Only select Items 12v and 110 will work on my boat...Very puzzled

[jacshep]

So I bought a 1988 Regal 255XL single engine. Boat for the age seems to get in great condition. Engine still runs Very well. Starts with no issues. I tinkered more though I am stumped. The electrical has me at a loss. I only add some facts because it might be relevant to you and I am overlooking something. As Sherlock Holmes says, " Everyone sees. But not everyone Observes." So I offer you the facts as I saw them.

ADDITIONAL INFO (Not my issue)
I had bought two 12v marine batteries in parallel 1000 CCA each and used them on one side "Engine starter side". I bought a third 12v I planned on using for "House Power" deep cycle marine 100 AH 600 CCA. Both sides connect to the classic battery switch. 1, all, 2, Off.
I have had ZERO issue with cranking the engine using the "Engine Side" battery bank. I did notice that I could trim up before the engine started but not down. Once the engine was on I could trim down no problem. I assume it takes more power and so the alternator provides that. The Alternator seems to be working around 13-14V from the shabby dashboard meter.

I did note that when I had the "House Side" connected, it still would provide power to the one light that I will talk about in a bit even when in the OFF position. This led me to believe that I need to open the switch box and maybe tighten or clean. The previous owner did say that he thought there was a parasitic draw on the batteries. So I could see this being the reason. When the "House Side" is disconnected from terminals however, and turned to off, nothing appears to be on. Leading me to believe "Engine Side" does not have the same issue.

The mactator is disconnected. (looks to be cut)
There is a random thick greyish wire that has an eyelet battery connector end to it that is attached to nothing laying next to the engine and disappearing out of the engine bay. No clue what it is.

(MY ISSUE)
When using 12v power the only thing that will work is one 12v light near the main AC breaker box inside the cabin. There is also illumination in the depth finder that came originally with the boat, though I don't think it actually works. Out of about 15 switches on the dash the only one that seems to work is the switch to turn on panel lighting.
Not working:
Bilge pump
Blower fans
All other 12v DC lights
Stereo
All NAV Lights
The additional Trim Tabs
water pump
Really anything that should work on 12V
This is really confusing me. To me it seems very odd that EVERY SINGLE other thing on this boat is disconnected in some way than one set of cabin lights, and some dash lights. The bulbs seem good inside all of the other lights.
I thought this was very strange and so I connected to AC power for some light. For some reason I thought this craft might have a converter like my RV but I guess they don't looking at the wiring diagram. I turned on the AC power according to the manual.
-connect power to shore
-turn on main breaker
-turn on item breaker

I was very disappointed again to see the results.
What worked:
Battery charger (is humming and the charge light appears to be on...is it working? I dont know its 36 years old.
The stove (gets ridiculously hot in a matter of seconds. Its getting power.)

What is not working:
Fridge
NONE of the outlets.
I want to say Hot water heater isnt functional anyway so...Not working

It seems this build really put all the chips into 12v and its just not working.

WHAT I DID TO TRY TO FIX IT:

First thing was to check every fuse I could find. I found a single fuse in the 12v panel fuses blown.(replaced it) No other ones that I was able to locate where blown.
Checked the 60 AMP master fuse. ( One light was working at least so its not blown.)
Checked the wiring harness because it is loose where it connect to the other half that is mounted on the engine....but it had no effect when I snugged it up.
Checked where the wires connect to the starter from the harness. (again wiggled them, but why would only one thing just work? It had no effect.)
Took a tooth brush and tried brushing connections. (reaching at this point)
Touched that grey wire to battery and to engine. Nothing
Pushed GFI button a million times.

If nothing at all worked, I could understand it. But are not all the cabin lights connected? Out of 15 switches only the dash lights work? The AC power will charge the battery but not an outlet? I am not above just getting a LIFEPO4 battery and an inverter for my boat and doing it that way but I feel like I am missing something here. Please Help. Thanks
The DC and AC wire diagrams, are on page 190 and 192 on this link.

