Category Archives: Testing

DC Outlet Testing

Posted on by

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

Which wire?

Posted on by

Dear Kevin,

I am installing an hourmeter on my 26′ Sunchaser with a 200 HP Yamaha engine.

The positive side of the meter is supposed to be wired into the ignition circuit that has 4 wires, i.e. red, blue, green and yellow. As I only want the meter to function when the engine is turned on, how should I connect the boat wiring? Which wire do I attach to? I think it is the yellow one.Hourmeter

Thank you,

Arthur

Hi Arthur,

The easiest way to answer your question is either with a dc meter or test light. Test each wire individually to determine which one is the switched power when the key is turned on.

My best guess would be yellow, but use a meter to be sure.

Kevin

Switch Should Help

Posted on by

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

Lights Out

Posted on by

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

Ignition Switch Connections

Posted on by

Kevin,

I have a 1987 Force Mercury 85hp engine and am trying to wire up the ignition switch.

The pontoon boat wiring harness has aForce 85HP

  • Yellow for start
  • Purple for tac
  • White for Mag
  • Green for choke
  • Orange for heat
  • Red for battery
  • Blue for Mag
  • Black for ground

My boat ignition switch has six terminals, however they are not coded. The switch has a number on the side 0711.

How do I determine where the boat wiring goes on the switch?

I have fooled with the wires on the switch, the engine will start, choke will work (push the key in) but the engine will not shut off when the key is turned off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

John

Hi John,

Disconnect all the boat wiring from the switch and use an ohm meter to test which terminal is which.

  • With the key off, use your ohm meter to locate the two terminals that are internally connected together. Connect your ground and mag wires to these two terminals.
  • With the key on, use your ohm meter to locate the two terminals that are internally connected together. Connect your battery wire to either terminal.
  • With the key in the start position, use your ohm meter to locate the terminal that is internally connected to your battery terminal. Connect your start wire here.
  • With the key in the choke position, use your ohm meter to locate the terminal that is internally connected to your choke terminal. Connect your choke wire here.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Radio Shorting Out

Posted on by

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

Low voltage on electric boat

Posted on by

Kevin,

We have a 16′ pontoon boat with a Ray450 electric motor (6 battery) plus a trolling motor with separate battery charger.

About a week ago I noticed that the live well pump was working at a slow rate and then the radio started to cycle on and off. I Motor Guide makes the world's finest trolling motorschecked the, boat wiring, the batteries and motor – everything seemed fine. But, now nothing works off the auxiliary panel including the navigation lights, horn, livewell pump or radio. I can’t find any blown fuses.

Any ideas?

Thanks
MJ

Hi MJ,

A slow livewell pump and a cycling radio is a sign of low voltage. I would check the battery bank that your accessory panel is connected to and ensure it is charged properly and that all connections are good.

On multi-battery electric motor systems, sometimes a middle battery can be bad and cause 12 volt items connected to it to slow/shut down. If the other batteries are still charged, the complete marine electrical system will still have a high enough voltage to keep the electric motors running.

Kevin

Battery dies while away

Posted on by

Hi Kevin,

Have a 2005 Manitou 18′ Oasis and this year have had trouble with the pontoon boat wiring. Specifically, the battery runs down if it isn’t used for a while.

I checked current leakage and found on both the black and red leads a momentary drain of .5 amp which drops to 10Ma – almost like a capacitor charging, then stays at 10Ma.

Any Ideas?Manitou builds excellent pontoon boats.

Thanks

Bill

Hi Bill,

The usual suspect is the stereo. Most marine electrical radios are actually designed for automotive use and do not completely power down when you turn them off.

To make matters worse, as your battery gets older, it is effected more by a slow drain. Also, loose battery cable connections can cause the battery to not charge completely while the engine is running.

Try removing the fuse from the stereo and see if your slow drain goes away. If it does, consider adding a battery switch to your boat wiring. It will completely disconnect the battery while you are away. Our partners at EzAcDc have several battery switch systems that would work for you.

Kevin

Radio may be drain problem

Posted on by

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.

Posted on by

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

Killing lights raises temperature

Posted on by

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. Attwood is the world's premier source for navigation lights

When I turn off the navigation lights the temperature guage instantly goes back to normal.

This only happens with the navigation lights, I can turn the anchor light on and everything runs normal. The anchor light and navigation lights are on separate switches.

Could this be a ground problem? If so where do I start and what do I look for?

Keep in mind I am not very mechanically inclined!!

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike,

Check the ground for your forward navigation light/gauge panel ground. You will find that the forward navigation light ground is connected to your helm panel. All of the gauges are grounded here also.

There is a bad connection between this ground area and the negative post on your battery. You can either run a new ground wire or search for the problem.

The first place I would look would be where the boat wiring harness connects to the engine. There is a round black plug about 1 1/4″ in diameter on the starboard side of your engine. Remove the clamp and unplug the plug. You will probably find that one of the 3/16″ terminals is corroded in the plug.

Hope this helps,

Kevin