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

[glenn property of pam]

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

silvertips i hope you dont mind me borrowing you drawing and changing it. if you do then please feel free to remove it as i believe you deserve credit for your work.



this is how your boat is wired which explains why the stern light stays on with the switch at the bow. im guessing the switch is only designed to turn the lights on as the stern light is hard wired to the drivers switch.

 

[dustin2550]

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

Unbelievably nothing happen. It makes sense that providing power straight to the stern would make it come on. But nothing. But if you remember my other post, the wire that supplies power to the switch (middle row) runs to the fuse box and went i pull that wire and/or fuse, the light still stayed on. So this switch is getting its power from somewhere else somehow. Since the only fuse that makes the light go out is the fuse that attaches to the wire that runs from gauges I am going to guess it ties in with it somehow. I have the equipment, the wiring and even a new fuse box to replace the old one that uses the glass gauges. Maybe I should just get started:facepalm:

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

if the master switch is on then the fuses should have power and the middle terminal should be 12v+. the middle wire should go to its own fuse but not all boats are wired the same. trace the middle wire the one that has the brown bugged to it to see where it goes. if you have more fuse space than the old block rewire it to its own fuse when you replace the panel. looking at your picture it kinda easy to see why you are having problems with the electrical as the wires are terminated using cheapo connectors they real do need to be better quality with covers over the female spades and heat shrinked to the wire to avoid accidental contact. im glad we have at least found out what the problem is and now you will be able to fix it and get back to fishing.

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

Unbelievably nothing happen. It makes sense that providing power straight to the stern would make it come on. But nothing. But if you remember my other post, the wire that supplies power to the switch (middle row) runs to the fuse box and went i pull that wire and/or fuse, the light still stayed on. So this switch is getting its power from somewhere else somehow. Since the only fuse that makes the light go out is the fuse that attaches to the wire that runs from gauges I am going to guess it ties in with it somehow. I have the equipment, the wiring and even a new fuse box to replace the old one that uses the glass gauges. Maybe I should just get started:facepalm:

all the fuses and wires are reconnected now? what you dont seem to understand is that your boat was wired with 2 feed wires this is not all that surprissing it just means they connected the bow switch to a diffrent + then they did the drivers switch. if the drivers switch feed has broken or been disconnected then the light will not work from the drivers seat. you have to understand the light is working correctly as in if you turn on the bow switch then the light is meant to stay on until you turn the bow switch off. this is why bassboats have a master switch its to save you having to get up and turn all the bow switchs off because its a long walk to the bow...lol. your problem has never been that the stern light stays on it was doing what it was designed to do the problem is that you can not get the light to come on from the drivers switch and if the fuses are all in and all wires connected then the last test you did means the feed to the switch has been lost had the light come on then it would have meant the switch was bad.
i still feel like we are missing something as if the middle wire has been traced to the fuse panel and the fuse is good with the master switch on there should be power there. a volt meter and learning how basic dc works would real help you in the future

 

[dustin2550]

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

Ok, I understand what you are saying. But here is what I dont get it. I the feed that comes in directly from the stern light is lost, how does the switch at the bow turn the stern light on? There is only one wire running from the stern and its that single one on top that you had me to touch to the middle 12 volt wire on the switch.

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

on the drivers switch you have one yellow and a red jumper top right and one yellow and the red jumper bottom right. when the switch is turned to stern then the brown wire middle is connected to the top right connection making the light come on. when the switch is turned to both then the brown is connected to the bottom right and jumps the red wire to make the light come on. in your case the other yellow wire coming from the bow can override the switch so even when the drivers switch is turned off you can send 12v down the yellow wire from the front to back of the drivers switch which then jumps the red wire to make the light come on.

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

on a side note does the stuff on the boat that blew fuses also have switchs up at the bow. we know the light does and most bassboats also have the bilge and tilt/trim up there also if so make sure they have the rubber boots over the switchs or when it rains they will fill up with water as there mounted as a angle and that will lead to fuses blowing.

 

[bruceb58]

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

bruce with all due respect when multiple things start to play up on dc the ground needs to be checked.

With all due respect, if he had a bad ground, nothing at his helm would work.

I already said what I thought the problem was many posts up but nothing concerning it was tried apparently.

