Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

dustin2550

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Last week my bilge pump fuse blew. When I replaced the fuse. The motor's trim fuse blew..... when I replaced it the stern and bow fuse light blew. When I replaced the fuse for the lights the stern light now stays permanently on and cannot be turned off by the switch as the console, and the bilge blew again. I am thinking of rewiring the entire system from scratch. Before I do that, is there is a simpler solution I should check first? I feel there might be an issue with the wire from the fuse panel to the battery? Would this be a fair assumption?:confused:
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

sounds like something is shorted and by replacing the fuses you killed the ground wire. so lets start with more details like what kinda of motor and what kinda fuse panel you have. the short will proberly be from the fuse panel to a item on the boat so start by pulling the fuses as the light will proberly go out when you pull a fuse thats not the one for the lights then most items on the boat should quit working. the fuse will proberly be one of the biggest ones in the panel. with out more detail and pics its hard to give good advice but im thinking you will need a volt meter so we can tell you what to test
 

NYBo

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

You've got a wire or something shorting these circuits. I think it would be right at the fuse block. Is the negative buss integrated with the fuse block or is it separate?:confused:
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok, sorry for the lack of info provided. Glenn,the motor is an Outboard 1984 Black Max Mercury. Captain the negative buss is attached to the fuse block. I will take a picture and post with my next reply. Also Glenn, when I get a voltage meter where do I need to start?
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Also the fuse panel is the kind that uses the long glass fuses. I am not sure what that's called. I am a rookie.
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

start at the beginning.......remove all fuses then test to see if you have 12v between the feed side of the fuses and the ground. if it was mine i would change the fuse block out before i begin with a modern fuse block as the short is proberly behind the fuse block where water/moisture has created a path. then work one circuit at a time. somewhere theres going to be a hard ground between the positive and negative side.
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok, I follow you on everything you said right up until the last line where you said "there was going to be a hard ground." I do not know what that means. Can you elaborate? Does that mean that is what I should be looking for and that is causing the problem is the hard ground? And how will I know when I have found a hard ground?
 

bruceb58

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

somewhere theres going to be a hard ground between the positive and negative side.
Which is impossible without blowing a fuse and/or melting a wire.

My guess is that a wire got moved by accident.

i would start by pulling a wire and replacing it one at a time until the light goes out at the fuse panel. Every fuse is going to have one or more wires for every fuse. I would then see if that wire actually goes to the navigation light switch.

If it does go to the switch, remove the various wires on the switch and see if the light goes out. If it does go out, you either have a miswire at the switch or a bad switch.
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Which is impossible without blowing a fuse and/or melting a wire.

My guess is that a wire got moved by accident.

i would start by pulling a wire and replacing it one at a time until the light goes out at the fuse panel. Every fuse is going to have one or more wires for every fuse. I would then see if that wire actually goes to the navigation light switch.

If it does go to the switch, remove the various wires on the switch and see if the light goes out. If it does go out, you either have a miswire at the switch or a bad switch.

like i said i think by replacing the first few fuses the ground is toast and the reason the rear light works is that it has a seperate ground straight to the battery. of course this is a kinda educated guess but it makes sense. kinda strange that the trim blew a fuse as that should be on the motor loom not the fuse panel but that could be trim tabs or a ground problem e.g toasted ground but im still guessing.
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok Glenn, you are correct. The stern light negative is running straight to the battery. The positive of course runs to the fuse box. So from all this info does it seem I have a bad ground wire running from my battery to the fuse block? And this bad ground is causing my fuses to blow?
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

no i think you have a problem that caused a bad ground....thats why the fuses stopped blowing as its using the light as a path. i think the bilge pump or something is shorted which is causing the problem the result is a bad ground. if you replace the ground wire the fuse should blow as long as its not to large of a fuse. if the boat worked then started to do this then look at the first problem which was the bilge pump and disconnect/pull fuse on that (if its has a auto float that needs disconnecting as well) then test the voltage between the fuse panels and ground if its low or 0 then the ground is no longer connected if its 12v you should be ok. if you do not have a inline breaker or fuse with in 1' of the battery install one before testing because if the fault is in the back of the fuse panel you need some safety while testing
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

if you replace the ground wire the fuse should blow as long as its not to large of a fuse. if the boat worked then started to do this then look at the first problem which was the bilge pump and disconnect/pull fuse on that (if its has a auto float that needs disconnecting as well) then test the voltage between the fuse panels and ground if its low or 0 then the ground is no longer connected if its 12v you should be ok. if you do not have a inline breaker or fuse with in 1' of the battery install one before testing because if the fault is in the back of the fuse panel you need some safety while testing

Ok, If I replace the ground wire the fuse WILL continue to blow if my bilge( or something else ) is the problem? So replace the bilge AND the ground wire and I should get somewhere? I am understanding you correctly?
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

(or something else) the problem points to the bilge and im going out on a limb and im going to say yes to replacing it as its not a budget buster and i honestly wouldnt trust it after it blew a few fuses anyway. with out testing with a meter im not 100% sure of anything as any information left out can be a problem. theres nothing worse than giving advice that fits a problem just to find out that someone forgot to mention they had just installed a stereo or changed something else out on the boat. if the boat was working fine before and you have not made any changes then i think the bilge pump and ground may solve your problem. still would rather test then guess. if you can safely get the stern light on then i would like to see what happens if you remove the bow light bulb. again i advise you to put a breaker or inline fuse from the battery.
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok I will put a breaker close to the battery before i go messing around. No the boat worked fine and I have not made any changes. All this started happening about 3 fishing trips ago. In chronological order
1. the bilge fuse blew.
2. I replaced the fuse.
3. The trim fuse blew.
4. Replaced that fuse.
5. Then the nav/stern light fuse blew.
6. Replaced that fuse. Now only stern light comes on. Nav light doesn't come on at all. The stern light now does not go off no matter what i do with the switches.
7. Then bilge fuse blew again.
8. Came here :)

What would do you think might happen if I removed the bow light bulb? Should I try that and be looking for something?
 
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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

i think the stern light will go off when you remove the bow light....its a hunch that you are backfeeding via the bow light and the bow light being a higher wattage is in fact on just realy realy dim
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

If thats true will the new ground correct?
 

bruceb58

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

How is your bilge pump wired? Is it powered through a float switch to your battery and to a switch on the console?

A bad ground is not going to cause a fuse to blow.
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Glenn is saying that the blown fuse possibly caused the bad ground. The bilge pump is not automatic. Its negative is tied into the bus bar and the positive to the fuse box.
 

bruceb58

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Glenn is saying that the blown fuse possibly caused the bad ground.
That is impossible.

Pull your fuses off one at a time until the light goes out. Then trace that wire.
 

dustin2550

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Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

I am assuming you mean a fuse that's NOT attached to the stern light wiring correct?
 
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