how to wire boat lights, bilge pump and livewell

[rosser1]

hello, i have a 1979 hustler with a 90hp, but all my switches on my dash dont work, and i am pretty sure most of the wires are no good, i found a couple of wires that were not connected to anything. just looking for instructions or diagrams. thanks

[Splat]

Go to the wiring trolling motors forum and look in the sticky at the top of the page.

Very good diagrams there.

Bill

[5150abf]

Poke around and make sure it isn't something as simple as a fuse.

If you are gonna start from scratch you need a ground wire running the length of the boat, connect all your grounds to that 1 ground wire.

Run a POS from the battery to the dash, hook your whatever you want on that switch to the switch then the other side of the switch to the POS wire, it really is that simple, do one thing at a time and it doesn't hurt to label the wires when you run them.

[dedios]

What about fuses? Just wondering..

[Silvertip]

You really need to study up on the low voltage wiring basics. There are lots of books in the library but below is a sample of a single circuit from battery to fuse panel to switch to device and back to ground. That's as simple as I can make it. Any device whether it is a bilge pump, radio, light, or motor all are wired the same way.



And if that doesn't help, maybe this one will.

[26aftcab454]

common sense will take you a long way --it is not that hard -buy quality over quantity materials.

[Silvertip]

16 gauge wire will be large enough for most accessories. Trolling motors are another issue and require #6, #8, or #10 wire depending on the size of the troller and length of the cable run.

[dedios]

Stupid question... the wires should be marine grade right?

[Silvertip]

Salt water -- Yes. Fresh water -- preferable but not an absolute must!