Electrical issues help!!

[Baxter]

I am at my wits end. I am about to give up - Parker Marine is closed till January, so boat goes in then unless someone here has a good idea!

Having some electrical issues with my kingfisher 1825 (2020)

Issue is intermittent power to things connected up at the helm, most through the ACC switch, but a few things are not.

Anything wired directly to the battery works perfectly. For instances, engines start no problem. Scottys work no problem. Bilge works fine on auto (tested by spraying water into the boat with the hose and it comes on as it should) but does not always work if I try to use the switch.

Wipers, VHF, Washdown, marker lights, all are intermittent. Start to work, then power cuts off. Wipers start to work then slow and stop running. VHF warning saying "low battery" comes on but works unless there is suddenly more draw, such as turning on wipers, then everything stops.

I believe the issue is a loose connection somewhere. When it initially happened when we were out on the water a few weeks ago, my buddy put his hand up behind the dash and wiggled some wires and then things turned back on. So this kind of supports the theory; however, I have not been able to recreate that, so could be coincidence. Batteries are good. They are on a charger/maintainer and everything connected directly to batteries works perfectly. Engine fires up no problem, lowrance works perfectly, etc. Anything that goes through the switches is where the problem arises.

Thinking loose ground? Loose positive? But from what I can tell everything seems fine (access is a real ***** so perhaps I’m missing a connection).

Fuses seem perfect. Is it possible a fuse could be blown but still work a little? Just enough to let some things work a little? Perhaps I should swap all the fuses with new ones and see?

Connections at positive and negative bus bar near batteries seem good. Connection on batteries and at main battery switch seems good. Connections are solid and clean.

Parker rough estimates a couple hours, but lets be honest, there is no way to know until they start testing and doing whatever they will do to sort this so it could be a $100 fix or a $1000 fix.

Any advice on what to check, where to look?


Help? Thanks!

 

[N2013]

Id start off at the battery, clean both posts and rings. Lube with dielectric grease and put back on. The I’d disconnect each wire from each bus that runs to battery, clean & lube, then put back. Do the positives and grounds. If problem not solved, I’d probably start just replacing wires.

 

[wdlfbio]

“seem good” really means, I didn’t actually check them, I just looked at or wiggled them. That’s not much of a trouble shoot.

I’m guessing 1-3 things.

1) bad ground connection to your fuse panel or switch panel.
2) bad 12v + connection to your fuse panel or switch panel.

3) most likely… corrosion IN above ground or 12v +.

Troubleshooting will require a digital multimeter.

Dang forum keeps dumping me off. Remove, clean, feel the connections at your battery, back of battery switch, and at your fuse/switch panel. Overly stiff or brittle wire means internal corrosion, green and black stuff means likely corrosion. Test for resistance with OHM meter (every digital multimeter will have that option).

Even if you find resistance in those wires, test resistance WITHIN your fuse switch panel by connecting your meter to the front and back end of the panel. I’ve seen those things are a dump.

YouTube checking resistance. It’s easy. You’ll probably need a jumper wire to beget from your battery to multimeter to front panel,,


Take a breath. Relax. This is usually an easy troubleshoot and fix. But, it takes the effort.

 

[Alex_c]

Sounds like a bad connection for sure. The fact that it affects everything makes me think it’s a bad connection going from a bus bar or panel to/from the battery. Get a multimeter, set to ohms, and start checking for abnormal resistance values (anything higher than a couple ohms) between connection points. You can also perform this check with a volt meter, and look for connections that show an obvious voltage drop. Can you post a photo of the wiring? Would be helpful to see how it’s wired, and then can help pinpoint where to start troubleshooting from there.

A solid and clean connection doesn’t necessarily mean that the wire isn’t internally corroded or the connection is good. Only way to tell for sure is with a multimeter

 

[Totally unexpected]

I had a similar issue it turned out to be a melted terminal on the back of the Perko switch,everything would work great on #1 setting until trying to start,then nothing,on #2 no issues couldn't find it till I removed the switch

 

[zurk]

wiring in the KF is basically just a giant bundle at the back with some terminations near the keyswitch. stick your head under the dash with a multimeter and have at it. likely corroded ground wiring.
ive dropped a blue seas dualbus in the back and its never given me problems since. send some 0AWG across and just wire everything to a dualbus hub behind the dash. saves a lot of grief. no-oxid on the dualbus and it wont ever give you a problem again.

 

[Baxter]

Thanks for all the replies! This gives me some places to check. Like I said, connections “look” good but I’ll take this advice and I’ll start by disconnecting, cleaning, and reconnecting everything to battery, switch, and bus bars and see if that helps.

I have a volt meter and will check with that, but If problem persists I’ll get my hands on a multimeter and take it a step further.

I’ve learned a ton since getting this boat. Started with just oil and basic maintenance, eventually pulled and reinstalled the leg, basic electrical with charger install, bus bar install and Scotty plug replacement, and now getting a bit further down the 12v rabbit hole.

Don’t truly learn anything until a problem forces me to!

 

[Baxter]

wiring in the KF is basically just a giant bundle at the back with some terminations near the keyswitch. stick your head under the dash with a multimeter and have at it. likely corroded ground wiring.
ive dropped a blue seas dualbus in the back and its never given me problems since. send some 0AWG across and just wire everything to a dualbus hub behind the dash. saves a lot of grief. no-oxid on the dualbus and it wont ever give you a problem again.

Right now everything uses inline fuses. I hate it. But it is what it is. I do want to replace with a proper fuse block at some point. Who knows, maybe this will force my hand to do it sooner rather than later.

 

[Baxter]

I had a similar issue it turned out to be a melted terminal on the back of the Perko switch,everything would work great on #1 setting until trying to start,then nothing,on #2 no issues couldn't find it till I removed the switch

I’ll pull the switch and clean etc, but don’t expect this to be the issue considering the main starts perfectly on either battery.

