wire i dont know what it is...

well i have 2 ?s one is that i have...

1. i have a green looks like a pigs tale and i dont know where it goes to, it looks like maybe its for the gas tank?????

2. i have 2 brand new batts fully charged and when i go to put the key to acc the volt meter only shows 8 to 9 volts and when motor is running its only 13 to 14 volts....

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

It would help if we knew what you are workiing on! 13 to 14 volts is normal and indicates the batteries are charging. The green wire is the bonding wire that should be attached to several places. The metal filler neck (if you have one) for the fuel tank. for the metal ring on the fuel sender, and to the engine block or the negative terminal of the battery.

As for the 8 - 9 volt reading, check the VOLATGE DROP post on this same topic just above yours. No sense going through this same thing again.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

89 sunbird braletta 229 with a omc 5.0 chevy........ ok so when i turn on my nav lights on the volt goes past the numbers and also my oil meter goes past the numbers put if i turn on both my front/back lights then my volt goes past 0 and my oil goes past 80 psi now this is with my motor off..... i think i found out is that someone sent two wires a red and black from the batt to the ing switch so if i remove them wire nothing in the boat works....

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

You have me totally confused. You mention the nav lights and then the front and back lights. They ARE the NAV lights. Look at the stickies at the very top of this forum (not this page) and check the Generic Boat Wiring Diagram. It shows typical gauge wiring. For a diagram of your engine to control box harness you need the factory service manual. What is happening is that someone has done some wiring that has resulted in the "S" terminal on one or more gauges (the volt gauge doesn't have or need one) is connected to ground. I suspect that they thoughjt the "S" stood for "switch" or some other misinterpretation. I don't understand how a voltmeter that registers 18 volts max can read higher than 18 volts on a 12 volt electrical system unless there is a second battery on the boat and it is somehow getting in series with the start battery to produce 24 volts. You need to do a thorough investigation and get back to us with VERY SPECIFIC descriptions of what you have, what you did, and what the results were.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

SilverTip her is a video i made for ya, hope it helps

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

You have a major mess to straighten out. The things you need to understand are these:
1) The dual battery switch is wired wrong. Very wrong. Here is a diagram of how it should be connected. Note that ONLY the large battery cables are shown. I'll get to how the house stuff should be connected later. The diagram also shows an outboard but it makes no difference for an I/O unless the switch includes a field disconnect function. The way your system is connected you do not have the versatility the switch provides and I certainly can't tell what the wiring is or where it goes. Only you can diagram that. My suggestion is to pull everything off the batteries and the switch and start with the diagram below. We will build from that.



2) Instruments are NOT powered from the fuse panel nor is the ignition switch fed from the fuse panel. 12 volts and ground pass up the engine harness from the engine to console and throttle/shift box and the ignition switch (no ground on the ignition switch). When the key is turned on, the gauges get power from the "I" terminal on the switch.
3) The big wire on the fuse panel shold be the +12 volt feed INTO the panel. There should be another equal zize black wire (ground) either on the ground bus on the panel or at a separate ground point near the panel. Here is where you need to pay attention. Every accessory on the boat (that means the big red wire on the fuse panel) should be fed by the COM terminal on the dual battery switch. It makes no sense to wire this to the house battery and have the engine wired to the start battery with only the charge wire hooked to the COM terminal. You lose the ability to start the engine from the house battery or to run accessories from the start battery if you have to. Use the switch as it was intended.
4) The only thing you need to wire directly to the battery with the largest capacity (normally the deep cycle house battery) is an automatic bilge pump so it could operate with the batteries turned off. Digest this info and see if it makes sense. But start with a clean slate. Your gauges going njuts are definitely due to a reversed polarity an "S" terminal wiring ssue, and/or a 24 volts situation due to improper wiring. As I said, you have a very badly wired boat. Start over at the batteries and the switch as that's where most of the issue likely is. Then check the back side of the gauges to see if anything was mucked with back there. It should be obvious. Properly connected, you should be able to start the engine from BAT 1, Both or BAT 2, operate accessories from BAT 1, Both or BAT 2 and charge BAT 1, BOTH or BAT 2 depending on how the switch is set. Maximum versatility.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

so i am at like 80% done but now my motor wont stay running... if i hold the starter wire on the motor stays running but also the starter is also cranking..... is the wiring diagram on the sticky works on my boat??? if yes i think the gray wire from the neg side of the coil that goes to the panel, i must of cut it? idk..... but i am still having the same problem so i think its maybe the guages now... oh that big red wire that went from the bat to the panel i dont need it now...