User manual Regal Ambassador 255 (English - 202 pages)

Manual Regal Ambassador 255. View the Regal Ambassador 255 manual for free or ask your question to other Regal Ambassador 255 owners.

www.manua.ls

(tried to upload a paint picture but wouldt let me sorry)

 

[jacshep]

So I bought a 1988 Regal 255XL single engine. Boat for the age seems to get in great condition. Engine still runs Very well. Starts with no issues. I tinkered more though I am stumped. The electrical has me at a loss. I only add some facts because it might be relevant to you and I am overlooking something. As Sherlock Holmes says, " Everyone sees. But not everyone Observes." So I offer you the facts as I saw them.

ADDITIONAL INFO (Not my issue)
I had bought two 12v marine batteries in parallel 1000 CCA each and used them on one side "Engine starter side". I bought a third 12v I planned on using for "House Power" deep cycle marine 100 AH 600 CCA. Both sides connect to the classic battery switch. 1, all, 2, Off.
I have had ZERO issue with cranking the engine using the "Engine Side" battery bank. I did notice that I could trim up before the engine started but not down. Once the engine was on I could trim down no problem. I assume it takes more power and so the alternator provides that. The Alternator seems to be working around 13-14V from the shabby dashboard meter.

I did note that when I had the "House Side" connected, it still would provide power to the one light that I will talk about in a bit even when in the OFF position. This led me to believe that I need to open the switch box and maybe tighten or clean. The previous owner did say that he thought there was a parasitic draw on the batteries. So I could see this being the reason. When the "House Side" is disconnected from terminals however, and turned to off, nothing appears to be on. Leading me to believe "Engine Side" does not have the same issue.

The mactator is disconnected. (looks to be cut)
There is a random thick greyish wire that has an eyelet battery connector end to it that is attached to nothing laying next to the engine and disappearing out of the engine bay. No clue what it is.

(MY ISSUE)
When using 12v power the only thing that will work is one 12v light near the main AC breaker box inside the cabin. There is also illumination in the depth finder that came originally with the boat, though I don't think it actually works. Out of about 15 switches on the dash the only one that seems to work is the switch to turn on panel lighting.
Not working:
Bilge pump
Blower fans
All other 12v DC lights
Stereo
All NAV Lights
The additional Trim Tabs
water pump
Really anything that should work on 12V
This is really confusing me. To me it seems very odd that EVERY SINGLE other thing on this boat is disconnected in some way than one set of cabin lights, and some dash lights. The bulbs seem good inside all of the other lights.
I thought this was very strange and so I connected to AC power for some light. For some reason I thought this craft might have a converter like my RV but I guess they don't looking at the wiring diagram. I turned on the AC power according to the manual.
-connect power to shore
-turn on main breaker
-turn on item breaker

I was very disappointed again to see the results.
What worked:
Battery charger (is humming and the charge light appears to be on...is it working? I dont know its 36 years old.
The stove (gets ridiculously hot in a matter of seconds. Its getting power.)

What is not working:
Fridge
NONE of the outlets.
I want to say Hot water heater isnt functional anyway so...Not working

It seems this build really put all the chips into 12v and its just not working.

WHAT I DID TO TRY TO FIX IT:

First thing was to check every fuse I could find. I found a single fuse in the 12v panel fuses blown.(replaced it) No other ones that I was able to locate where blown.
Checked the 60 AMP master fuse. ( One light was working at least so its not blown.)
Checked the wiring harness because it is loose where it connect to the other half that is mounted on the engine....but it had no effect when I snugged it up.
Checked where the wires connect to the starter from the harness. (again wiggled them, but why would only one thing just work? It had no effect.)
Took a tooth brush and tried brushing connections. (reaching at this point)
Touched that grey wire to battery and to engine. Nothing
Pushed GFI button a million times.