The nav switch is a dual pole dual throw switch. The center connections are the common for each switch and that is why they are jumpered. The switch is wired like Silvertips diagram.

First thing I would do is to pull all the wires off the switch and use a jumper to determine which wire goes where, otherwise, you are just guessing which wires are which.

If you can't find the stern light wire, you need to trace it down by starting at the stern light.

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

With all due respect, if he had a bad ground, nothing at his helm would work.

I already said what I thought the problem was many posts up but nothing concerning it was tried apparently.

The nav switch is a dual pole dual throw switch. The center connections are the common for each switch and that is why they are jumpered. The switch is wired like Silvertips diagram.

First thing I would do is to pull all the wires off the switch and use a jumper to determine which wire goes where, otherwise, you are just guessing which wires are which.

If you can't find the stern light wire, you need to trace it down by starting at the stern light.

we worked out which wire was which.....it took a while but it turns out theres 2 light switchs on his boat one on the bow panel and one at the drivers side panel. they seem to have seperate 12v feeds (from info op posted) the one at the bow still has its 12v+ (same circuit as the gague lights) the one at the drivers panel has lost its 12v+ the op says that when traced it goes to the fuse panel. until this wire has power the lights will not work as designed. the problem is not that the lights stay on as they were switched on from the front panel the problem is the lights will not come on from the drivers switch. still no volt meter so stern light (op traced that one) was tested by touching the connector to the middle post of the switch which should be 12v+ the light did not come on so it seems the 12v+ is lost at this point (op traced it to fuse panel) op is upgrading fuse panel from the old glass type so im going to wait to see if that fixs the problem. i do find it odd that the wire was traced back to the fuse panel and it has no power but with out a meter to test im waiting. in case you have a diffrent opion

from op pics
top right wire is stern light
red wire joins top right to bottom right
bottom right yellow goes to bow switch (didnt get a pic of that)
bottom left is bow light
middle wire with brown jumper is traced to fuse panel
light stays on when bow light switch is turned on
light goes off when bow switch is turned off
light will not come on from the drivers switch no matter what position
light stays on when bow switch is on no matter what position drivers switch is in

 

[KX6D]

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

silvertips i hope you dont mind me borrowing you drawing and changing it.

View attachment 172631

Actually, the original drawing has a small flaw, which I pointed out earlier. The toggle switch (pictured), when moved to the UP position connects the middle and BOTTOM terminals. All toggle and rocker switches do this. Slide switches do not.

To make the picture correct, the bow (nav) light needs to be on the bottom left, and the anchor light needs to be on the top right. This way, when the switch is flipped UP (nav) it makes connection from the center to both bottom terminals, sending power to both lights. When it is flipped DOWN (anchor), the center and TOP terminals make connection only lighting the stern/anchor light.

The switch works like a teter-totter or simple lever. One side goes UP...the other side goes DOWN. The pivot is in the center of the switch lever!

 

[KX6D]

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

If the feed that comes in directly from the stern light is lost...

The FEED tells us its the power source, or in other words, the power coming in from the battery/fuse panel. The LOAD is the light itself. If there is only ONE WIRE going to the stern light, it is not the feed, but the load.

There could be a FEED (think 12V+) coming from the switch in the rear...but not from the light. And I don't know why anyone would do that unless they were trying to wire up a 3-way switch.

 

[dustin2550]

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

Well. After i installing new fuse panel today and running a new positive and negative from the battery to the new fuse box all is fine. The the feed wire running from the panel to the the light switch still seems to be useless as the light works with or without it. I have no idea why I cant figure out how the gauges power the light switch but no matter. The the light does as it should at all three positions now! Thanks Glenn for your patience.

 

[glenn property of pam]

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

if it bothers you that much go to the front switch and find the feed to the switch then trace it backwards so you can put it on the same fuse as the drivers switch or cut and cap it then run a new wire from the switch to the same fuse the drivers switch is on.
glad to get you back on the water. remember to get rubber boots for the front switchs when you get a chance or cover them so rain can not get on them and hopefully you will stop blowing fuses

dont worry to much about how it works just think of how you will use it. while fishing it starts to get dark and youve got a 10lb fish on a 6lb line you know you have to turn the lights on for safety but you carnt let the fish go so you kick the switch with your foot and the lights come on. yes its overkill and you will proberly never need it but thats a bassboat.