Electrical issues help!!

[Rain City]

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.View attachment 100920View attachment 100921

I think you got it. Just a hunch.

 

[Baxter]

I think you got it. Just a hunch.

lol. I sure hope so. I see no way this isn't it, unless this ultimately caused another problem further down the line as well.

 

[Rain City]

lol. I sure hope so. I see no way this isn't it, unless this ultimately caused another problem further down the line as well.

I've had some of these issues in the past. What a relief to find it.

 

[ship happens]

Those fuse holders have to be mounted vertically with the cap up for them to actually be waterproof. I've seen hundreds fail from water intrusion seeping through the wire up into it. Fyi

 

[Baxter]

Those fuse holders have to be mounted vertically with the cap up for them to actually be waterproof. I've seen hundreds fail from water intrusion seeping through the wire up into it. Fyi

That does help explain it, the fuse was not mounted at all, was just hanging sorta. Not touching the "floor", and high enough up that it would never have been submerged, but certainly not mounted correctly. It will be though when I replace it

 

[daddystoy]

Oh you definitely found A problem.
Hopefully that is The problem..

After rewiring my boat a number of years ago the peace of mind it brings is huge.
It was a typical old boat with a **** show for wiring.

There is an interesting article in this month's Pacific Yachting magazine about FIRES.

 

[Alex_c]

Pacific Yacht Systems has some really high quality instructional videos on marine electrical systems. Highly recommend them.

 

[Baxter]

Oh you definitely found A problem.
Hopefully that is The problem..

After rewiring my boat a number of years ago the peace of mind it brings is huge.
It was a typical old boat with a **** show for wiring.

There is an interesting article in this month's Pacific Yachting magazine about FIRES.

Ya, it is a bit frustrating. Some of the wiring on my boat is a $hit show for sure, anoying part about it is the boat is a 2020! Previous owner owned it for only 9 hours of use, and did some weird stuff to it in that time. I look forward to getting all of it cleaned up!

 

[Alex_c]

Ya, it is a bit frustrating. Some of the wiring on my boat is a $hit show for sure, anoying part about it is the boat is a 2020! Previous owner owned it for only 9 hours of use, and did some weird stuff to it in that time. I look forward to getting all of it cleaned up!

Hopefully they didn’t stuff any paperclips, tinfoil, or Phillips bits into a fuse holder

 

[wdlfbio]

Pssshaw. That totally looks fine. Plug it back in and send it. Ahhahahaha. Make sure that corrosion hasn’t made its way down those wires.

 

[Loghauler]

Pssshaw. That totally looks fine. Plug it back in and send it. Ahhahahaha. Make sure that corrosion hasn’t made its way down those wires.

Make sure you wrap it in tin foil first

 

[-Jim-]

Gents, I see folks advising incorrectly on applying dielectric grease, especially in marine applications, around the forum. I usually try to keep my mouth shut on Electrical stuff but...

"Dielectric grease is a non-conductive, silicone grease designed to seal out moisture and, therefore, prevent corrosion on electrical connectors. Being non-conductive, it does not enhance the flow of electrical current."

So keep if off the contact surfaces, like battery posts, and don't smother connections with it. Use it judiciously.

(FYI - I'm a licensed Electrician (Industrial) with a year of Electronic Technologist training at BCIT after getting my Journeyman's papers.)

I hope @Baxter got this sorted.

 

[Foxsea]

Right! Zurk brought this point forward in this thread on Dec. 15th. No-Oxid is great on connections - actually conductive!

Dielectric grease serves on plug boots, though.

 

[Pewpster]

NO-OX-ID “A-SPECIAL” is the best thing I've used on electrical connections. It IS conductive and lasts forever. BC Hydro uses it on electrical connections from 2 volts up to 500,000v

 

[Fixit]

just a thought, but id replace that 10awg feed with 6 ga. use a circuit breaker instead of a fuse. that circuit is running critical equipment (nav and radio). plus in the future there will be some more additions that will need more amperage.

 

[Aces]

I’ve always believed that a boat with a clean electrical system fishes good

 

[Baxter]

Update:

FIXED!

Replaced the inline fuse, tested, and everything works perfectly again!! Testing the switches and having everything work again was incredibly satisfying!!

I used a proper marine ring and butt connector with heat shrink then added another layer of marine heat shrink just cause I had it and figured it can’t hurt.

Not mounted in pic but will be later. Could not find an appropriate screw in my screw jar.

I’ll likely replace the three fuses in the pic and one you can’t see with a fuse block this spring. May switch the 10ga with 6ga to run to helm also, but undecided at the moment.