If nothing at all worked, I could understand it. But are not all the cabin lights connected? Out of 15 switches only the dash lights work? The AC power will charge the battery but not an outlet? I am not above just getting a LIFEPO4 battery and an inverter for my boat and doing it that way but I feel like I am missing something here. Please Help. Thanks
The DC and AC wire diagrams, are on page 190 and 192 on this link.

User manual Regal Ambassador 255 (English - 202 pages)

Manual Regal Ambassador 255. View the Regal Ambassador 255 manual for free or ask your question to other Regal Ambassador 255 owners.

www.manua.ls

(tried to upload a paint picture but wouldt let me sorry)

Iv been in the dark for quite sometime with a flashlight cleaning bus bars and connections.
What I have found so far is that I was able to get the radio to turn on for about 5 seconds connecting the HOT 12v cable directly to the HOT cable for the radio if I bypassed the fuse. Iv scrubbed the bus with a steel bush for a very very long time....as well as any old fuses, as well as the connecters on both sides. My only conclusion is that the bus itself along with the actual connecters leading to the wires have the "blue film" on them so Ill have to recut the wire behind the connector and install another 12v bus bar. Anything that dont work after that must have a cut in the wire or bad connection to the component itself. This is all I can come up with. I thought I might have heard the fridge come on for a sec, cant be sure. Thoughts?

 

[jacshep]

So, Iv ran into another problem. When I use a voltage meter to test the RED (60 amp wire) leading to my bus bar against my BLACK AND RED (That I assume to be my negative) I get 12v. When I attach the BLACK AND RED wire back to the bus bar it reads less than 1V across the bus bar....I dont know how to fix this. Anyone know whats going on?

 

[Roadking57]

Must be a corroded connection somewhere or the bus bar is grounding someplace it should not be. 12v systems are usually simple. You may have a excessive drain thats hard to find like the fridge. Dissconnect everything and reconnect one at a time if you can do that?
I like your idea of installing an inverter/charger

 

[dingbat]

Started reading thru this thread this morning.
Very confusing.... your jumping all over the place.
You need to start at the supply (batteries) and work your way back

The odds of your problem being the "bur bar" is next to nil.
Wouldn't spend another 10 seconds working from that perspective.

When I use a voltage meter to test the RED (60 amp wire) leading to my bus bar against my BLACK AND RED (That I assume to be my negative) I get 12v. When I attach the BLACK AND RED wire back to the bus bar it reads less than 1V across the bus bar....I dont know how to fix this. Anyone know whats going on?

Never ASSUME with electricity. It could get to killed.........

Your explanation of the red/black situation makes no sense at all.

Red is hot.... Black is ground...
I cant think of a situation where you would ever connect a red (hot) wire to a buss bar

 

[jacshep]

Started reading thru this thread this morning.
Very confusing.... your jumping all over the place.
You need to start at the supply (batteries) and work your way back

The odds of your problem being the "bur bar" is next to nil.
Wouldn't spend another 10 seconds working from that perspective.

Never ASSUME with electricity. It could get to killed.........

Your explanation of the red/black situation makes no sense at all.

Red is hot.... Black is ground...
I cant think of a situation where you would ever connect a red (hot) wire to a buss bar

Its a black wire with a red line in it. Its the only wire that provides me a ground that is connected to the negative side of the bus bar. I wanted to post pictures but its not letting me. Sorry for that.

 

[jacshep]

Must be a corroded connection somewhere or the bus bar is grounding someplace it should not be. 12v systems are usually simple. You may have a excessive drain thats hard to find like the fridge. Dissconnect everything and reconnect one at a time if you can do that?
I like your idea of installing an inverter/charger

I dont really know where to start since a light works and the lights on the panel work. The radio worked for a little but now I cant get it to do it again.

 

[jacshep]

Its a black wire with a red line in it. Its the only wire that provides me a ground that is connected to the negative side of the bus bar. I wanted to post pictures but its not letting me. Sorry for that.

