Category Archives: Circuit Protection

Don’t touch me there

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Kevin,

My electric pontoon boat wiring has a current problem.

My set up is as follows :

Torqeedo, the leader in clean outboards
When I stand on the transom to lift the motor out of the water using the motor handle, I get a shock.

When I test the rail and the positive terminal on one of the batteries, I read 52 Volts of DC.

I know very little about electricity, but enough to know that I shouldn’t be getting zapped from the aluminum rails.

I suspect a grounding problem, but all the battery wires check good.

Any suggestions?

John

Hi John,

If you are reading 52 volt DC on the rail, the positive lead of your 48 volt system is making a connection to the frame or rail of you boat.

Trace the positive cable from the battery to the motor. Trace the positive battery charger lead connected to the same positive lead.

If you cannot find the problem, it may be a wiring problem with your Torqeedo.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Adding An Extra Battery

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Kevin,

Can you help me with the boat wiring plan needed to add an additional battery and charging system to my older 28′ Manitou Pontoon Boat?

I am planning on

  • Connecting the ships (+) to the boat battery selector switch
  • Connecting the ships (-) to the number one battery
  • Connect the ships (-) to battery two and then
  • Jumping the #1 and #2 battery (-) together using 2 AWG battery cable
  • Connect the battery selector switch (+’s) to #1 and #2 batteries using 2 AWG.

There are two field spots on the selector switch but I’m not for sure if my alternator needs this or needs this or not?

Then finally directly connecting the Guest battery charger’s cables to #1 and #2 batteries (+) and (-) post.

Is this logical? Should I use a ground bus? If so how? My plan is to have one battery for starting and the other for the house items and as a backup for starting.

Thanks Manitou Pontoons feature underdeck lighting as seen on our partner site EzAcDc

Bryan

Hi Bryan,

The field wires are for externally regulated alternator. Here is a link to the wiring instructions if you have an externally regulated alternator. These are not very common.

Your battery and charger boat wiring is correct. I prefer using a ground bus to eliminate the need for extra wires connected to the battery. Smaller gauge ring terminals connected with larger ones usually lead to loose connections. At bare minimum, get rid of the wing nuts on the battery connection and replace them with some form of lock nut.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

One switch to light them all

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Hi KevinAttwood is the marine industry's top manufacturer of navigation lights

I am redoing my pontoon boat wiring and would like to have one toggle switch turn on only the bow lights or turn on the bow and all-round bimini lights.

How do I wire this? I’ve seen it done on other boat, but am not sure how.

Thanks.

Mel

Hi Mel,

This is fairly simple to connect. It all depends on what type of toggle switch you have.

Check out these instructions for the panel rewire kit offered by our partners at EzAcDc. The section on Navigation/Anchor light switch wiring on the second page will explain it all.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Lights Out

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Kevin,Marine Navigation Lights

I have a 2003 Manitou pontoon boat. Both the port and starboard navigation lights don’t work.

I don’t have a boat wiring diagram. Are the light fused and if so where would they be located?

Thanks in advance

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

I would check for corrosion on the bulbs before jumping to conclusions on boat wiring.

Once you have made sure that corrosion isn’t the problem:

The port and starboard navigation lights are fed their power by the gray/green wire. This wire runs from the navigation light switch, through the 15 position connector below the helm, and then you towards the starboard navigation light.

Near the light, there is a second gray/green wire spliced into the harness the heads over to the port navigation light. The ground wires have a similar path. Since neither light works, the problem is in the gray/green wire between the helm and the splice near the starboard nav light or in the ground between the starboard navigation light and the ground splice area under the helm.

Using a meter, test for 12v power at the gray/green wire at the switch and 15 position connector when the switch is on (use ground source other than the navigation light ground wire). If there is power, test at the navigation light (remove the bulb or probe the wire). If there is power at the lights, the ground is bad. Un-tape the ground splice below the helm and locate the ground problem.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Radio Shorting Out

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Kevin,

I recently bought a pontoon boat, a 1995 model Voyager.

It had a short. While disconnecting all of the boat wiring, I found that disconnecting the radio fixed the problem.

How will I find exact cause of the short?

Thank you.

Ken

Hi Ken,

The usual suspect with shorted marine electrical stereos are the speakers.

Since all wires are removed from the system, connect the ground, power, and remote power (black, red, and yellow) for your stereo. If the short has already appeared, you will probably need to buy a new stereo. If not, connect your speaker wires one at a time until you find out which one is the problem.

