Boat Radio/Stereo Help

[mike_i]

briangcc is 100% right​

 

[froggy1150]

I am going to throw another wrench in the mix....
Most newer radios also have a wire labeled illum , thats for the backlight / dimmer for night operation.

 

[Chris1956]

DB, there is an exception to your statement. An automatic bilge pump, if you keep the boat in the water, should be directly connected to a battery, bypassing the off switch.

 

[legalfee]

Hello,
Hoping that someone can help me out. I am trying to install a new radio/stereo in my 1995 Sea Ray 175 fish and ski. I bought a Dual stereo from Bass Pro and it came with a wiring harness (image attached). I am replacing the old radio (wiring diagram attached). From the images you can see that there isnt a yellow (memory) wire that goes to the old radio. The new radio has a yellow wire for (memory). The old radio could be powered on with the keys out of the boat so i am assuming that the red wire from the boat is a consistant poower source. Anyone have any ideas on how to hook the new radio up while using the exsisting wires?

I also attached the wiring from the boat manual and it says it should have a yellow wire but there isnt one anywhere.

Will i lose my pre-sets and bluetooth connection without having the yellow wire?

I'm at a loss on how to hook this radio up :/

I use a motorcycle battery for my radio. Works great and when it dies I recharge it.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Scratching my head.......What do you need a "kill switch for?
Do you not have a battery Off/1/2/Both switch?

There should be nothing connected directly to the battery. That's just asking for problems.

Main power to the boat should come off the "accessories" connection on the back of the battery switch.

Turn the switch "on" when you get on the boat, turn it "off" when you leave. Problem solved

I'm curious. What are the problems with connecting accessories directly to the battery?

My boat came with all of the accessories directly connected to the starting battery with fuses, without a separate switch. It has worked flawlessly for 12 years now and I'm still using the original battery. My trolling motor and power inverter run off of the deep cycle batteries.

I'm definitely not trying to drive a wedge, but to understand if there is some issue out there that I've been somehow lucky enough to avoid all of these years.

My truck's stereo amplifier is directly connected to the battery with a fuse, which I believe is standard practice in the automotive sound industry.

 

[mike_i]

It depends on what accessories you're talking about. Something that is 100% off when turned off is no problem. Something that constantly draws current is no good. As long as you use the boat or otherwise keep the batteries charged you wont have a problem. Same thing with your truck, use it, run it and you won't have a problem. Let it sit a couple of weeks and see what happens to when you try to start it. Maybe it's been mentioned but how many batteries do you have?

​

 

[dingbat]

An automatic bilge pump, if you keep the boat in the water, should be directly connected to a battery, bypassing the off switch.

I prefer not to do that if at all possible. Too many bad things can happen with a float switch

Most bilge pumps are little more than glorified condensation pumps. They do not have the capacity to keep a boat afloat from a hull failure which basically leaves you protecting against rain events.

If your bilge is subject to infiltration by rain water that can’t be mitigated, your best long term protection is a cover or wire the bilge pump(s) to shore power.

Short term, just leave the battery switch on

 

[Chris1956]

Db, there are auto bilge pumps that do not have float switches. They work quite well.

Rain does sink boats. Ask any marina owner. So do you want a sunken boat with fully charged batteries, or a floating boat with discharged batteries?

If a 1" or greater hole is punctured thru the hull, below the waterline, very few bilge pumps will keep the boat afloat. However, most marinas are protected from ordinary storms. Hurricanes are a different matter.

 

[jhande]

Hello,
Hoping that someone can help me out. I am trying to install a new radio/stereo in my 1995 Sea Ray 175 fish and ski. I bought a Dual stereo from Bass Pro and it came with a wiring harness (image attached). I am replacing the old radio (wiring diagram attached). From the images you can see that there isnt a yellow (memory) wire that goes to the old radio. The new radio has a yellow wire for (memory). The old radio could be powered on with the keys out of the boat so i am assuming that the red wire from the boat is a consistant poower source. Anyone have any ideas on how to hook the new radio up while using the exsisting wires?

I also attached the wiring from the boat manual and it says it should have a yellow wire but there isnt one anywhere.

Will i lose my pre-sets and bluetooth connection without having the yellow wire?

I'm at a loss on how to hook this radio up :/

Simple - Which is more important...
Draining the battery when not in use or losing pre-sets and bluetooth?
Don't want to drain the battery just hookup the red power wire.
Don't want to lose pre-sets and bluetooth hook both red and yellow wire together to the power wire. Might need to charge the battery when not in use.

Personally I would run a separate power wire from the switch to the main power wire on the stereo. That way the stereo will be off when the switch is turned off. That way it can't accidentally be left on when not using the boat. Leave the yellow wire hooked to the current constant power wire.

 

[Chris1956]

Some stereos will not work at all with the yellow wire disconnected. The fix is to connect the red and yellow wires to the switched battery power.