I took another battery inside the cabin and attached it to the receiving side of the bus bar. The side that bypasses all the 10 15 20 amp fuses. Then I connected the battery to the negative bus bar. Everything worked excepted for the rest of the cabin lights. Fridge, Trim tabs, bilge, blower, nav lights, radio etc. Any clue what this means?

 

[dingbat]

I took another battery inside the cabin and attached it to the receiving side of the bus bar. The side that bypasses all the 10 15 20 amp fuses. Then I connected the battery to the negative bus bar. Everything worked excepted for the rest of the cabin lights. Fridge, Trim tabs, bilge, blower, nav lights, radio etc. Any clue what this means?

Sounds like your back feeding the circuits through ground.

Hopefully you didn't blow anything by applying power to ground

Lets get some terminology straight... don't see a "bus bar" per say on the schematic. I see a power distribution panel feed by a 60 A red wire.

Within that panel should be a positive connected to the 60A wire feeding the fuses and a negative side with a single black wire.

You should have power on the positive side, no power on negative side.

All BL/Red wire are accessory connections with the exception of the light in the engine room

 

[jacshep]

I took another battery inside the cabin and attached it to the receiving side of the bus bar. The side that bypasses all the 10 15 20 amp fuses. Then I connected the battery to the negative bus bar. Everything worked excepted for the rest of the cabin lights. Fridge, Trim tabs, bilge, blower, nav lights, radio etc. Any clue what this means

Sounds like your back feeding the circuits through ground.

Hopefully you didn't blow anything by applying power to ground

Lets get some terminology straight... don't see a "bus bar" per say on the schematic. I see a power distribution panel feed by a 60 A red wire.

Within that panel should be a positive connected to the 60A wire feeding hte fuses and a negative side. You should have power on the positive side,
no power on negative side.

All BL/Red wire are accessory connections with the exception of the light in the engine room

I believe you are correct in your terminology. Electric isn't really a strong point of mine obviously. I am getting 12v to the "distribution bar" on the hot side. Could it be that the negative side isn't properly grounded at all at the distribution panel? If so could I just run another wire from the Neg. from the bank to the Neg on the distro panel?

 

[dingbat]

I believe you are correct in your terminology. Electric isn't really a strong point of mine obviously. I am getting 12v to the "distribution bar" on the hot side.

OK, we have power ........ kind of..
Have you checked the primary battery voltage?
I see you have a 12V Fridge.
It wouldn't take long to kill a battery

Could it be that the negative side isn't properly grounded at all at the distribution panel?

Very well could be, but it depends on how the system is wired.

Every circuit (fuse outlet) has to be grounded. Ideally each is run back to the ground bus on the distribution panel, but that's rarely the case.
Can you trace distribution ground wire back to the battery?

 

[dingbat]

Did you leave the ground cable off one of the batteries when you installed them?

 

[jacshep]

OK, we have power ........ kind of..
Have you checked the primary battery voltage?
I see you have a 12V Fridge.
It wouldn't take long to kill a battery

Very well could be, but it depends on how the system is wired.

Every circuit (fuse outlet) has to be grounded. Ideally each is run back to the ground bus on the distribution panel, but that's rarely the case.
Can you trace distribution ground wire back to the battery?

I honestly dont see a black ground the size of the hot red going to the panel anywhere at all. They are just a few thin black wires.

 

[jacshep]

Did you leave the ground cable off one of the batteries when you installed them?

No, I placed all wires I found on the battery except for the greyish strange looking cable with a battery connecter. But seeing as the color was not black or red I did not connect

 

[dingbat]

No, I placed all wires I found on the battery except for the greyish strange looking cable with a battery connecter. But seeing as the color was not black or red I did not connect

ugh..... that may be your problem.

Schematic shows both batteries tied together (normal) then grounded to "system" through the battery charger ground