Sounds like a bad connection for sure. The fact that it affects everything makes me think it’s a bad connection going from a bus bar or panel to/from the battery. Get a multimeter, set to ohms, and start checking for abnormal resistance values (anything higher than a couple ohms) between connection points. You can also perform this check with a volt meter, and look for connections that show an obvious voltage drop. Can you post a photo of the wiring? Would be helpful to see how it’s wired, and then can help pinpoint where to start troubleshooting from there.

A solid and clean connection doesn’t necessarily mean that the wire isn’t internally corroded or the connection is good. Only way to tell for sure is with a multimeter

yes, perhaps the main line running to the helm is the issue. Easy fix if that is the case. Will test that and see.

 

[tubber]

My reading tells me, that once you make good clean connections, the dielectric grease goes on after as a bit of protection. It does not help current flow better.

 

[Foxsea]

My reading tells me, that once you make good clean connections, the dielectric grease goes on after as a bit of protection. It does not help current flow better.

Dielectric is not conductive so follow zurk's suggestion : No-Oxid on all connections. In-line fuses are no great solution - agreed. Use a fuse block with trouble indicator lights. Fuse from battery to fuse block, too. Label everything. Very simple to trace and troubleshoot this system. Remember fusing is to protect the wire so fuse by wire guage, not device. Ancor is best for marine wire and shrink terminals. Blue Seas for the rest. Do it right or twice.

 

[SeaWolf]

As I read this everything starts the day fine after being on the charger. Once a drain is put on the battery that is connected up front on your boat there is a problem. It sounds like the battery is not being charged by the engine. Is it possible you have the wrong selector on the battery chosen? My main and kicker are always live on 2 different batteries. I get low power when I forget to change the switch to the "live" motor. In my case I have what is described as the "New Dual Battery Configuration" in this article. It allows me to raise and lower the engines (main or kicker) while on the trailer with the batteries in the off position. https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/dualBattery.html . If you have this setup, it is simply a case that your not charging the right battery. Can you raise and lower your motors when the battery is off?

 

[ship happens]

Sure sounds like a bad end on the power or ground wire that feeds the helm. It will be obvious as to which wire that is coming off your battery switch, or however they distributed it. It will be a an 8 or a 4 awg wire. Unless they really cheaped out. They should have used a breaker or a large maxi or ANL fuse or something to be legal. I would have a look at the ring terminal ends and should be able to visably see if they are full of corrosion, or somthing along those lines. My money is on that

 

[barkerfam]

Had a similar issue. Mine was a circuit breaker to the panel that had gone bad.

 

[Flashman]

Any connections you check, pull on and bend the connectors. Make sure they have solid connections to the wires. I've seen uncrimped connections hidden behind heat shrink last for years in heavy industrial equipment before they decide to fail randomly.

Start with the easiest to check most likely problems, battery connections, bus connections etc, working your way through the system taking on the progressively harder to deal with, more time consuming stuff.

 

[wdlfbio]

Any connections you check, pull on and bend the connectors. Make sure there have solid connections to the wires. I've seen uncrimped connections hidden behind heat shrink last for years in heavy industrial equipment before they decide to fail randomly.

Start with the easiest to check most likely problems, battery connections, bus connections etc, working your way through the system taking on the progressively harder to deal with, more time consuming stuff.

This is a great point. We fished with a great guy in Hawaii a few years ago. 26’ twin vee catamaran with twin Zuke 140s (I think). No problems all day. Kill some cool fish and head over to his house for supper the next day, he’s working on the motors. Stbd won’t fire up. He’s switched starters and something else by the time we get there. He needs the boat running because he’s escorting an island type canoe race the next day. I ask if he’s checked the wiring…. Nope. I start to loosen the positive battery connection and hit my arm against the negative. The dang wore literally breaks at the lug. Looked great. Brittle as heck. Don’t trust looks.

Like I said earlier. It’s not tough or technical. Be deliberate. Might as well learn now. You will be here again. It’s a salt water boat…. Haaaaa

 

[seachicken]

Look for evidence of heat on terminals and wires, as heat builds up so does resistance. Loose or corroded connections will do this. This could be why things work initially but not after a bit of load. Have you tried "hot wiring" the accessory switch? Or if you have a volt meter put it across the power into the switch to the power out of the switch, if there's a couple volts on the meter that is a voltage drop due to resistance. This will work over any device or connection. You will need a load applied to the circuit.

 

[Loghauler]

Sound like the power into the fuse panel has poor connection to the power
Kenworth had a bad run of fuse blocks and power would be intermittent

 

[sly_karma]

Bad ground is the leading cause of automotive/marine electrical issues. What @zurk said, ditch the boat's wire tangle and install Blue Seas bus bars fore and aft. Spend the money on quality hardware instead of paying the shop to go on a goose chase. Get some books, get some advice, and do it yourself. You'll know more about your boat as a result and you'll have a product you can trust.

 

[Baxter]

Thx to everyone who offered advice!

After some digging and checking etc I discovered a line/fuse buried in the transom. Did not know this fuse existed as it was in a dumb location! I am 99.9% confident this is the issue. If not it certainly is AN issue!

Was on a 10awg line labeled “main aux power”.

I think in the spring I will clean up everything, add a main fuse block, upgrade to 8awg and rework a few things but for now I’ll just swap the fuse/holder and see if it fixes things. I am certain it will.

It is funny. I had checked all the fuses, but not this one (well not until today). I honestly did not even know it was there, so far back into the transom! Will relocate it and swap with a new one, and as I noted, rework the whole system in the spring/summer.

At least I don't have to give several hundred over to Parker Marine.