Electrical Problems w/ 2007 Chaparral ssi190

[smschap190]

I am fairly new to the boating world. I bought my 2007 Chaparral 190ssi w/ the 4.3l mercruiser V6 and Alpha1 lower unit brand new in March of 2007. I've had the boat for over a year now and it has been problem free up till now. I've had it out 3 times this year so far. Before I went out on my 3rd trip I realized I didn't turn off the power to the boat and I possibly left the depth finder on from the previous week. Well, I had no problem turning it over. It started right up so I knew the battery wasn't dead. I then decided to try to blow up a tube using my pump that I plug into the acc power(cigerette lighter outlet). It didn't turn on. So I then tried other switches on the dash. The depth finder worked but then I would try the radio or blower then there was nothing, not even the depth finder would work, but if I turned the other switches off and left the depth finder on, the display for the depth finder would pop back on. It sounds like the battery is dead but if that was the case the boat wouldn't turn over either. Last night in my driveway I tried to clean the battery terminals and connectors with a wire brush then I tightened up the wingnuts w/ some pliers just enough so you can't loosen them up w/ your hand but I still don't have any accessories that work. I checked all the circuit breakers that i could find(back by the battery, on top of the manifold near the throttle body, and the circuit board under the dash). Is there something I'm missing? Please help! I have some mechanical knowledge when it come to cars but the boat seems like its in a different league or I'm scared to screw something up!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Electrical Problems w/ 2007 Chaparral ssi190

First of all, get rid of the wing nuts and get some stainless steel lock nuts.

Then start measuring voltages at various places before and after you turn something on. I would start by getting a multimeter and getting a long lead with alligator clips on both ends so that you can connect to the ground right at the battery. You need to make all of you measurements referenced to the battery ground. basically, you are going to be measuring for voltage drops and you need just one reference.

1) Measure the voltage at the fuse panel with no loads on.
2) Measure with a load on...like the blower.
3) Measure the ground at the fuse block with a load on. It should be close to zero volts. Any significant voltage read at this point indicates you have a resistive ground connection somewhere.

You should get battery voltage for tests 1 and 2. If you have battery voltage for test #1 and it is lower for test #2, you have a resistive connection somewhere.

 

[PondTunes]

Re: Electrical Problems w/ 2007 Chaparral ssi190

go double check your fuses you might need to use a meter to verify that they are in fact good. A fuse can visibly look good and still be shot. Failing that while you've got your meter out check the main accessory feed and see if you have +12v going to the fuse panel. If so it's a problem towards the switches if not its further back towards the battery.

 

[smschap190]

Re: Electrical Problems w/ 2007 Chaparral ssi190

i appreciate your input. my buddy has a voltmeter and we are going to go through it sometime this week hopefully. My boat does not have a fuse panel. It has a circuit breaker board under the dash and I checked all of those and none seemed to be tripped. It also has a main 50 amp circuit breaker by the battery in the back and that also doesn't seem to be tripped. There is another 50 amp circuit breaker on top of the manifold near the throttle body. I noticed a red button which seemed to be tripped so I pushed it and a little yellow lever flipped down. I then tried turning the key over and I had nothing, not even a audible tone one gets before starting the boat. I then reset that circuit breaker by flipping that little yellow lever back up and was able to get the audible tone back and was able to turn it over. So that one is the main breaker for the motor but I am still stumped until I start to go through some wiring to see if I have a connection loose somewhere. The tach and speedo work as well as the hour meter on the dash but I have nothing else that seems to work right now. Please keep the info coming! Thanks!

 

[smschap190]

Re: Electrical Problems w/ 2007 Chaparral ssi190

I found the short! It was in the white box next to the battery that houses the 50amp circuit breaker and the on/off power switch to the battery. Behind that a 12-14gage wire that attaches to the 50 amp breaker came loose. It is held on by a 3/8" nut. It was extremely loose, so I cranked it down w/ a wrench and everything seems to work now. Why wouldn't they have used a lock washer of some sort to prevent that from happening is beyond me. Oh well it's fixed and now it's coming time for me to enjoy my trip to the Ozarks! Peace Out!