Dashboard Wiring Issue - Any guesses?

[KnotConnected]

About two years ago I replaced the dash and switch panel at the helm. New one looks great, and everything seems to work just fine. however...
I noticed yesterday that there must be an issue or short somewhere in my wiring due to the following:

1) When the batteries are on and I flip the NAV Lights (also illuminates the back lighting on all gauges) to ON, without the key in "run" the trim indicator points to 50% , even though the drive is all the way down.

If i have music playing through the stereo, there is also a really quick subtle disruption in the music.

2) When I turn the ignition key to "run" the trim indicator reads correctly as all the way down, regardless if the nav light switch is on or off.

...thoughts of what to look at when I pull it back off? It's been 2 years since i've replaced the dash and I havent had any issues, so I'm also wondering if I should find time mid summer here to try to fix it, or if it can wait until winter.

 

[ahicks]

Gut instinct tells me it's a grounding issue. God only know though, how long it's going to take to find it. I doubt seriously the issue would ever hurt anything, so regarding establishing priorities for repair, it would depend on just how crazy the inaccurate tilt reading makes you....

 

[gm280]

Some times when things are wired, so many paths track back between gauges to make some crazy reading. Vehicles are the same way. And in most of those issues, wire connections are almost always the culprit. While connections may look perfect, the corrosion between the contacts are what causes so many problems. And vibration is another problem. A connection loosens up over time for a lot of reasons and that causes a lot of problems. I would say clean all the contacts regardless how they look and re-tighten them and see how that fixes things. JMHO

 

[KnotConnected]

Thanks guys. As long as the boat runs and there aren't any serious safety issues, I'll likely leave it for a winter project. I've just been seeing lots of pictures of boat fires on Facebook and in the news lately, and thought to myself "hmmm" when I noticed this issue.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... It's a pretty simple check, 'n fix for a good ground in the dash,....

 

[GA_Boater]

You can use a long piece of wire from the battery ground to the ground connection under the dash as a temporary check. If it works with the wire, clean the ground connections starting at the battery and up to the dash.