Kevin

Radio may be drain problem

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Kevin,

I just bought 95 voyager 20ft pontoon.

If you leave battery hooked up it goes dead. Short somewhere? Good idea to rewire whole boat?

Thanks

Ken

Hi Ken,

The usual suspect for a slow drain on a boat battery is the stereo. Most boats have automotive style stereos in them. They were designed to be connected in conjunction with a key switch.

Before making any changes to your pontoon boat wiring, I would try removing the stereo fuse or disconnecting the stereo power leads to see of the draw goes away. If this cures the problem, add a switch to completely turn of the stereo.

You can use an in-line amp meter to test for draw or simple try one component at a time to find the slow leak.

If cannot find the problem, a rewire may be your best bet.

Kevin

Now we’re cooking.

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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. The boat also came with an AC marine shore power panel and one large, long power cable.

I’m going to use the boat as a floating food vending service so I’ll need lots of power and I’m not sure how to make it happen. I’m hoping you can help me out here.

I bought a 4,000 Watt generator but I’m hoping to be able to run everything off of batteries most of the time if possible?

I’m going to be powering a MAK Grill, a coffee maker, some form of food warmer, and probably a couple other small appliances.

I’m also rebuilding my console so I’ll need new gauges. None of the old ones work.

I really have no idea how to work with a marine electrical system, but I’m a very quick learner. Please let me know if you need more information.

Thank you for your help,

Darren

Hi Darren,

I would recommend a three battery system with one to start the the engine and two for everything else. They would all be connected through the VSR which would allow your engine alternator to charge them while underway.

Our partners at EzAcDc have most of what you will need. Here are the items that I would recommend:

I am not familiar with the MAK Grill. If the AC draw is not too large, you may want to consider buying an inverter/charger that can run the grill off of battery power, but also charge the batteries while you are plugged into shore power or while using your generator.

My experience is that portable generators don’t work well on boats. CO is a constant issue and the cause massive vibrations and rattles. If you use the generator on the boat, pay close attention to grounding. Since the ground and neutral will be connected together on the generator, any AC fault on the the boat will try to jump from the metal from of your boat to the generator frame. Never touch the generator and the frame of the boat (or railing) at the same time.

As for your gauges, most quit due to poor wiring. But, before you replace the gauges, check the wires.

  • Tachometer – gray (tach signal) purple (power) black (ground) blue (gauge lights)
  • Voltmeter – purple (power) black (ground) blue (gauge lights)
  • Fuel – purple (power) black (ground) blue (gauge lights) pink (sender 240 ohms empty 33 ohms full)

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Bad Ground

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Kevin,

The lights on this new to me pontoon boat flicker when multiple accessories are turned on at the same time.

If the front bimini light, rear bimini light, and courtesy lights are on together, they flicker – and if horn is used it emits a pulsating sound.

Any thoughts on a causation?

Looking for a simple fix.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris,

You have a bad ground connection. Start at the battery and make your way up the boat wiring to each of the devices.

You will want to disconnect the battery and use an ohm meter to look for a high resistance connection in the ground wire.

This should fix your boat wiring problem,

Kevin

Clever “QuickConnect” for DIY Pontoon Electrical

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Several of our readers have alerted us to a very slick offering from the folks at Pontoonstuff.com. Their new QuickConnect line goes a long ways towards alleviating the confusion (and headaches) caused by adding major electrical components to – or totally rewiring – an older pontoon boat.

Pre-loaded and pre-wired to make installation exceptionally easy, the Pontoonstuff QuickConnect system includes OEM quality gauge panels, switch panels, accessory harnesses, and even a deck-mounted light holder complete with sidelights, horn, and docking lights. And, as the name suggests, all of these parts are engineered to be quickly connected together by the boat owner.

It is obvious that a lot of thought went into this system, which is built from the highest quality marine grade materials. Everything is strictly first-class, from Carling switches and Faria gauges on the panels to the Attwood and AFI components in the light pod. All of these parts are then wired with the finest quality copper wire – tinned for superior corrosion-resistance. As you would expect, both the wiring and the circuit protection accurately anticipate the usual amp draw for each accessory.

This QuickConnect family of products assures that DIY electrical work can be done both quickly and safely – at least for pontoons. One wonders why a similar system couldn’t be offered for other types of boats?