need help with wirring issues

[imraan47]

Ok so now i got no lights working that i discover once i got this boat. i had some outdrive troubles that are fixed and now i move on to this. none of my switches are operating including the blower, bilge, lights (stern and red/green bow lights). i checked fuse and those are fine...
my question is how the heck to i get if the i need to get new wiring done? the meter i have it just a simple one and its not long enough for me to touch far opposing ends to test if the wire is sending current from the source to close to the battery.
please help

 

[SeanT]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Do you own a test light?

Have you checked the battery voltage?

 

[nitsuj]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Theres no magic answer. You're going to need a meter than you can use to test everything. If your doesn't have long enough leads, get a new meter, longer leads or make jumpers long enough with an alligator clip at each end. One you can clip to the lead and one you can clip to the wire to be tested. If all the lights don't work, I'd not start by testing individual circiuts. I'd start by checking for one problem that could stop power from getting to all the lights. Like a bad ground or dead battery. Or a hidden master switch like mine has under the dash. Turn it off and all the power is cut.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: need help with wirring issues

You need to approach this in a logic fashion. Think of electricity as water running through a hose from the house to a sprinkler at the other end. Check at the house to make sure there is water present. That means check the battery to make sure it is fully charged. Then check the hose connection (the red and black wires that feed current to the fuse or breaker panel). There is very likely a fuse or circuit breaker right at or close to the POS terminal on the battery. If you have power on the red wire, check the other end at the fuse panel. Check between it and the ground wire going back to the battery. Once you've determined that the main power feed is ok, then you can concentrate on the individual circuits. Since nothing works, that says the main power feed is probably the culprit.

 

[SeanT]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Using a test light eliminates the need for long wires and testing circuits end to end. Particularly with under the dash wiring, there's a ground to clip to, and you can trace at connection points where wires are hot.

Also, the water flowing is a good analogy.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: need help with wirring issues

But if the ground is bad at the battery the connection under the console does you no good. Start at the source to verify you actually have a good source.

 

[SeanT]

Re: need help with wirring issues

I know - I wasn't trying to contradict you. Of course we need to verify the source, I'm just not yet sure the OP knows what a test light is or how to use one.

 

[imraan47]

Re: need help with wirring issues

I know - I wasn't trying to contradict you. Of course we need to verify the source, I'm just not yet sure the OP knows what a test light is or how to use one.

i do have a meter so i can use that but the test light i don't have.
i know the battery is charge 100% no problem. i tried to run a wire from the lights to the battery then put a new switch and it now works. but the old switch and wirring is till there and need to figure out why all that didnt work. i looked under the dash and OMG its a mess. i really feel like stripping everything and just doing the whole wiring again. by mistake there is this blue wire that was glued to the fiber glass and i took that off and the damn wire separated from where it connects now i have NO clue where that goes and i haven't noticed anything different but i think i may have disconnected the speedometer!!!
i will take the boat out tomorrow and see if the speed and all that is working when driving.

i need some help with wirring a bilge pump and the automatic thing to start it if water gets in the boat. i tried to connect the bilge pump wire straight to the 12V battery and it didnt turn on. so does this mean its time for a new one or you arent supposed to connect direct to a battery?

 

[rosser1]

Re: need help with wirring issues

you can hook bilge up to battery to check and make sure it works, but not hot wire it as a permint hook up. umm you need to follow wires, you can start over, i did because guy have everything under the sun hooked to my wiring, house wire, phone wire, everthing was bad. everything worked i just had to undo and redo. but if you have jumped to light and they work and the battery is good and charged the switch may be bad, wires may be damaged alone the boat somewhere. test battery next test to see if power is at fuse and switches then turn on switch test again, and then test at lights, pumps and anything eslse you have and good luck.

 

[imraan47]

Re: need help with wirring issues

stupid question for you here....

are both the stern and bow light supposed to be on at the same time when at night???

 

[chuckz]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Only while under way. At anchor, only the stern light.

 

[imraan47]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Only while under way. At anchor, only the stern light.

ahh i see..thanks.

ok so big problem well sort of..i mentioned above that there is this blue cable and thought it was for the speed..and i was right. i took the boat out and the speed meter is not working. can someone help me figure this out. i have no idea where it came from as there isn't another area that i can suspect based on how it broke.
please help with connecting this speed meter for me. thankss

 

[imraan47]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Hey.

ok so here is the thing...2 pictures: first one is what i have now and i want to make it simple like the second picture (hope im not missing a switch!)
how can i do the wiring from scratch since i want to replace the dash pannel to a hardwood finish. 3rd pic is a real pic of the boat dash .

thanks

 

[underwurlde]

Re: need help with wirring issues

As an electrical engineer, & if I were in your shoes, here's how I would personally go about this:

1) I would defiantely want to know how the boat is wired. I would therefore want a wiring schematic diagram. Without this, local replacement of wires etc, fine, but pulling the dash out and starting again... you're opening up a can of worms & problems.

2) To get this schematic I would:
a) Ask around for one - you never know! (internet, freinds, other owners, forum, manufacturer of boat, previous owner). IF you were lucky enough to get that, then this would be a great starting point but I personally would NOT assume that everything or indeed ANYTHING would match the wiring you have now. You'd have to check to see if it matches.

b) If option a) is a non starter: Reverse engineer the cabling: I'd take colour digital pictures of the wiring looms. LOTS AND LOTS of pictures from all angles. Then I'd trace where all wires go, use my multimeter and lots of common sense and HOPEFULLY come up with a wiring diagram drawn by hand.

Only then would I even go near trying to fault find / repair anything.

Alternatively, there's always the 'rip the whole damn lot out and start again' option!

Andy

 

[david_r]

Re: need help with wirring issues

this is a pretty good site........ especially if your wiring is factory. there may be some minor differences but usually the same.

the blue wires are usually associated with lighting and the purple wires are usually the "hot" wires.

the easiest way to find/trace your wires i have found is as suggested above....... with a multimeter.

its easiest to have a helper but you can do it yourself. just set the meter like you were gonna check resistance (ohms) , make sure your batt is disconnected of course, attatch one wire under the dash to the wire you are looking to locate then take the other wire and start touching wires. you will not damage anything by applying volatge and you can get an idea of the shape your wires are in.

heres a common wiring set up

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/wireColorCode.html

 

[imraan47]

Re: need help with wirring issues

Thanks alot of the 2 above responses...
so now so far i put in a new bilge pump and hooked that up to the old toggle switch and guess what..the blower started working by itself. So i think since i passed new wires from the bilge to the batter and then the switch/fuse i must have crossed wires and the blower is working. however i have noticed that the bilge switch must be on then only the blower will work. i can however turn the blower switch off and the bilge on to work just the bilge.

my speed meter is still down and not working at all...i cant figure out where that blue wire that was glued under the dash with silicon goes!!!

i have ordered new switches with a led and will get that soon and want to install that on a new dash that i want to design. i think i will leave this for the winter season in the next month and mean time do some research and i really need to get myself a multimeter which i dont have yet. where can i get one, perhaps a cheap one online/?

 

[SeanT]

Re: need help with wirring issues

You can get a multi meter from any hardware store. Also pickup a test light at the same place or an auto supply store.

 

[jhebert]

Re: need help with wirring issues

A general plan for small boat wiring is given in

Boat Electrical Circuits and Wiring Practices
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/boatWiring.html