Electrical Circuit breakers

LegacyT

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
250
I'm looking into replacing the instrument panel circuit breakers. Originally the boat came equipped with E-T-A series 1658 thermal overcurrent breakers. I'd like to replace them as 2 have snapped the mounting heads off and one breaker is unservicable. At $5-8 each i'm just going to replace them all. Heres what the boat had originally for each rocker switch:


ACC-10 Amp (running 2- LED swim platform lights and 1- LED engine doghouse courtesy light)
Horn-10 Amp
Blower-10 Amp
Bilge-5 Amp
Nav Lgts-?? Amp (running 1- LED bow nav and 1- LED white stern nav)
Ignition Switch-?? Amp Off-On-Start, on position electrifies the guages

Should I keep the same amperage values as original? Boat had incandescant bulbs all around, I replaced and went all LED
Secondly,The sticker on the nav light breaker is missing so I dont know what it has originally what would be recommended for my setup?
Lastly, The sticker on the ignition breaker is also missing, what would be recommended? Did some reading and 20 Amp seems usual, does this sound right?

Thanks,
Mark
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,597
Legacy T, I would use a 5 amp breaker in the navigation light circuit. While that is probably more then needed presently, if you ever change the lights to anything other then LEDs you will have the protection already installed. And in the event of a true short, the 5 amp will pop without worry.20 amps sound about right for the main breaker as well. When swapping from incandescent to LEDs, the amperage draw does go down. But that doesn't mean you have to lower the amperage of the circuit breakers. They will still work properly to protect the circuits and wiring installed. So really just replace with the same amperages and you will be good to go. JMHO!
 
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