Rewiring

[cdail28590]

Ryan, I was looking at rewiring my boat just like you are. I have been looking for manuals or books to give the proper color coding for the wires. I quess to do it according to ABYC standards. Does anyone have any idea on where to get this information?

[Prodigal Son]

Boat Wiring (color codes)

As to the shock, it was nothing spectacular, but it would get your attention. First time it did it I wasn't sure if it had shocked me or not (so it couldn't be but so bad).

If I could buy short lengths of wire I'd buy all the right colors, but I can't (at least not cheaply) so I'm going to use two colors and a lot of labels...least that's the plan.


Assuming I'm good from the battery to the console, can someone make a moderately educated guess as to a size of wire that could serve as a catch-all under the console (from accessories and gauges to switches, bus bars, etc). I don't want to order 5 sizes of wire when 1 will do. Can't think of anything that draws much of any amperage under there except maybe the FM/CD player...and even that's only like 15 peak or something along those lines...

[blueh20pc]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Son

Boat Wiring (color codes)

As to the shock, it was nothing spectacular, but it would get your attention. First time it did it I wasn't sure if it had shocked me or not (so it couldn't be but so bad).

If I could buy short lengths of wire I'd buy all the right colors, but I can't (at least not cheaply) so I'm going to use two colors and a lot of labels...least that's the plan.


Assuming I'm good from the battery to the console, can someone make a moderately educated guess as to a size of wire that could serve as a catch-all under the console (from accessories and gauges to switches, bus bars, etc). I don't want to order 5 sizes of wire when 1 will do. Can't think of anything that draws much of any amperage under there except maybe the FM/CD player...and even that's only like 15 peak or something along those lines...

I'd vote for 14 gauge for everything not motor related. 1 spool of 50' of 14 gauge yellow and red would do everything under the console.

[peterbo3]

D'Day All,
Looks like wiring projects are going to be the hot topic. My dirty little secret revolves around the printed heatshrink that I have used to identify my wiring. Ordered in from the US. Probably available down here but I would have had to buy a truckload. Here is the link:

Cable Markers Co., Inc. - Online Catalog

I dealt with Drew Smith. He was very helpful on the phone & by email. Order was 100% correct the first time & the price was right.

[peterbo3]

Originally Posted by cdail28590

Ryan, I was looking at rewiring my boat just like you are. I have been looking for manuals or books to give the proper color coding for the wires. I quess to do it according to ABYC standards. Does anyone have any idea on where to get this information?

Hi Curt,
The ABYC standards can still cause confusion as to what wire powers what so they will all need to be identified. I found the printed heatshrink terrific.
I would just go with a (+) red & a (-) black or yellow as blueh20pc suggests.

[Garett]

Ryan this link should help you with calculating wire sizes per amps drawn >

http://www.westmarine.com/pdf/MarineWire.pdf

This link is a calculator >

http://www.ancorproducts.com/Technic...ire_calculator....

[Kern O]

You really don't want to do it with just two colors. E-mail me your address and I'll send you a few coils of different color wire. Things that are switched on with the ignition should be purple, lighting should be blue, full time 12 volt positive should be red and all grounds should be black. I like to use white for sensors like temp and fuel and yellow for tach. Go on eBay and buy some shrink terminals like these: eBay Motors: 16-14 AWG heat shrink ring terminal #8 hole - 25pk (item 300228462449 end time Jun-26-08 07:37:46 PDT)

[Prodigal Son]

Kern O, thanks for the offer but I stuck with KISS and just replaced the ignition switch to see where that landed me...no more issues. For now, I'm calling that good enough. I'm fishing in a tournament Saturday and I don't want to go fixing something until it's really broken, so I'm leaving well enough alone.

I am going to at least semi-rewire the boat though in the coming weeks, so I'll post some pictures and/or questions then.