Need Help With Boat Wiring Please

[Todd in NY]

I have a some electronics that don't want to work. I bought a boat that sat for 2 years in the harsh northern NY winters. It runs great but I can't figure out why the following items don't work; Marine radio, fish finder, bilge pump, and the pump that fills the livewell. I've replaced every fuse I can find but that didn't solve any of my problems. There's a fuse block in the back of the boat with only a few fuses and wires connected to it. There's also a bunch of wires connected to the battery terminals. I would love to see how your Sea Nymphs are wired so I can see what "RIGHT" looks like. I'm planning on taking this to a marina to be re-wired by someone who knows what they are doing, but if I can fix it myself, I'd rather do it myself. I just don't know where else to go from here. Thanks in advance!

 

[Todd in NY]

My pictures keep wanting to post sideways or upside down. I'm trying to attach a few more pics...

 

[Todd in NY]

Looks like it's one at a time...

 

[Ike-110722]

Do you have a multimeter for measuring voltage, amperage and resistance? If you don't go to Home Depot or other hardware store and buy one. It doesn't have to be an expensive one. A cheap one will work just as well. Turn on the power and check those items that don't work to see if there is 12 volts on the terminals? It will probably be zero. I would suspect a bad ground (the negative side) At each piece of equipment locate the terminal the power is connected to. Positive wire is usually red and negative black. Remove the wire from terminals and clean them up so they are nice and shiny with sand paper. One of your wifes sand paper nail files will work great. But buy her a new one. After all the terminals are cleaned up ccheck for operation again.

Frankly the wiring is a rats nest on that boat. You need to sort it out and neaten it up. Plus there should never be more than three wires to a battery terminal. The only thing that should be directly connected to the battery is the bilge pump. Everything wlse should be run of a buss bare like the one in your picture. That way you only need one wire going from the battery to the buss bar (the fuse strip) In the photo the black wires with yellow connectors going to the plate behind the fuse panel is the negative DC (or ground) In the pics they look corroded. You need to pull them of clean them and put them back.

 

[Todd in NY]

Thanks for the info and tips. I have a multimeter, and I hate the wiring mess the way it is. It messes with my OCD personality, which is why I posted pictures. I like doing things myself, but I won't hesitate to let a professional rewire this boat the right way. I found some wires that were cut and taped, and I had trouble tracing them back to anything under the center console, so I tested them with a test light and got nothing. I know I've got my work cut out for me.

 

[Ike-110722]

Well you are on the right track. It just takes time and you have to be very methodical. As you proceed make a diagram of the wiring. Doesn't have to be elaborate just a simple sketch. Then if you have problems or want to rewire it, the diagram will help immensely.

 

[Todd in NY]

It looks like a lot of the wires were routed under the floor whenever the floor was re-done, which makes tracing those wires nearly impossible. I actually considered uninstalling the things that don't work so I can install them correctly and make a wiring diagram at the same time. I have full intentions of keeping this boat for the next 30 years or more, so time invested now is time and money saved in the future.

 

[Todd in NY]

I hired a marine electrician to rewire this boat. He came to my house last weekend and did a great job with the wiring. The main wiring harness under the helm is the only electrical wires that still run under the floor to the stern. He installed a new fuse block under the helm for the fish finders and any other add-on equipment that gets installed on the helm, and installed a ground block at the stern. He removed between 50 and 100 feet of wire that was either not hooked up to anything, or from equipment that had too much excess wire. We installed a new automatic bilge pump and aerator pump for the livewell. I un-installed the old Eagle fish finder to make room for my Humminbird Helix 5 DI GPS. I left the Lowrance LMS 339cDF iGPS fish finder because it works great and I like the idea of having 2 fish finders that operate on different frequencies. We found a toggle switch that wasn't working, so I replaced that today. I removed the non-working marine VHF radio and one of the 2 radio antennas because I now use a handheld marine radio. I also removed the cable from the 2nd antenna but left the antenna in place in case I ever need to display an orange distress flag on it, so it is solely used as a flag pole.

I don't have any pictures of the work he did (yet), but I am extremely pleased by how it turned out. It's a huge relief to know that everything works and it's wired properly, especially when I am miles from shore with my family.

 

[gm280]

I hired a marine electrician to rewire this boat. He came to my house last weekend and did a great job with the wiring. The main wiring harness under the helm is the only electrical wires that still run under the floor to the stern. He installed a new fuse block under the helm for the fish finders and any other add-on equipment that gets installed on the helm, and installed a ground block at the stern. He removed between 50 and 100 feet of wire that was either not hooked up to anything, or from equipment that had too much excess wire. We installed a new automatic bilge pump and aerator pump for the livewell. I un-installed the old Eagle fish finder to make room for my Humminbird Helix 5 DI GPS. I left the Lowrance LMS 339cDF iGPS fish finder because it works great and I like the idea of having 2 fish finders that operate on different frequencies. We found a toggle switch that wasn't working, so I replaced that today. I removed the non-working marine VHF radio and one of the 2 radio antennas because I now use a handheld marine radio. I also removed the cable from the 2nd antenna but left the antenna in place in case I ever need to display an orange distress flag on it, so it is solely used as a flag pole.

I don't have any pictures of the work he did (yet), but I am extremely pleased by how it turned out. It's a huge relief to know that everything works and it's wired properly, especially when I am miles from shore with my family.

If you have the money to pay someone else to rewire it, go for it. BUT, you still need a good schematic of how he presently rewired everything or you are in the same boat (pun intended) as before. Except now it is presently working, but what about next year? You need a schematic diagram of how HE rewired everything so when, not if, a circuit stops working again, you can find the proper wire and fix it... JMHO!

 

[Todd in NY]

gm280, I didn't mention it in my last post, but I took that advise from an earlier post. This electrician was here for 7 or 8 hours, and he gave me a good wiring diagram. His initial estimate was that it would take 4 hours, and with parts figured in, he gave me a cost estimate of $300. To my relief, after spending nearly twice as long on the boat, he still only charged me $300! I am NO electrician, and he fixed some serious wiring issues that I would have never found or fixed on my own. I keep my boat on the trailer at home because it is only 19ft, and he came to my house to do the work. It was $300 well spent in my book because of how little knowledge I have and how much knowledge I gained by "helping" him every step of the way. He took the time to show me exactly what he was doing so that I could diagnose and fix things on my own the next time something stopped working. I have basic electrical knowledge, but not the kind of knowledge required to fix the electrical issues that this boat had.

The added bonus is that he wants to come out and help me install my new steering system, and all it will cost me is some reloading supplies that I don't have any use for :triumphant: