Category Archives: Panel Rewire

What wire where?

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Hi Kevin.

I’m restoring my pontoon boat wiring with my daughter.

I’m hooking up the intrument panel and not sure what wire goes where. It is a 1969 Evinrude 55hp.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you,Boat wiring

Randy

Hi Randy,

Here are the standard boat wiring colors that should work for your project:

  • Red – power in
  • Purple – ignition power from key switch
  • Gray – tachometer
  • Pink – fuel quantity
  • Black – ground
  • Black/yellow – magneto ground
  • Yellow/red – start
  • Tan/white – trim position
  • Brown/white or purple/white – choke
  • Tan – water temperature
  • Blue – instrument lights

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Toon Tunes

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Hello,

I have a 2004 Manitou Legacy.

I recently attached my Kenwood (KME-440U) receiver faceplate to my stereo for the season and I was not getting power to the deck.

  • I have power from battery wire (yellow) as well as a working ground (Black).
  • I hooked the Kenwood unit directly to a battery and it works, so I know the deck itself is OK.
  • The unit/stereo system worked just fine the last day I used it last year.
  • The fuse in the back of the Kenwood unit was OK as well.
  • I checked all of the boat wiring from the stereo unit, Ignition (RED), Battery (Yellow), Ground (Black), ALL are OK.

CD
The “Stereo” switch located with the rest of the Accessory (ACC) switches is not fully lit when turned on. The red light is very dim. When the switch is turned to “ON” the Kenwood unit does not turn on..

  • Is there an additional fuse that corresponds the ACC switches themselves?
  • Are the wires coming directly from the back of the “Stereo” switch loose, faulty?
  • Can I follow the Ignition (RED) wire coming from the Kenwood unit directly to the back of the “Stereo” switch?

Thanks so much for all your help,

Chris

Hi Chris,

There will be a separate fuse/breaker that is connected to the Stereo switch. It is either blown or the wire has come loose. As soon as this is replaced, the red light will illuminate correctly and the stereo will have the power it needs to turn on.

Good luck,

Kevin

Mystery Part ID

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Kevin,

So my pontoon boat won’t start, a Sun Tracker Bass Buggy. Engine temp buzzer

I’m starting to tear into the boat wiring and trace it around and check the voltage, though I’ve run into something I’ve not seen before, though this is my first time with a boat.

I’ve attached a picture and I was hoping you could tell me what it is, the metal disc of sorts. Thank you so much!

Tim

Hi Tim,

It is an overheat warning buzzer.

12 volt power is supplied via the purple wire. When the engine gets hot, the tan wire goes to ground and the alarm sounds.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Light Switch Wiring

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Kevin,

I am attempting to replace the switch for the navigation lights on my pontoon boat wiring.

The lighted switch has six posts on the back, but I have no idea as to which wires go where, and the wires are hidden in the captain’s stand so I cannot see where they go.Attwood 14386-3 switch

Can you send any boat wiring diagrams that will help me with this?

Thank you,

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

The typical boat wiring for your navigation light switch is:

  • Power is supplied to the switch at both middle terminals
  • Bottom left, forward navigation light
  • Bottom right, stern light
  • Jumper wire from bottom right to top right.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Ear Shift

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Kevin,

I have an 2008 pontoon boat and I have recently replaced the radio and speakers.

With the engine off or running it works great. But, as soon as I put the motor in gear it the radio cuts out and you can just barely hear music mixed with a lot of popping noises. When I shift back to neutral the radio works fine.

Any suggestions as to how I should troubleshoot the boat wiring?Alpine Radio

Justin

Hi Justin,

What happens when you shift the engine while it is not running? If the radio still cuts out, I would look at the boat wiring for the speaker that is routed near the shifter.

If not:

Check the power supply to the radio. Connect a DC meter to the radio power supply, shift the engine into gear, and watch the voltage. If it drops, check your connections.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Mystery Fuse?

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Hello Kevin

I can’t seem to solve an electrical issue with my 2003 Smokercraft Pontoon boat wiring. The motor is a 2004 90hp Mercury 2-stroke.

I recently installed a new radio/CD player under the dash which I wired to power on with the ignition in the accessory position. That worked fine. fuse

After cycling the ignition switch between ‘off’ and ‘accessory’ several times the gauge panel and ignition switch lost power. I checked various connections with a voltmeter. There is no electricity making it to the switch.

Am I not seeing a fuse somewhere?

The battery and terminal connections seem okay and I have power to the panel that controls the livewell pump, horn, etc.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Hi Mike,

There is a fuse under the engine hood that supplies power to your ignition switch. It should be near the battery cable connection on the starter solenoid.

Thanks for writing,

Kevin

DC Outlet Testing

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Hi Kevin:

I’m stuck troubleshooting the DC outlets on a recently acquired pontoon boat, and I’m hoping you can help. Here’s what’s going on:

  1. With one exception, none of the appliances I’ve tried (GPS, USB/DC adapter, AC converter from Radio Shack, etc.) work; that is, they behave as if they are not plugged in. The one exception is the USB adapter; it works very intermittently, I’d say once in 50 attempts.
  2. Two DC outlets are wired into the same switch on the panel. Neither one functions.
  3. Using a voltmeter, I tested the voltage of both outlets, and they both match the voltage on the battery meter, so the circuit seems okay.
  4. I tried installing new outlets; no effect.
  5. I’ve tested two of the appliances in my car to test the appliances themselves are working, and they are.

