicates that the line and neutral wires are reversed. Unless you have had recent electrical work done on your AC electrical system or shore cords this is typically a fault of the receptacle your shore cord is plugged into. This needs to be corrected as it enhances the chance of accidentally having 110vac (220vac in Europe) on the vessels bonding system. NOTE: Because of how the ground wire testing is done a reverse polarity hook-up also will show a FAIL to the ground wire. By rectifying the reverse polarity problem the ground wire problem will most probably also be rectified.

A Ground Wire Red LED indicates that the ground wire (green wire) is not connected to the shore properly. The fault can be caused by the green wire being open, or disconnected, by a bad connection at the Galvanic Isolator, shore cord plug, in the dock plug or even the metal tip of the plug itself not making good contact. It can also be caused by the ground wire not being connected to the neutral back on the dock (a requirement under the N.E.C. (National Electrical Code)

A Galvanic Isolator Red LED indicates that there has been a failure of the Galvanic Isolator. The Galvanic Isolator can fail as a short or an open. As a short it will no longer isolate the boat in a low level DC manner and will increase your erosion of your zincs. As an open you no longer have AC ground protection to your bonding system. Both situations are cause for concern, the later being a life threatening situation. If the galvanic isolator shows a FAIL it should be replaced without hesitation due to this danger.

With any of the above faults present and because of the possibility of high AC voltages on the bonding system it is highly recommended that the vessel’s shore cord be disconnected until a marine technician can determine and repair the fault.

To silence the audible alarm: In the event of a Fail condition it is preferred to be able to use your 110/220 volt systems without the presence of the audible alarm it can be silenced by holding the test button in until the alarm silences. The alarm will stay silent while leaving the FAIL LED illuminated. This does not rectify the fail condition and it is still imperative that the reverse polarity condition, ground wire or Isolator be checked for a fault and the fault repaired.

Troubleshooting

Because of the presence of deadly high voltages troubleshooting should be done by qualified service personnel only.

To troubleshoot a Reverse Polarity FAIL indication please follow these steps:

1. Turn off the AC panel “main breaker”.

2. Using a volt meter, check the voltage between the green wire and white/blue wire at the main breaker input side. If the reading is not less then 6 volts (typical) and is instead close to or over 100 volts AC this is an indication of Reverse Polarity.

3. If there has been no recent electrical work on the boat and/or you have moved to a different dock it is probable that the reverse polarity is caused by a mis-wired electrical outlet in the dock post. This can be tested by checking the voltage between the ground and neutral slots in the connector of the dock post using the same results as above.

4. It is important to rectify this problem as it is the first of two mistakes that in conjunction will cause there to be high voltage on the bonding system of the boat.

To troubleshoot a Ground Wire FAIL indication please follow these steps:

WARNING! DO NOT PERFORM THIS TEST IF THE PROSAFE 1 IS INDICATING A “REVERSE POLARITY FAIL”. INSTALLING THE JUMPER WIRE IN STEP 2 BELOW DURING A REVERSE POLARITY CONDITION WILL PUT HIGH VOLTAGE ONTO THE BONDING SYSTEM. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING CONDITION!

1. Be sure the shore power cable is disconnected at the dock post.

2. Using a length of jumper wire (18 ga. or larger) connect one end to the neutral wire (connection location of the ProSafe 1 blue wire) and the other end to the shore ground wire (“AC Shore Ground” stud on the Galvanic Isolator). With the boat AC main breaker in the off position reconnect the AC shore cord to the dock post and turn on the dock post breaker. After the four second test the display should show a NORMAL condition on the “Ground Wire” indicator. With the display showing NORMAL during this simulation the problem could be a defective shore cable or shore cable connector or faulty ground/neutral connection dockside. In the event you are new at this dock and the ProSafe 1 has not given you a FAIL indication at your previous dockage it is likely, and has often been found that the ground and neutral at this new dock are not properly terminated. This situation will require the dock electrical be inspected. If the ProSafe 1 shows a fail during this test of the system then the ProSafe 1 has failed and needs replacement.

3. UPON COMPLETION it is imperative that you disconnect the shore cord from the dock post and then remove the jumper wire. Not removing this jumper is an infraction of the recommendations of ABYC and creates a danger of stray AC currents on the bonding system of the boat.

To troubleshoot a Galvanic Isolator FAIL indication please follow these steps.

1. Disconnect the shore cord at the dock post.

Check the connection point of the four wire connector to the Galvanic Isolator. Look for corroded pins or broken wires. Using a quality Digital Multi-Meter with the test selector in the diode test position test from stud to stud of the Galvanic Isolator. Test in both directions. Measurements should be between .8 volts and 1.0 volts with a difference between readings of less then 0.075 volts.

For more information call 603-433-4440