Rewiring

[Prodigal Son]

I fished Friday and my 24 yr old boat decided that it was going to shock me every time I touched the ignition switch/key. Then it started trying to start the engine when I shifted from Forward to Neutral or Reverse.

Time to rewire.

I'm just going to draw it out on paper the way I see it and try to go from there, but does anyone have any tips or websites that might be of assistance? I'm just going to draw it out, lay it out and start fresh because the pulling one wire and replacing it method will take forever and a day due to all of the old, unused, well used and junk wiring that's accumulated over 3 owners and 24 years.

The twist in my mind is that my GPS, VHF, Nav/Anchor lights and deck lights are on their own panel up in my overhead box (duplex run straight from the battery switch up a leg of the tower and to the back of a distribution block last winter, doesn't have anything to do with the console/ignition switch, etc) and when all that stuff started happening with the shocking and such, my GPS gave me some message about "antenna shorted to ground" but it kept working and when I cleared the message it never came back. Coincidence?

We were in some really heavy seas when all this started and that's the last time I want something happening to shut my boat down so I want to wire it now and do it right.

[blueh20pc]

There are three sites you need to visit and study up on....

Delcity.net for tools for doing it right. Get at the minimum some ratcheting crimpers.

Blue Sea Systems, order a catalog for free, they make switches and panels and everything boating related, top notch stuff...The catalog has many tutorials and diagrams that will really help you out.

Best Boat Wire & Cable - Complete Marine Grade Wire, Cable and Electrical Parts Supplier has the wire and connectors and heatshrink, for the lowest prices, and they have exceptional service. I wouldn't go anywhere else. Remember, bus bars are your friend, and seal everything.

With these three links, you should be about straight. Also, I'd like to recommend the clear heat shrink, because then you can see if there's corrosion on a crimp or connector without having to disassemble it.

Good luck Ryan

Use marine gauge wire for everything, and adhesive lined heat shrink connectors.

[Daddy'O]

In reference to the message “antenna shorted to ground” – I would suspect you had a momentary 12v to ground short.

Here are a few tips/suggestions regarding your rewiring project:

Take pictures before disassembling.

Invest in some “labeled” heat shrink for the ends of your wires (available in letters & numbers). These can be used in conjunction with the schematic you draw.

Have a copy of your schematic laminated & keep it in your boat. You, and possibly the next owner of the boat, will find it invaluable.

Lastly, take your time, don’t get in a hurry.

Wayne

[peterbo3]

G'Day Ryan,
I can pop over & do that job for you. I will work for food, accommodation, beer & travel costs.

[Daddy'O]

Ryan,

Take Pete up on his offer -it will be cheaper in the end. Just kidding.

Pete definitely knows how to wire a boat - check out his work on aluminum alloy boats.com ......I think he's even posted his work here on TBR , might be wrong, do a search on Pete's handle.

I'm positive he can help you out with any questions you might have.

Wayne

[Garett]

This suggestion will definitely add time to your efforts but could save you a ton of grief afterwards........rewire one item at a time, then check it to make sure it is and everything else is working properly. By doing this if there is a problem it is far easier to back-trace the problem. If I've seen it once I've seen it dozens of times where ten steps forward lead to one great big wtf is going on, which can take hours on hours to fix.

[Southshore Marine Service]

Take your time! Heat shrink, solder, drip loops, etc.

[Capt. Fred]

Ryan, one other thought. I don't know the layout of the area you will be placing all of this stuff in but on my boat (a 1991 Hydra Sport walkaround) I've got an area about the size of an overgrown shoe box to work in. When I saw peterbo3's pics on the rear side of his helm area it hit me that I should have opened that side of the helm up into the cabin. That way I could have quadrupled the size of the work space and really have done a nice neat job of it. I managed to keep mine pretty civilized for about 2/3rds of the job and then I just plain ran out of space. I've got the helm pump, twin controls, buss bars, switch panel , guage wiring, new NMEA harness for the new chartplotter/radar, etc all stuffed into that little space.

Had I just opened up the back side of the helm area into the cabin and then built an enclosure of some sort it would have been a bad a$$ job. I still may do it just for the fun of doing it right even though it will mean a bunch of butt splices.

Just a thought.

[Prodigal Son]

I had a guy from Michigan offer to fly to Virginia (on his dime) and letter the back of my boat for the cost of the vinyl (next to nothing) in exchange for a dive trip or two. He said he doesn't get enough warm water diving in Michigan, imagine that, and that Virginia/North Carolina are like paradise to him, so Peter's offer isn't too foreign. I'm going to read as much as I can and then ask questions of knowledgeable folks like y'all and that should hopefully be help enough. If not, I'll mail Peter a blow up raft and some MRE's for transportation and will have a sofa waiting when you get here...

I'm going to order a few spools of wire for best boat wire and wait on them to get in...then I'll have some more specific questions I'm sure. I hope it goes better than my darned Camaro, that thing now has a new clutch, slave cylinder, flywheel, master cylinder, throwout bearing and pilot bushing and I'm no closer to it being drivable than the day I started fooling with it.

If the boat wiring goes that way, I'm going to hitch the boat to the Camaro without the plug in it and drive (excuse me, PUSH) them both off the end of a boat ramp.

[Kern O]

Ryan: Before you dive too deeply into it, what is the real story on the shock at the key? 12 volts should not give you much of a shock, but if a spark plug lead is shorted to a shift cable, it can knock you off your feet. Is your ignition switch in the control box?