New forum member and boat owner here. I recently bought a 99 Smoker Craft Ultima 178. It's a walk through windshield fish/ski style boat. I had it inspected by a marina and they told me the bilge switch was bad but otherwise in great condition especially motor. No problem, easy to replace a switch and I wanted to take ownership right away so I didn't bother asking the seller to fix it. Unfortunately I need help :redface:
First off is there a good general boat and/or boat electrical book that is good for someone with my style of boat?
I'm not new to electrical work and have decent working knowledge of home wiring but am new to the DC world. I found an exact replacement McGill switch. It's a 3 pin lighted on/off. On the existing switch first pin has three black wires, second pin one red, third one brown.
I'm assuming...
1 brown wire pin = bilge
1 red wire pin = +12V
3 black wire pin = ground
Is this most likely correct? What could the 3 black wires represent/lead to? Would one be coming back from the bilge and one going to the battery? What about the third?
Since I bought the same switch, I just connected the pins to the same terminals and turned on the switch. The light on the switch seems to be coming on intermittently - 1 second on, 5 seconds off, etc. It does so without moving the wires so I'm not sure if loose wiring is suspect. The bilge does not come on at all.
I looked at the bilge pump. It's an Attwood v625. It has a single brown and black wire connected via splices. I don't see a float switch anywhere.
Is the bilge and switch a typical setup for my style of boat?
What would be next steps for troubleshooting?
Thanks for the help. I'm sure these are newbie questions as this is my first boat.
First off is there a good general boat and/or boat electrical book that is good for someone with my style of boat?
I'm not new to electrical work and have decent working knowledge of home wiring but am new to the DC world. I found an exact replacement McGill switch. It's a 3 pin lighted on/off. On the existing switch first pin has three black wires, second pin one red, third one brown.
I'm assuming...
1 brown wire pin = bilge
1 red wire pin = +12V
3 black wire pin = ground
Is this most likely correct? What could the 3 black wires represent/lead to? Would one be coming back from the bilge and one going to the battery? What about the third?
Since I bought the same switch, I just connected the pins to the same terminals and turned on the switch. The light on the switch seems to be coming on intermittently - 1 second on, 5 seconds off, etc. It does so without moving the wires so I'm not sure if loose wiring is suspect. The bilge does not come on at all.
I looked at the bilge pump. It's an Attwood v625. It has a single brown and black wire connected via splices. I don't see a float switch anywhere.
Is the bilge and switch a typical setup for my style of boat?
What would be next steps for troubleshooting?
Thanks for the help. I'm sure these are newbie questions as this is my first boat.