Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

[BrettUmd]

I just replaced all my gauges on a 1995 Proline with a 90 hp Johnson. After I finished replacing the gauges, everything worked perfectly, but I forgot to hook up the light on a new compass that I bought. I was looking for a way to connect the compass to the lights on all the new gauges (so when I turn the light switch on, the compass light will turn on with the rest of the gauges) so I spliced the positive into the wires that the lights run on (the wire was blue) and connected the negative to a ground under the dash (I connected it to the same ground as the ignition). The light on the compass never came on, so I disconnected it and put everything back as it was before I started to mess around. Now the voltage meter doesn't work, the trim gauge doesn't work, and smoke comes off the purple ignition wire when the key is left in the on position. I spent nearly 2 hours looking at all the connections under the dash, and everything looks fine, but the gauges are still screwed up. I am beginning to think that the ignition could have been fried, but the engine still cranks when I turn the key so that theory may be out the window. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

[DJ]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

Yikes!<br /><br />Look for a fuse under the hood of the engine.<br /><br />I think you shorted the ignition to positive, with that set up.

 

[moderator1]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

I'm going to move this to Boat topics and questions for now..We don't really have a broken engine...yet.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

(BrettUmd, Please pardon the off-topic post)<br />1 more to go DJ. Congrats!

 

[kesso]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

Originally posted by BrettUmd:<br />(the wire was blue) and connected the negative to a ground under the dash (I connected it to the same ground as the ignition.<br /><br /> I am beginning to think that the ignition could have been fried, but the engine still cranks when I turn the key so that theory may be out the window. Any ideas? Thanks in advance! [/QB]

Generally, your ignition/key switch will be supplied with 12Vdc Hot (Hot=straight from battery) and have two outputs:<br /><br />1. 12Vdc switched (switched=key set to 'on' then switch outputs 12Vdc for accessories ie tacho).<br /><br />2. 12Vdc start (start=key set to 'start' and then switch outputs 12Vdc to the starter motor assembly for subsequent cranking of the engine).<br /><br />Im not sure there is any ground on your ignition switch, there is no purpose for one. So what im saying is, are you sure that you have "connected 'it' to the same ground as the ignition".

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

Well you obviously have a short somewhere in your new setup. Probably knocked something loose when you tried to connect the compass light. As DJ pointed out, there should be a fuse on the motor that protects this (12V switched) circuit. The fuse should have blown if the wire was smoking. Now you have another problem. You possibly have melted the insulation from the switched +12V wire and adjacent wires which could lead to more possible shorts. I would go right back to the beginning, take it all apart, check everything, then re-connect one at a time. Make sure each gauge works correctly then connect the next. Double check all your connections. The last thing you want is an electrical fire out on the water. If you connect everything at once, you have no idea what could be at fault if something goes wrong. I find it really helps if you take a moment and draw a simple schematic or connection diagram of what you want to do. Its easier and more accurate to work from a diagram rather than just connecting wires as you go.

 

[navigator336]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

It sounds to me that you hooked a ground up to the "I" terminal of the ignition switch. Only 12V+ goes to or from the ignition switch. "B" is 12V+ from the battery. "I" feeds the coil, ig. switched accessories and the gauges. "S" feeds the starter solenoid. If you don't have a volt-ohm meter, you should get one, but you could start by disconnecting the wire/s you are using to feed the gauges and accessories off the "I" terminal. If the smoking stops when the key is on, then you know where to look next for the grounding problem.

 

[BrettUmd]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

I solved the problem in case anyone ever has a similar situation. It was one of 3 things that did the trick.<br />#1. I found the mounting bracket that held one of the gauges to be shorting out the ground with the Purple 12V+ wire.<br />#2. The ground contacts in the stern of the boat on the master buss from the battery were fairly corrodeded and thus might not have been creating a solid contact.<br />#3. The previous owner put the wrong type fuse on the Trim/Tilt actuater wire (not quite sure if thats exact part, but the trim/tilt system wouldn't work without the fuse in there). I kept popping the fuses when the ignition was turned on and couldn't understand why. There should be a 20A fuse in there.<br /><br />Once I fixed all these problems all the gauges worked perfectly again. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Replaced gauges but now the voltage is all messed up.

Thanks for the update. My money is on #1. Regardless of other factors, a short is definitely a bad thing. Glad you got it resolved.