Navigation and anchor lights

Ok well i bought this boat and the guy told me everything works but it dont so now im trying to figure out the lights. I have been reading and theres so many ways people say to wire the lights its ridiculous and confusing. Its an 80 model ebko. I am going to run wires without the fuse box so how should i run them? From what ive read run a wire from the + on batt to a fuse then to the bows red wire then from bows black wire go to the sterns positive,then from the sterns negative go to the power switch then on the other side of the switch go to the negative batt terminal??? or run all the negatives to the neg batt terminal then run a fused wire from + terminal to the power on switch and then run the stern and bows positive to the other two prongs on the switch??? I havent bought a switch yet so any suggestions on anything would be nice.Thanks

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Also the tach and speedometer dont work how to i go about wiring them up also

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

oklacountryboy87 said:

Ok well i bought this boat and the guy told me everything works but it dont so now im trying to figure out the lights. I have been reading and theres so many ways people say to wire the lights its ridiculous and confusing. Its an 80 model ebko. I am going to run wires without the fuse box so how should i run them? From what ive read run a wire from the + on batt to a fuse then to the bows red wire then from bows black wire go to the sterns positive,then from the sterns negative go to the power switch then on the other side of the switch go to the negative batt terminal??? or run all the negatives to the neg batt terminal then run a fused wire from + terminal to the power on switch and then run the stern and bows positive to the other two prongs on the switch??? I havent bought a switch yet so any suggestions on anything would be nice.Thanks

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The 1st way u mentioned like in a series doesn't seem right to me.

You want the bow and stern lights to be able to come on different switches so at anchor the stern light is on and bow lights are off. And both need to be on underway. There is a single switch that has different connections behind it to accomplish this but I do not know the correct name for it, so don't wanna give u wrong info. Mine are connected to two separate switches one for the bow and one for the stern.

I would wire positive (+) from both bow lights together and back to the switch, and grounds together back to (-) terminal block under dash. Never seen wiring in series like that except for on batteries and stereo speakers.

Maybe someone else will have the switch info for you.

Good luck.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

The tach has a switched power and ground to turn it on,

as well as a switched power to the same switch as your bow lights to turn on the back lite of the gauge.

There is a sense wire usually grey color that goes from the tach to the (-) terminal on the coil.

I do not have my speedo connected because I use the speed off my fishfinder and GPS, gauge to me is a waste.

Check out this link with wiring diagrams:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=186986

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

oklacountryboy87 said:

Ok well i bought this boat and the guy told me everything works but it dont so now im trying to figure out the lights. I have been reading and theres so many ways people say to wire the lights its ridiculous and confusing. Its an 80 model ebko. I am going to run wires without the fuse box so how should i run them? From what ive read run a wire from the + on batt to a fuse then to the bows red wire then from bows black wire go to the sterns positive,then from the sterns negative go to the power switch then on the other side of the switch go to the negative batt terminal??? or run all the negatives to the neg batt terminal then run a fused wire from + terminal to the power on switch and then run the stern and bows positive to the other two prongs on the switch??? I havent bought a switch yet so any suggestions on anything would be nice.Thanks

Click to expand...

Stop right there!

It's safe to assume that the lights worked when the boat was new so why re-invent something?

You're much better off finding and fixing the problem and having everything the way it was designed.

First, check all the lamps. Check them with an ohm meter or better yet, by substituting "known good" lamps. The PO may have just let them all burn out without replacing them. Now, check the fuse or circuit breaker. If it's a fuse, again, check with a meter or a known good fuse of the sme value. If it's a circuit breaker, check it with a meter.

Check the lamp sockets for loose connections or corroded contacts. Check all the wiring terminals for corrosion or loose connections. Undo them, clean the metal surfaces with emery cloth and then reinstall them. Remember that an electrical circuit needs both positive and negative connections.

If none of the above corrects your problem, you have two choices - take it to a pro and have the problem properly repaired or buy a book on boat wiring, study it, and then try to repair it yourself. I suggest hiring a pro. It will be quick, it will be right and safe, and you can go boating

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

rwidman said:

Stop right there!

It's safe to assume that the lights worked when the boat was new so why re-invent something?

You're much better off finding and fixing the problem and having everything the way it was designed.

First, check all the lamps. Check them with an ohm meter or better yet, by substituting "known good" lamps. The PO may have just let them all burn out without replacing them. Now, check the fuse or circuit breaker. If it's a fuse, again, check with a meter or a known good fuse of the sme value. If it's a circuit breaker, check it with a meter.

Check the lamp sockets for loose connections or corroded contacts. Check all the wiring terminals for corrosion or loose connections. Undo them, clean the metal surfaces with emery cloth and then reinstall them. Remember that an electrical circuit needs both positive and negative connections.

