Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

[TDD_Shizzy]

Hey all,

I just started to tear down and restore my first boat. (going to start a restoration thread this weekend) The old wiring in the boat was awful, and it had zero accessories. (early 1980's 15ft fiberglass fishing boat). Well we want to do a little more with it then just a single battery to start the motor. I have a little wiring experience, but i dont know a whole lot about circuits and have never wired a boat. After scouring the forums and the net i came up with this wiring diagram, do you think it looks okay?



The blue squares on the image are just toggle switches.

There will be two batteries, one for starting and one for accessories. There will be a relay between the two, many have said the Borg Warner R3098 is good if i can find one (anyone suggest a newer version?). The accessory battery will feed a 6 circuit fuse block (probably blade fuses) and that fuse block will feed all my accessories as well as be the ground bus for them.

Does this look like i am on the right track? I am open for suggestions if anyone thinks there would be a better way to set this up. thanks for any advice!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

I see a number of issues.
1) You should not power the gauges from the accessory battery since they get powered through the engine harness and are activated when the key is in the run position. This also eliminate one switch and a bunch of its associated wiring.
2) You show a master switch between the ACC battery and its fuse panel. So why do you need switches for the fish finder and the radio. Both of those devices have their own on/off switches. If you are worried about leaving them on, that's what the MASTER power switch is for. So you can eliminate two more switches and their associated wiring.
3) You don't have the two negative posts connected together on the two batteries.
4) You don't show the trigger input for the relay. And just for giggles, I would make sure the relay you select is rated for "continuous duty" and has the contact current capacity your setup requires. Then also remember that the relay itself requires current to operate so it needs to come from somewhere. If you have a low output charging system, the relay itself can be a fair drain.
5) And this is just a comment -- its your boat so you do what you want. But I feel you are overkilling the wiring. You have no high current loads. Install a large capacity dual purpose (starting/deep cycle) battery and go have fun. If you really feel uneasy about a dead battery, $40 gets you a jump start box and it is a lot less complicated. You are adding a gread deal of wiring (and points of failure) and weight (second battery) for little advantage.

 

[TDD_Shizzy]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

Thanks for the reply.

Yea i missed the negative jumper and the cutoff switches are probably a bit overkill. The only reason I was going to run two batteries is i don't know how well, or if at all, our outboard charges the current single battery. The old owner said it didn't charge well, but that could be an issue with the battery. (haven't tested the battery much, or the motor much) The outboard is an early 1980s Evinrude 40hp. (i don't know the specific model/year, have that at home).

The draw on the battery would be fairly low, the cd player is just a basic deck with two 6.5" speakers and the fish finder wont take much power. I guess i need to weigh the pros and cons of single vs dual batteries. Just looking at the setup, you think a decent day out on the water (5-7 hours) of fishing, some of it with the motor running could drain a decent multi-use battery? I assume my components dont draw a whole lot of amp hours.

Im gonna work on a single battery diagram and post something to make sure i am on the right track there. thanks for the info!

 

[flargin]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

The old owner said it didn't charge well, but that could be an issue with the battery. (haven't tested the battery much, or the motor much) The outboard is an early 1980s Evinrude 40hp.

With a 40's, if you run it dead, you may be able to pull start it. I like Silvertip's idea of a "Jumper Battery" solves a lot of problems. might test both the battery and the alternator.

When you get into 2 batteries, what most people end up doing is just running them in parallel, get a big A+B switch, leave it on A+B, run the stereo/trolling/etc all day and then both are dead. You are trying to solve that problem, which is great. but with a 40 and a stereo you may be able to run without the complexity of a dual system.

 

[aborgman]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

4) You don't show the trigger input for the relay. And just for giggles, I would make sure the relay you select is rated for "continuous duty" and has the contact current capacity your setup requires. Then also remember that the relay itself requires current to operate so it needs to come from somewhere. If you have a low output charging system, the relay itself can be a fair drain.

That shouldn't be an issue as a long as a latching relay is used, but otherwise it certainly could.

I'm not even sure exactly what he is trying to achieve with the relay.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

He's trying real hard to make a very simple switch situation into a very complex and potentially troublesome issue. An isolator, ACR, or dual battery switch would make this a very simple process. But on this boat, with the listed accessories, none of it is necessary.

 

[TDD_Shizzy]

Re: Does this look correct? First wiring diagram

Thanks for the suggestions, im going to work on the boat this weekend and come up with a final plan. Looks like we might just do a single battery for now, and if the need is there/we add more accessories, then we might upgrade it. If i get any more questions on it all i will be sure to ask as this is my first boat to wire up!