Isolating an electical short....

[leif-liden]

Hey all, been having a world of problems with the electrical system on my new boat. Its a sled with a Yami 115 o/b jet. The controls, motor, and guages are all Yami parts and are all wired up together. A couple weeks ago I was having problems getting the starter to kick over and isolated the problem down to a bad ground on the battery due to a corroded connector. Replaced that piece and that fixed my starter issue immediately, then today at the ramp I put the boat in, turn the key and the gauges all come on (fuel gauge, tack, trim indicator, and warning lights) and then the motor starts cranking like normal and just about starts up before suddenly I lose EVERYTHING, all power to the ignition, trim, guages, etc. Checked the fuses I could find (under the dash, one under the engine cover) and had no luck getting anything out of the ignition. The fishfinder, lights, bilge pump and windshield wiper all still work fine, it is just the one circuit that seems to be suffering. I am assuming it is either a fuse that is out, or a short (crossed wire, loose connection, bad connection?) somewhere. I initially jumped right to FUSE due to the fact that the loss of electrical power was INSTANT and complete.

Any advice on isolating the location of the problem?

[Marc Martyn]

I am confused a bit. You say your "new boat", but you have a corroded battery terminal. Is this a used boat you recently boat "used"?

May be a faulty or corroded switch.

Disconnect the battery to de-energize the system, spray some CRC electronic component cleaner in the key switch and operate the key in all directions. The cleaner dries rather fast and doesn't leave an oily residue. After about 5 minutes, re-energize the system and try the switch.

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/produc ... ?SKU=80882

[Matt]

Sorry guys, this post was suppose to be mine, but this computer is shared by myself and Leif both and he was still logged in, didn't realize till after I made the post. Anyhow, I considered the switch as the point source as well, but it is not just the one switch, it is the whole system: The ignition/key does nothing when toggled, the trim button does nothing on the throttle, AND the trim button on the motor itself does nothing. The entire circuit appears to be dead.

[Marc Martyn]

Can you obtain a electrical schematic? Sounds like a branch of the entire system is either not grounded or a break in the branch circuit.

[Matt]

I have been looking into a schematic, but thus far my efforts have been fruitless. I don't disagree with the bad ground idea since that was my exact problem before. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry so I plan to spend the day with it and HOPEFULLY can make SOME sort of headway.... the silvers are in the Snoho bigtime right now and I need to get out!

[mav186]

Hey Matt,
I'm no electrical wizard by any stretch of the imagination! All I really do is let all the smoke out of wires! But I had a very similar issue once, and it turned out to be a very weak positive connection at my battery. Through the years of use and flexing, the wire connection had worn to the point there were only a few strands holding on. Looking at it, everything looked fine and the connection was tight on the battery terminal. Just one of my MANY examples with electricity.....

[Matt]

That was the exact same problem I had with the battery ground. I thought maybe the positive lead had done something similar so I clipped it off and put it straight to the battery, no dice. Back to square one.

I found a chart that tells you what all the different colors from the wiring harness do, that's a start.

[BentRod]

Hey all, been having a world of problems with the electrical system on my new boat. Its a sled with a Yami 115 o/b jet. The controls, motor, and guages are all Yami parts and are all wired up together. A couple weeks ago I was having problems getting the starter to kick over and isolated the problem down to a bad ground on the battery due to a corroded connector. Replaced that piece and that fixed my starter issue immediately, then today at the ramp I put the boat in, turn the key and the gauges all come on (fuel gauge, tack, trim indicator, and warning lights) and then the motor starts cranking like normal and just about starts up before suddenly I lose EVERYTHING, all power to the ignition, trim, guages, etc. Checked the fuses I could find (under the dash, one under the engine cover) and had no luck getting anything out of the ignition. The fishfinder, lights, bilge pump and windshield wiper all still work fine, it is just the one circuit that seems to be suffering. I am assuming it is either a fuse that is out, or a short (crossed wire, loose connection, bad connection?) somewhere. I initially jumped right to FUSE due to the fact that the loss of electrical power was INSTANT and complete.

Any advice on isolating the location of the problem?

Matt, do the gauges normally come when you turn the key or was this abnormal?