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

My gosh, you need to have the service manual and wiring diagram for your engine and outdrive. The diagram I show in the stickies is the "boat electrical system" it has nothing to do with the engine electrical system except for the senders (temperature, oil pressure and tach) that come from the engine.

No you are not 80%. You have a very screwed up system and unless you tackle one item at a time you will not get this straightened out. Again you are not providing very good descriptions. What do you mean when you say you "hold the starter wire on your motor". Holding what wire on what point of the motor". Lets have some details. Remember, we can't see your boat. Wiring diagrams for your engine have been posted on the MERCRUISER forum. Check there. In fact you can probably downlload the manual there as well.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

Go here

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=537851

Look at the diagram in the forth response. It doesn't get any clearer than that.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

if i give 12 volts to the starter wire my motor will crank and stay running, but if i take away 12 volts from the starter wire my motor will die, but wile my motor is running my starter is also cranking.... checking adult and mercruiser page now

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

Go here

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=537851

Look at the diagram in the forth response. It doesn't get any clearer than that.​

Click to expand...

i have it hooked up like that

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

I can tell from the video you do not have it hooked up like that. As for the starter wire: I will ask again. What starter wire and what terminal are you touching it to. There are either three or four wires on the starter SOLENOID. The one connected to the "S" terminal on the solenoid should have 12 volts on it when you turn the key to START. That wire comes from the "S" terminal on the ignition switch. The large battery cable hooks to one of the large terminals on the solenoid and the other large terminal connects directly to the starter. If you have a points style ignition system with a ballast resistor, there is a wire on the "R" terminal of the solenoid. That's the terminal that keeps the engine running when you release the key. If there is no ballast resistor then there is a loss of power from the "I" terminal on the ignition switch to the ignition.

In your video you show and tell that the start battery services ONLY the engine so you cannot have the dual battery setup as shown in the diagram.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

do the video again with the plastic covers off the battery it may be that the switch was not designed by the po to normal boat standards and instead is used to recharge the second battery while on long runs or some other use thats not what it was designed for. silertip is realy trying to help you but you have to understand that electrical is never nearly right. the jointed ground on one battery is confussing me as it makes no sense and the video shows that the grounds are not connected to each other as the cable should go from one battery to the other then all connections go from there. when you turn on a light power is hunting a ground and its using you instrument cluster which is very bad. might be time to follow silertips and remove all wiring ( dont go cutting it ) then do a step take a picture and silver will walk you one wire at a time.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

sorry for the delay..... here is how i have the switch hooked up.....

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

In your video you show and tell that the start battery services ONLY the engine so you cannot have the dual battery setup as shown in the diagram.

Click to expand...

sorry i ment when i have the switch to bat1 i only want it to start the motor and when i have it on bat 2 i just want it to only work the house stuff, radio, lights and etc....

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

You can't do that with that type switch. You need a switch like this one.

http://www.iboats.com/5511e-e-Serie...4708175--session_id.344411370--view_id.236732

This shows how to wire it. http://bluesea.com/files/resources/instructions/5511e_web_version.pdf
You would still hook up your isolator to the battery terminals on the switch.

EDIT: I answered your question before your edit. But with this setup, you turn it on, and the start battery is used only for the engine, and the house battery is only used for the house circuits. But if you need the house battery to start the engine, just turn the switch to combine.

Here is how to wire that switch and your isolator.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

Based on the video, at the very least there is something wrong with your gauge wiring. Here's how it's done, courtesy of Silvertip:

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

lol it looks like i am in deep deep crap with this wiring..... going to make a new video brb

sorry could not do the video.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

Your wiring diagram is usable, just not usable the way you want it to work. The way you have it wired, if you turn the switch to battery 1, both the starter and the house run off of battery 1, same if you turn the switch to battery 2, the house and starter will run off battery 2.
If you put it to both, you use both batteries for both, the house and starter are not separated in any way.

Re: wire i dont know what it is...

hope the new pics will help... sorry i know its a mess of wires but thats how i got the boat.....