Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

[bruceb58]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

All of them! Just so you don't lose track of which fuse goes in where, pull it out, check to see if light went out, and then put it back in. Then repeat with every fuse.

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok. I will do that and get back to you with the results.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

have you found the problem yet ?

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

I will not be able to get to the boat until Thursday unfortunately. I will update then. I am sure I will have more questions :facepalm: Thank you guys for your help so far.

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok pulled every fuse and the only one that made the light go out was the one tied to the stern light toggle. Pulling the bow light did not make the stern go out. So I guess I should test the switch now?

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

OK correction to previous post. I traced the wire from the fuse that made the stern light go out. It did not lead to the stern/nav light switch. It led to the fuel gauge......wow......I am not even sure where to even start to find this problem now.....any help at all would be appreciated. Also, this may shed some light to you pros...the "lights" toggle at the bow will turn off the stern light. I have no idea what to do.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

You need to try one more time. The instruments are powered from the "A" terminal on the ignition switch, not the fuse panel so what you are telling is us is either wrong or someone has mucked with the wiring The fuse that protects the instruments and engine wiring is back under the engine cover. If someone has mucked with the wiring on this boat then you have to do some searching on your own as we cannot see your boat. Here is the wiring for the NAV/ANC switch and a generic diagram for the instrument panel

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok. I was looking at that wire at 130am this morning so the probability is high I made a mistake is high. Ill retrace and repost this afternoon

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

have you bought a volt meter yet and tested you have 12v between the fuse panel and the ground block yet?

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Unfortunately this seems to be a lost cause for me. I followed the wire from the fuse that makes the stern light go out and sure enough it goes straight to the gauges. Somewhere in the boat there stern light is tied into the gauge wiring and causes it to stay on when the gauges are on. There is a wire with a jumper running from the middle of the light switch to the fuse panel but when I take that fuse out of the panel that light stills stays on! Due to some shoddy wiring the gauges are always on everytime the master switch from the battery is on. It just looks like I am going to have to take my time and trace all these wires and see where each one goes. It will be a learning experience if nothing else. Something else i noticed.....on the stern/bow light switch there is TWO feeds coming into the stern side, one leads towards the bow and the other towards the stern. I am guessing this is from the lights switch at the bow controls?

 

[NYBo]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Not a lost cause at all. You've discovered thaat your boat was rewired by a crazy person, and have the info to do it over correctly right in this forum.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

They are supposed to go to the gauges. That is the wire that turns the lights in the gauges on. Disconnect just that wire that goes to the gauges(from the switch) and your light will go out most likely. Very possible that one connector of that daisy chain of wires got pulled off once and got replaced on something that it shouldn't have.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

They are supposed to go to the gauges. That is the wire that turns the lights in the gauges on. Disconnect just that wire that goes to the gauges(from the switch) and your light will go out most likely. Very possible that one connector of that daisy chain of wires got pulled off once and got replaced on something that it shouldn't have.

Yep. I bet the PO connected the gauge lights to both the nav light circuit and the ignition switch circuit in a moment of confusion.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

it doesnt seem all the odd that the gauge lights might be tied in to the bow light as you dont need the gauges lights till night time and thats when the bow light would be turned on (some of the old controllers with the plug in the back only have a grey tac wire leaving the controller so the gauges were picked up on the boat wiring). i realy wish you would test your ground bar to ensure that was grounded just to rule that out. even if you just jump a piece of wire from the battery neg to the ground block near the fuse panel that would ans some questions. everything worked when you got the boat so the po carnt be blamed. the next step that might help is for you to use paint of another program then start drawing the wires one at a time then post the diagram. it doesnt have to be neat even a cig packet drawing thats scanned in will allow us to see whats going on. another option is to pull the panels forward and take pictures of all the wiring on the back of the switchs. wish i was closer so i could come see the boat maybe some one on here lives in that area and can assist.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

It won't be a bad ground.

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Glenn. How exactly do I test the ground. You are saying run a jumper from the battery to the block? What would I be looking for after I did that?

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok I will see if I diagram it out. I can tell you one thing I noticed. The spade terminals on the gauge that in all the diagrams i see on here are supposed to go to the NAV side of the light switch have no wires coming from them. The gauge lights come on from a wire thats attached to where the ignition wire is and that wire runs to the fuse panel. Just in case it helps here is a picture of the back of my stern/ nav light switch. You can see there a feeder wire going to both sides of the stern light connections. I am guessing one of these is keeping the stern light on permanently? In the picture you can see I have the jumper disconnected. The stern light as you might expect does not come on without the jumper connected. But what gets me is that neither "stern" or "both" works unless the jumper is connected. I thought at least the "both" should work without the jumper correct? Yeah I am not sure if this is all the PO's fault. This just started after the bilge fuse blew, then it was like a domino effect...the trim fuse...then the light situation started. But I havent altered the wires since I bought the boat so as screwed up as it all sounds it worked for a few trips.

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

I can take pictures of anything you guys would think would be helpful. Just tell me and Ill do it.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

I can take pictures of anything you guys would think would be helpful. Just tell me and Ill do it.

single yellow top right in picture remove that and put the jumper back on and see if the lights works correctly. if it does you have a back feed from the yellow if it does not then it might be a contact in the switch has welded in that postion so no matter what you do to the toggle part of the switch the state wont change

 

[dustin2550]

Re: Stern light stays on permanently. Cannot turn off at console switch.

Ok did that. No lights at any of the three positions. Think I need a new switch then? What would have made it weld all of a sudden?