Pontoon Boat Wiring

Pontoon Boat Wiring attempts to answer your questions about marine electrical techniques, concepts, and products. We get lots of mail from folks in mid-project or who are just curious about their boat’s electrical setup. There are loads of post already on the site which we hope you will browse through. If you’re trying to track [...]

Hi Kevin, I need your advice for a commercial pontoon boat wiring project. I bought a 1993 32’ Sun Tracker Party Cruiser. It has a Mercury Black Max 150 with one battery powering everything including the cabin lights, the navigation lights, radio, refrigerator, gps/depth finder, and the starter for the motor. I think that’s everything. [...]

Kevin, I recently purchased a Smart VSR Battery Switch System from EzAcDc. I have a couple of questions for you that would help me with the boat wiring. Would you combine both the house and cranking batteries every time you’re underway or just when you need to charge them? Does it matter if the house [...]

Hi Kevin, Could you please tell me what the three connections are on a fuel gauge for a typical deck boat wiring? Mine has has three connections and a light socket. Thanks, Bill HI Bill, In most boat wiring,  the three connections are +12 v (B) Ground (G or – or ground symbol) Fuel sender [...]

Hi Kevin, I have a 1987 Johnson 70 HP engine that I am told has only a 9 amp charging system. I’m not sure if this is correct or not, but that is all I know. I am thinking about installing a VSR system in order to keep the engine battery charged as well as [...]

Hi Kevin, I am trying to finish the boat wiring on my ignition but am confused when it comes to connecting all the wires properly. Currently, I have seven wires coming from the harness: red, black, orange, grey, brown, yellow, and white. I connected the red to the “B” post and the yellow to the [...]

Kevin, I have a pontoon and the lighter does not work and I want to replace it but do not understand the boat wiring. Help please. Thank you Bruce Hi Bruce, There are two wires for a 12v receptacle. One will run from the + terminal on the receptacle to a fuse or breaker on [...]

Kevin, Hoping you can help me with my I/O pontoon boat wiring. My problem is when I turn on my navigation lights, my temperature guage instantly increases and eventually sets off the temperature alarm. When I turn off the navigation lights the temperature guage instantly goes back to normal. This only happens with the navigation [...]

Kevin, I’m having to replace the ignition switch on my 1997 SunTracker which has a 1997 Tracker/Mercury 90hp. The new switch and the old switch posts are a bit different. The new switch has six posts: A, B, M (2), C, S. The old switch has 6 posts: I, M (2), B, C, S. Can [...]

Kevin, I am helping a friend install his navigation lights on his pontoon boat. Since the prior boat owner thought that navigational lights were not needed and all of the boat wiring from the on/off/on switch is no longer in the boat, I have to start with nothing. The switch is a toggle style with [...]

Kevin, Thanks for all the help you provide for those of us learning about pontoon boat wiring. On my pontoon rebuild, Ive just finished my carpet, got the side rails up, and are just about ready to tackle my wiring. I read one of your post where you commented about me using a ground bus [...]

Dear Kevin, I have a pontoon boat and the stern light seems to short out every once in a while. This boat wiring goes through the bimini frame work. There is a connection at the wiring connection clip where the wiring exits the framework of the bimini top. The connection is provided as a disconnect [...]

Hello, I have been having trouble with my Attwood navigation lights since installing them last spring. I am looking for a boat wiring diagram that shows me how to wire the bow and stern lights to a three-way switch, allowing me to turn on both when moving (one position) and only the stern light when [...]

Kevin, I just purchased a pontoon and will be retrofitting it completely with EzAcDc boat wiring. I’m especially intrigued by the VSR smart battery switches. My question is… I will be using AGM batteries and would like to hook up three banks and maybe four. I know it sounds like too much but I will [...]

Kevin, Can you suggest how I should assure that I buy a tachometer that will work with my boat wiring, motor and controls? I am confused because advertisements for tachs are not consistant in the specs provided. I am only considering OMC ready tachs with the new 8-pin plug. Here’s my confusion: Do all marine [...]