With very little boat wiring experience, I’m now stuck as to what could be the problem, or what else I might test. Any thoughts?

Many thanks,

Tim

Hi Tim,

The best way to find your boat wiring problem is to have your voltmeter connected to the receptacle and then plug in a device.

If the voltage starts normal and then drops when you plug in your device, there is a bad connection/corroded wire in the system. Search connections until you eliminate the drop. The voltage drop across the bad connection (high resistance point) increases with current. Since the meter draws very little, the drop is not noticed on the meter. AS soon as you increase the draw, the drop increases, and your device will not turn on.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Locating light switches

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Hello Kevin,

I need advice on multiple switching locations for 12 volt lighting applications. Specifically, I want to be able to control the on/off function of bow mounted lights that are used for both docking and landing/netting of fish, that is to be able to control from console and/or from bow deck on a 28 foot Manitou pontoon boat with 6′ of bow deck that is used as primary fishing location. Attwood is the world's top manufacturer of LED docking lights

The boat’s docking lights are currently switched from console only. How can I change the boat wiring to add the ability to activate these bow mounted lights when landing fish at night, without running back to console. Solo fishing makes this difficult on a 28 foot boat.

I thought that maybe switched on ground would work, similar to multiple door switches for interior lighting on vehicles, but wasn’t sure if this was a good option.

Got any advice or a diagram for using multiple switches on a lighting circuit. Need the equivalency of a 3-way household, but with 12 volt DC switches.

Thanks,

Bill

Hi Bill,

Three-way circuits in DC work the same way as in AC. Usually, the most difficult part of the boat wiring project is finding a switch that is configured as a three-way (on/on with no center off) that matches your existing switch.

If you cannot find DC switches that match your current switches, AC ones from Home Depot will work fine. Please keep in mind that they really don’t like to be exposed to the elements and are not ignition protected if they are mounted in an engine room or near gasoline storage.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Color Bind

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Kevin,

I have a 2002 Manitou pontoon boat.

Recently, I had my instrument gauges and stereo stolen. To grab my stuff, the crook just cut all of the boat wiring.

I’m trying to put everything back together, and I need to know what colors are what to rewire.The best boat builder use standardized boat wiring colors

Thanks,

Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Luckily all of the better boat builders – and Manitou is definitely one of them – use a standardized set of colors for their boat wiring. You can find it here on our sister site, Fishing Boat Wiring.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Trolling VSR Still Available

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Hi,Motorguide is the world's top manufacturer of trolling motors

Could you send me a diagram of how to do the boat wiring for my 24 Volt trolling motor that uses the same batteries for my 70 hp Yamaha and all the other marine electrical accessories?

Do I need a switch, regulator and an automatic charging relay?

If you could send how to hook this up would be appreciated or should I just but another battery for starting? Just thought it might be better to have the alternator charge the batteries when using the main motor while not using the trolling motor.

Thanks

Ray

Hi Ray,

Since your Yamaha is a 12 volt system and your trolling motor is a 24 volt system, there is no simple/safe way to switch the voltages back and forth.

The best device that I have seen to deal with your situation is the BEP trolling motor VSR. Unfortunately, BEP has stopped building this device, but there are still some available.

If you can get your hands on one, it allows your engine alternator to charge the starting battery first and then alternates between your trolling motor batteries to recharge them.

Let me know if you find a good source to buy these and I will post it on our site,

Kevin

Dead Battery Cause?

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Hello Kevin

I spoke with y’all several times last spring and bought a bunch of stuff from your partners at EzAcDc for my 28′ double decker party barge restoration project.

I got their boat wiring harness, marine electrical switch panel, battery cables, and smart battery switch system. I installed all new LED navigation lighting on the boat with new wiring for everything, and I have a 4-speaker stereo system.28 Double Decker

The only thing that really draws any power is the stereo….well, that and the tiny water pump that we turn on for a few minutes every now and then to pump water up to the swimming pool slide. The pump uses 7.5 amps at startup and 5 amps continuously, but like I said, we don’t use it but a few minutes at a time. I installed all of this and put in two brand new “dual purpose” batteries that I purchased at Academy Sports. My thought was that the dual purpose batteries would give me more power for running accessories and still be more than enough to start the 1996 120hp Johnson 2-stroke outboard.

However, things didn’t work out quite like I expected. Before the summer was over, I was already having trouble keeping the batteries charged. I guess the Johnson motor’s alternator isn’t strong enough, or the motor being slow to crank and warm up takes too much out of the batteries. Anyway, I’ve gotten myself stranded with a dead battery twice already.

Question #1:

Given this setup, do you think that I would have better luck using two “starting” batteries rather than the “dual purpose” batteries?

Question #2:

Is it a bad idea to have different types of batteries running together on that smart switch system, i.e. one starting battery and one dual-purpose or deep cycle?