['OL GREY DOG]

i had a wierd wire thing on 1 of my boats...i cleaned,tightened.inspected,cussed, then took it to the boat shop...guy said...i'm busy as heck but if you leave it i'll take a look if i get a sec....guy calls the next day 'n i run down there...
he shows/tells me what is wrong...it's going to cost this much and i can get to it in 2 or 3 days he says to me...that's a buncha #>&%@ *^#& %#@*&% money i says to him..and he says...i can sell the pieces/parts and u can fix it yourself....charged me 1/2 a hour labor and sold me the parts at his shop price not the retail price they charge in the front of the store....just my 35 cents worth...DOG

[Matt]

Yah, the gauges are on the same circuit so it is normal for them all to come on. I fixed the problem this morning. It was a fuse as I had previously thought might be the case. Under the engine cover I found and checked one fuse on the water but overlooked its sister fuse (the positive lead) which was tucked up under the other one and not easy to see/locate at first. Took the housing apart and sure enough a blown fuse. I replaced it and we are back up and running. I also took the liberty of snipping, re wiring, and insulating both of the main leads to the battery which is where the entire problem originated. Hopefully this will save me a headache and a bad day on the water in the future.

Now I am having a different wiring problem.... Yesterday one of my trailer lights exploded (was destroyed by some ahole in the parking lot who needs to learn how to drive). It was a cheap one on the drivers side so not a big deal. The passenger side one was already a nice waterproof LED one so I went to harbor freight and got the same kind for the other side, it was spendy, but worth it. Went to wire the thing up and wired it in just like the old one USED to be wired and now for some reason when I signal right nothing happens and when I signal left both signals go off.... there is some sort of a cross occurring (or something?) and I have no clue what the deal is. Both break lights and running lights work, and the license plate light works on the drivers side...

[BentRod]

.......
Now I am having a different wiring problem.... Yesterday one of my trailer lights exploded (was destroyed by some ahole in the parking lot who needs to learn how to drive). It was a cheap one on the drivers side so not a big deal. The passenger side one was already a nice waterproof LED one so I went to harbor freight and got the same kind for the other side, it was spendy, but worth it. Went to wire the thing up and wired it in just like the old one USED to be wired and now for some reason when I signal right nothing happens and when I signal left both signals go off.... there is some sort of a cross occurring (or something?) and I have no clue what the deal is. Both break lights and running lights work, and the license plate light works on the drivers side...

Well, did you buy the correct tail light? Maybe you bought another passenger side light by mistake. You should go back and exchange it for a driver's side light. lol.

Ok, seriously. Sorry to hear about your situation. That sucks. Up front, it sounds like a simple wiring mix up. I'd take the voltmeter or test light, disconnect your bulbs and start testing wires to see which wires are getting what signals from your truck and then start hooking them up acordding to what you find.

[hewesfisher]

Matt - Don't know if you got your boat issues resolved yet, but your problem sounds like a master fuse, one that runs everything. I know our boat has one, and it's located in the back near the battery. If that sucker blows, then everything powered through that fuse will not work.

I suspect the items you mention that continue to work are wired direct to the battery with separate fuses to protect them from voltage spikes/overcurrent conditions. I'd start tracing the hot wire from the battery back to your console and look for a waterproof fuse cover. It should be at least a 20amp fuse, but may be 30 or even larger depending on how the boat is wired. Do not over fuse the circuit or you will be doing what Mav186 refers to as letting the smoke out of the wires. Then you'll be letting the $$$ out of your wallet.

Your trailer light problem sounds like a bad ground. Everything worked before right? Replacing a light shouldn't cause the condition you described unless some wiring was also damaged in the parking lot fiasco. Check for any bare spots on your wiring harness and repair as necessary.

Hope that helps some.

[Matt]

Hewes, it was indeed a master fuse. On my outboard the waterproof housing is not from the lead to the motor but it is actually up under the motor cover. I had checked one on the water yesterday, but missed one (the positive lead) that was more hidden.

I read in a FAQ that my lighting issue is often caused by a bad ground, and I am working on figuring it out now... The brake lights work, running lights, and license plate lamp, just not the turns... hrmm..

Letting it rest for tonight, I will be back at it tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips fellas.

[hewesfisher]

Hewes, it was indeed a master fuse. On my outboard the waterproof housing is not from the lead to the motor but it is actually up under the motor cover. I had checked one on the water yesterday, but missed one (the positive lead) that was more hidden.

As I suspected. I carry spares on board "just in case". The one under the motor cover is a real PITA to get to, well mine is anyway.

Good luck with your trailer light issue. Post back if there's anything we can do to help.

[Matt]

Thanks. I bought a 6 pack of the 20A fuses, the other 5 went under the drivers seat for just such an occurrence. I also bought some 10A fuses to replace the other electronics if needed and threw those in too, AND I grabbed a 20 pack of Ring Adapters, added 2 new ones to both battery leads and threw the rest under the seat..... never know what you might need out there!