If none of the above corrects your problem, you have two choices - take it to a pro and have the problem properly repaired or buy a book on boat wiring, study it, and then try to repair it yourself. I suggest hiring a pro. It will be quick, it will be right and safe, and you can go boating

Click to expand...

Ignore what I said: this is a better answer.
That link I gave does have a good instrument diagram. Try fixing what you have first.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Here are two diagrams for Nav/Anchor lights. Understand that they operate as follows so you cannot wire the +12 (hot) wires together and have the lights work properly.

1) Underway you need the bow AND stern lights on.
2) At anchor, ONLY the stern light is to be lit.

There are three basic types of switches for this light system. Which one you have determines how it is wired.

1) Single knob, IN = off, pull one click out = NAV/ANCHOR, two clicks out = anchor only or the first and second clicks may be reversed. I don't have a diagram for that switch.
2) You can have two separate switches. One for the bow light and one for the stern. Those get wired like any other device. Fuse panel to switch, out the switch to the light and ground back to BAT negative or the ground buss.
3A) Three position (ON-OFF-ON) toggle switch with three terminals. This diagram is below and the diode shown IS REQUIRED and is available at Radio Shack.



3B) Three position (ON-OFF-ON) toggle switch with six terminals. This diagram is below. No diode required.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

alright thanks guys i did test the anchor light today with a simple power tester one that looks like a screw driver and lights up when theres power. both wires on the stern light up so im assuming its the prongs on the light because the bulb looked good eay fix but on the bow there was no power. The switch thats in it now is the on-off-on switch which seems pretty easy ive done wiring in cars before as i used to customize but this is a different scence for me. Silverline i did see those two diagrams in alot of other forums because i did search a little before i posted this but i was wondering on the bow ground does that go to a ground of front or run back to the battery negative terminal? if it grounds up front where would that be i thought the only two grounds on a boat were on the motor and the actual battery itself?

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

oklacountryboy87 said:

.................i thought the only two grounds on a boat were on the motor and the actual battery itself?

Click to expand...

No, there is usually a negative (ground) buss (terminal strip) where the negative wires from the lights, radios, DC outlets, etc. connect. There will be a heavier wire from the negative buss back to the battery. There can be more than one negative buss on a boat.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Ground is where you fiind it. It always puzzles me when people say they can wire a car but they are lost on a boat. Don't know why that is because electricity behave exactly the same way on both. The path is the same: Positive terminal of the battery to a main fuse or breaker, to the fuse panel, to a circuit-specific fuse or breaker, into a switch, out the switch to the light (or whatever), out the light on the ground side and back to the battery via a ground bus or directly to the battery. The only real difference on a boat is grounds are not tied to a metal hull like in a car. And that is a rather "ify" statement because if you bolt an outboard to an aluminum boat the hull of the boat just became grounded. So there ya go! Same - same.

The central ground for the boat is indeed the negative terminal of the battery but it makes absolutely no sense to run ALL ground wires all the way back there from every device regardless where it is in the boat.. Why not just use a larger #10 wire and run it from the negative terminal of the battery up to a ground bus either on the fuse panel or to a separate bus bar. All grounds from the various devices can then be connected there. So -- follow the wire on the negative terminal of the battery to the front of the boat. wherever it goes, more than likely somewhere under the console, is where that wire ends. THAT is also ground. The large negative cable going to the engine block is also ground. So - as I said, ground is where you find it. Electricity doesn't care "where" ground is. It just needs that path to get back to the battery.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Alright thanks for the explanation I wasn't meaning to make it sound rude or anything I just like to understand how everything works and can see it in my head I appreciate it. I can see where you get frustrated answering the same questions over and over again as I see your name everywhere and I know to go to guy now because this boat has become more problems than I thought. he told me it was ready to go that day and being a first time buyer on a boat I was dumb

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

I'm not trying to upset you and I'm certainly not grumpy over anything in this thread. Trying to help is all but as I said, I am simply puzzled when folks jump from a car to a boat electrics and are baffled. Ain't no difference in how electricity works.

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Oh I know haha I was just making sure we were on the same page its been a while since I've done any work on a car though so I'm having to refresh myself with electricity. I just didn't understand the grounding and the on off on switch thank you though ill try and figure this out. I'm sure ill have plenty more questions about this darn boat

Re: Navigation and anchor lights

Ok maybe I'm over looking something but I have tested the bow and stern light with a simple light up volt tester even up to the bulb connections it it getting power I went bought new bulbs today put them in turned on the master and still no lights anywhere now I'm stumped I've never seen such a thing