No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

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bonapetit2

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Just bought a 2001 Lund 1675 explorer ss and have slowly been going through the boat checking all the systems and gadgets. The outboard fires up, all the instruments work, depth finder works, but nothing with the navigation lights, bilge pump or live well pump. I've checked all in-line fuses and fuses under the switches on dash, not sure where to look next. I peeked under the dash, all connections seem to be ok?.there's a ton of wires though. If anyone has a recommendation what to look at next it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Philip
 

Silvertip

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

You are looking in the wrong place. Go back to the battery. You should find two small gauge wires. Make sure they are connected. Then verify the fuse or breaker in the positve lead near the battery is ok. All power to the helm is throw this circuir.
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The wires have been cleaned up, and were properly connected, both fuses were also intact.
 

Bondo

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The wires have been cleaned up, and were properly connected, both fuses were also intact.

Ayuh,... Then get a Test light, or Multimeter, 'n see where there's Power, 'n where it stops,...

The fuses are intact, but do they pass Power,..??

post some pictures of what Yer seein',...
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The pics will have to wait till later….at work for the rest of today. Got a contractor friend of mine bringing his multimeter tomorrow, see where that gets us. I'm hoping his electrical knowledge will uncover the culprit.
 

scipper77

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Tracking down a problem like this is very basic in theory but can be a real PITA in reality.

Is there a keyed switch? I would start there since you have already checked fuses. I think the lights and horn and bilge should be wired seperately from the ignition but you never know. I bet you could check the lights with a 9 volt battery and a couple wires just to make sure that the problem isn't a bad bulb or poor connection. I bet you just have a simple bad wire or connection. Something that ties these three things together.
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

There is a key ignition (remote start), I would think at the least the nav lights would be separate from the key, bilge and live well idk.
Maybe I missed another fuse between battery and helm. So the depth finder must be powered separate from these other accessories...
 

scipper77

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The bilge pump for sure should be seperate from the ignition.

Aftermarket fish finders generally will tap there power from the backside of the switch panel on something where the unit is at the helm. If your fish finder is located somewhere else it could have a wire running directly from the battery with an inline fuse.

Side note: on my fishing boat one of the fuses had a wire pull right out if the fuse holder. I pushed it back in and everything worked fine. It was for my fish finder. If it was for my nav lights ot bilge pump you better believe I would have replaced the fuse holder before I took the boat out again.
 

MH Hawker

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

it should be along this

GW Wiring Diagrams 2.jpg
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

That will help….updates tomorrow thanks..
 

scipper77

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Looks like the switches in the diagram are in series. If there was a problem with a fuse or jumper wire in that scenario it would match your situation to a where multiple devices are not getting power. Do any of the switches on the dash work (like lights for the gauges)??

I guess a test light (or multimeter) will make shorter work of this job than me speculating. Let us know when you find out what is wrong, don't leave us hanging.
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Here's a pic of the wires behind the switches at the helm. Maybe it has something to do with the cylindrical object??
 

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Silvertip

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The cylindrical object is very likely the timer for the livewell pump and not very likely the cause of your issue. Using a test light or voltmeter, insert the positive probe into the yellow connector resting on your thumb. Connect the negative probe to ground. You should measure 12 volts on that wire. If not, you need to work backward in the system until you pick up 12 volts again. I doubt the issue is at the helm. It is either in the wires running from the battery to the helm, the fuse or circuit breaker at the battery, or the connections to the battery. Looking at them is not troubleshooting. Testing with a meter or test light is what needs to be done.

The connector resting on your thumb may actually be the INPUT to the switch panel and the wire that feeds that connector may have become disconnected. Look for another red wire laying behind the helm somewhere.
 
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Redfred1

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Shouldn't a wiring diagram in a PDF be available for the owners manual for that boat? Just a thought. RF
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

2013-12-04 21.43.45.jpg
My buddy never came by last night with the multimeter and his know-how?.I just fiddled around looking for loose connections, took some picks and downed a couple cold heinekens.
Her's another pic of the backside of the busbar at the helm
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Shouldn't a wiring diagram in a PDF be available for the owners manual for that boat? Just a thought. RF

I searched online but couldn't find one…got one for the engine, only found old Lund catalogs on their site, not model specific owners manuals.
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

The connector resting on your thumb may actually be the INPUT to the switch panel and the wire that feeds that connector may have become disconnected. Look for another red wire laying behind the helm somewhere.
That went through my head when I saw that, but didn't notice another one…maybe I'll take a closer look later.
 

Bondo

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

View attachment 218713
My buddy never came by last night with the multimeter and his know-how….I just fiddled around looking for loose connections, took some picks and downed a couple cold heinekens.
Her's another pic of the backside of the busbar at the helm

Ayuh,... So what did yer Bud find,..?? Is there power at the helm, Anywhere, or not,..??
 

bonapetit2

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Ayuh,... So what did yer Bud find,..?? Is there power at the helm, Anywhere, or not,..??
Still waiting on him, so I haven't tested any connections yet…but what I do know is the power to the depth finder is coming off that busbar in the above pic, small wire connected on the furthest left post.
 

Silvertip

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Re: No power to accessories bilge, nav lights and live wells

Still waiting on him, so I haven't tested any connections yet…but what I do know is the power to the depth finder is coming off that busbar in the above pic, small wire connected on the furthest left post.

Ahhh -- that's not a buss bar. That entire panel is nothing more than a fuse panel as I don't see any switches on it. Power comes INTO it from the battery POSITIVE. +12 volts is daisy chained from one fuse to the next. The OUTPUT (load) side of each fuse goes to a switch for the applicable accessory or it may power an accessory (like your locator) directly without a switch. Since there is a switch on the locator there is no need to have another one on the helm. The wad of black tape around the bunch of black wires looks highly suspect and I would be inclined to open it up to see what's going on there. Current can't flow if the ground path back to the battery is not complete, and it can't reach accessories if the POSITIVE circuit is not complete. A five buck test light from an auto store will be your friend here.
 
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