Thanks for your help. I’m sending a picture of the boat so you’ll know better what we’re talking about.

Paul

Hi Paul,

If everything is working correctly, the water pump, stereo, and DC accessories should not be able to draw your engine battery down below 12.7 volts and cause you to not start.

A have a few questions:

  • When you run your boat, what position do you put the battery switch in? It should be in the ON. If you run in the COMBINE position, your house systems will be able to draw down you engine battery.
  • Are any components connected to the engine battery? Either on the battery itself or on the back of the battery switch?

If you run the switch in the ON position and no components are connected to the engine battery besides your engine, it is possible that even though the engine is charging while running, it may be discharging when the engine is turned off and causing your engine battery to become flat.

The one battery should have plenty of reserve capacity to start your engine. To a certain extent, the engine alternator doesn’t really care what type of battery (starting / deep cycle) it is connected to. Problems arise when you mix and match battery types like AGM and lead acid. They both have unique charging characteristics are really don’t like to be forced to charge together.

Kevin

Boat Wiring Resources

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Hello,

I have a 1987 Sanpan and am refurbishing it this winter.

I want to replace the gauges on the dash. However when I looked at the panel from behind I saw a nightmare of boat wiring dynamically connected all over the place and could make no sense of it at all. Godfrey Sanpan

Now I’m thinking that it may be easier to start from scratch, rather than try to get on the same page as the original designer, however, I’d need a solid understanding of DC circuitry with respect to gauges, as well as their attachment points on the engine.

Is there a resource for novices on this subject?

Thanks for any help you could provide.

Yours truly,

Neil

Hi Neil,

Several great boat wiring books have been written by Don Casey, Ed Sherman, and John Payne on the subject.

Some of these are even available for download on your Kindle.

Good luck,

Kevin

Switch Should Help

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Kevin,

I have pontoon boat wiring that runs the battery down when the boat isn’t running.

I put an amp probe on it and it is drawing 1 amp, but I am not sure what to do next.A simple on/off switch can disconnect the battery when not in use.

Frank

Hi Frank,

With you amp probe installed, remove fuses or disconnect circuit breakers one at a time to determine which circuit is creating the draw. I would put my money on your stereo being the problem.

A simple solution to your issue would be to add a classic ON/OFF battery switch. You could use it to completely disconnect the battery from the rest of the boat wiring when you aren’t using it.

Happy boat wiring,

Kevin

Wiring Navigation Light Switch

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Hi Kevin,Attwood is the industry's top source for pontoon navigation lights.

I am the recent part owner of a 15 year old Party Craft Pontoon boat (no manuals available). Someone before me has wired the lights in a very strange way.

I had a problem with the docking lights, which I think I have solved. Someone had broken the light off and tried to put the boat wiring back and did a bad job. I spliced in some new wires and got it working.

I am now working on the next problem, which is putting the folding all-round stern light on a different switch. Someone put the stern light on the same switch as the red and green navigation lights. The switch is a two-position switch with the center position “off “. This only lets us put one light on at a time.

It would be nice to know how these switches are supposed to be wired if you have any boat wiring diagrams.

Thanks.

Joseph

Hi Joseph,

Your pontoon boat wiring should have the navigation and anchor lights on the same switch. While in the navigate position, the red, green, and white lights should be on on. While in the anchor position, only the white light should be turned on.

If you switch only has three terminals, power goes to the center, red/green go to the bottom, and white goes to the top. Add a diode similar to this between the top and bottom post.

The diode will allow current to flow in one direction, but not the other. When you put the switch in the nav position, power will go to the red/green lights and also flow through diode to allow the white light to illuminate. When you put the switch in the anc position, power will go to the white light, but the diode will prevent power from travelling to the red/green lights.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Kevin

Thanks for the information.

Where do I get a diode like your talking about? Do I have to solder it to the terminals or can I create a small jumper wire with the diode?

Thank you.

Joseph

Hi Joseph,

You can get that diode at most Radio Shacks. If the leads are long enough, you can actually crimp them into the same terminal with your nav and anc boat wiring.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Engine Works. Gauges Don’t.

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Kevin,

I have a 2005 Sun Tracker Party Barge 24 with a 50 hp Tracker by Mercury Marine outboard.

I had the engine rebuilt due to a broken ring. After I got it back, I noticed that there isn’t any power to the console gages. But, you can turn on the ignition switch and the engines starts like it should.

Does the power for the console gages go through the motor before it goes to the console?

I’m thinking that maybe the boat wiring was hooked up wrong when the motor was reconnected. Can you tell me where I would need to look for the wire and what color code it may have? Also, do you know where it hooks up in the motor area?

Thanks Suntracker 24 Party Barge

Kenny

Hi Kenny,

The same boat wiring that provides power to the start position on you key switch, provides power to your gauges.

Usually, there is a red or red/purple wire in your engine wiring harness. This is the power feed to the ignition switch (position B on the switch). The gauges are fed power from the the purple wire coming off of the I position on your key switch.

If you engine starts, but the gauges do not work, I would check the purple wire between the ignition switch and gauges for 12v power and confirm that the ground for the gauges is still connected.

Hope this helps,

Kevin