Help! engine runs, no Gauges!?

[MikDee]

89'-19' Bayliner Capri, 89'-125hp Force, Dropped it in the lake yesterday, after the motor started, I noticed all the gauges working normally,,, a few minutes later, no tach, no fuel gauge, no ammeter??? I tried the horn, bilge pump, & radio, neither of these were working either? The motor kept running as usual, and the tilt worked, But I couldn't tell if it was charging? I went cruising anyway, being as I had a spare battery, the boat ran, & handled the same as usual, I even used the trim. I shut off the motor when warm, it started back up no problem. The first thing I checked was the main 30amp fuse at the battery, it was fine. I ran it for a couple hours, pulled it out, & went home. I never had to use the spare battery! This morning I checked the boat battery, it was 12.7 volts, the same as it was yesterday before we left, so apparently it was charging. I then tried resetting the circuit breaker, nothing's changed?
I'm at a loss here, is there any more fuses or curcuit breakers to check? Or, does anyone have an idea whats wrong? The whole boat is dead electrically, even though the electrical workings of the motor appears fine!

 

[MikDee]

Re: Help! engine runs, no Gauges!?

Okay, 1/2 My problems solved! It appears that the thin black Main Accessory ground wire with the loop on it at the battery (not the other heavy, black, motor ground wire with the big loop on it), the thinner black wire, was not making a good contact! I took the wing nut off because I had power at the key, & suspected a bad ground somewhere, and found that the thinner wire was under the larger (motor) wire originally, I just placed it on top of the larger wire, and put the wing nut back on, sure enough that was it! Finally my gauges are working again

I just hate it when a previous owner can't get the little important things such as this, right

A simple fix, tough to find, that created a lot of havoc!

But, I still have issues, because my horn, & bilge pump, still don't work, but my radio does now?

 

[Reboot11133]

Re: Help! engine runs, no Gauges!?

I suspect you have a bad connection somewhere else possibly under the dash or at the ignition switch.
I would suggest you replace the wing nuts with good old fashion nuts. Wing nuts have a way of coming loose from the vibration and can cause serious damage to your electronics. A friend recently had this problem and it destroyed his stator on a 125 Force.