12v boating electrical 101

Ok so aside from my motor firing up without too much issue I need to tackle the issue of wiring in my boat.

can someone please point me in a direction of a writeup or some basic knowledge in what should be done concerning the wiring.

I'm currently thinking all positive wires come off the battery and go to the respected switch and then to the unit and ground goes to ... wait where the hell do u ground something in a boat lol.
or does the power goto the unit and the ground is run through the switch?

I've got a panel that shows Bilge, bow light, stern light, flood light, and one other that escapes my memory.

thanks for any help... I'm new to this floating on water thing lol.

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

Normally you run your positives to to a fuse block fed by a large gauge wire. The grounds go to a bus bar that is grounded to the battery and engine - via another large gauge wire.

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

One way to rewire is to replace one set of wires at a time and replace exactly like it is now.

The other way, which it sounds like you are leaning toward, is to completely rewire the boat, maybe upgrading the way the electrical system works. If you're going to do this, do a LOT of research before you even begin any wiring. Incorrect wiring can cause fires. Be safe. Do it right.

Sea ya...

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

From the battery, run a heavy gauge battery cable lead to a battery disconnect switch.
From the switch, run the battery cable to your motor.
And run a 10 gauge wire about 10" and put a 20 amp inline fuse in the wire,
continue the 10 gauge wire to the helm and connect it to a fuse panel.


Pos leads from fuse panel run to individual accessories.

There is a neg bus bar at the helm for console accessories.
There is a neg bus bar located under the splash well for all peripheral accessories like the nav lights, bilge pump, rear mounted fish finder, and interior courtesy lights.

The 2 bus bars are connected via a large gauge wire.
Stern bus bar is connected to the battery.

Setup is very clean looking, and there is only 1 wire connected to the pos battery terminal, and 2 wires connected to the negative terminal.



Buy tinned marine grade wire and use good connectors.

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

waterbabies81 said:

can someone please point me in a direction of a writeup or some basic knowledge in what should be done concerning the wiring.

Click to expand...

I found this simplified diagram while thinking about doing the same thing. I am pretty sure it just shows the power connections though. All the returns back to battery negative are the black 16 gau. wires that aren't really shown... http://www.ezacdc.com/ProdImages/EZH-121_Diagram.jpg

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

Or you can look at the stickies at the very top of this forum (not the top of this page). There is a generic wiring diagram posted.

Re: 12v boating electrical 101

This will give you some needed wiring info if you plan on re-wiring your boat. Might as well do it right
http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/pdf/downloads/ELECTRICAL.pdf

I would also suggest you get a book on boat wiring so you understand what and why you are doing.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...books&rh=i:aps,k:boat+electrical+wiring+books