Does this sound right?

[Cox]

I have done a complete tear-down and restore of my 1986 Tracker and I'm finally nearing completion. Leaving for Michigan this Friday and would love to have my rig in-tow so this week is do-or-die time. Everything is pretty much done, except for the electrical system.

I purchased a 4 switch fuse block to replace the original. I will be powering a Nav light, Anchor light, Blige, and Aerator. Based on all the reading I've done using the search function, I think that I understand what needs to happen here, but perhaps a question or two.

The Postive from the Fuse Block to the Positive of the Deep Cycle and the Negative of the Fuse Block to the Negative of the Deep Cycle.

The Positive from each accessory listed above to the positive of its respective switch on the panel.

Where does the negative from the accessories go to? The fuse panel I bought does not have the built-in ground buss like the one that Silvertip (I think) posted in a similar topic. So do I purchase a separate ground buss and run them there? If so, how does the ground buss get wired? Just another run from Negative of batter to the ground buss?

I also have a fish finder that has it's own in-line fuse which will be wired directly to the battery and not through the fuse block.

So, depending on the answer of the ground buss, I would have 3 Positive and 3 negative leads to the battery (Trolling motor, Fish finder, Fuse Block)?

 

[stylesabu]

Re: Does this sound right?

are you sure you want to run just one battery? most deadicate one battery to trolling motor. you need only one ground to battery, run that to a buss bar availble at home depot, and run grounds from there

 

[Cox]

Re: Does this sound right?

So here's what I have:
Pos/Neg from 4-Gang Switch Panel to Battery. Neg/Ground from Battery to Bus Bar. Pos from all 4 accessories (Bilge/Livewell/Nav/Anchor Lts) to corresponding Pos at switch. Neg/Ground from each accessory to the Bus bar.

It would appear that I have power to the switch panel because the LED indicator lights are lit up....but nothing works. Also, the LED's for the Bilge and Livewell Pump stay lit whether they're switched on or off. The LED's for the Nav and Anchor Lights only come on when switched in the "On" position, which is how it should be....but like I said, none of said accessories actually work.

While I'm not an electrical genius, I wouldn't have much reason to believe that it is my connections because the wiring that I did for the Trolling Motor and the Fish finder work just fine. The difference there is that those two items are independent of the switch panel....they're wired directly to the battery. I'm thinking a ground issue, but not 100% sure.

Suggestions?

 

[slia67]

Re: Does this sound right?

Your fuse block should not have a negative circuit hooked to it unless it is a junction block or buss bar of some type.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Does this sound right?

So here's what I have:
Pos/Neg from 4-Gang Switch Panel to Battery. Neg/Ground from Battery to Bus Bar. Pos from all 4 accessories (Bilge/Livewell/Nav/Anchor Lts) to corresponding Pos at switch. Neg/Ground from each accessory to the Bus bar.

It would appear that I have power to the switch panel because the LED indicator lights are lit up....but nothing works. Also, the LED's for the Bilge and Livewell Pump stay lit whether they're switched on or off. The LED's for the Nav and Anchor Lights only come on when switched in the "On" position, which is how it should be....but like I said, none of said accessories actually work.

While I'm not an electrical genius, I wouldn't have much reason to believe that it is my connections because the wiring that I did for the Trolling Motor and the Fish finder work just fine. The difference there is that those two items are independent of the switch panel....they're wired directly to the battery. I'm thinking a ground issue, but not 100% sure.

Suggestions?

Take a look at this drawing, which shows the back side of a simple switch panel. Disregard the 12V Outlet and battery test switch...

Note the upper terminals are for the grounds that the indicator lights need. The switch doesn't need that ground to function, but the indicator lights do. Middle position is the feed for the switch, bottom position is where the feeds to the various accessories are terminated.

Let me know if you have any questions...