Posted: 7/18/2009 6:51:46 AM EDT
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I bought a 14' aluminum flat bottom fishing boat a couple weeks ago. I took the battery out two nights ago and charged it in my garage, and now I can't get any of my electrical stuff to work (running lights, trolling motor, fish finder, etc). I tried using the good battery out of my Jeep to rule out a failed battery, and it still didn't work.
Running off the battery are the boat lights, then a trolling motor, and a fish finder. The wiring is pretty simple so I don't know what really could go wrong, but I'm not an electrical guy so don't know if there's something I should try or test? There's no fuses or anything like that I could find that might have blown. |
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http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa309/evo4620/boat.jpg The rear light is tapped into the line that provides power to the trolling motor and front light. Same for the front light. The fish finder has its own power and ground run to it. you have a bad connection or broken wire |
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http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa309/evo4620/boat.jpg The rear light is tapped into the line that provides power to the trolling motor and front light. Same for the front light. The fish finder has its own power and ground run to it. you have a bad connection or broken wire Possibly use a multimeter to locate the wire? |
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If nothing works then I'd check the connections at the battery. I'm assuming they have multiple connectors you slip over the threaded post and tighten down. If everything DID work then it is somewhere in the connection block. I'd also just hook up one load at a time [IE, rear light, then front light, then trolling motor] and see if that worked. I'd also do the easy stuff and check out the light bulbs and make sure they are good before assuming they do. Since you don't have a switchable power block then the problem almost HAS to be at the battery connection point.
When I bought a used trailer, I didn't even bother to use a battery to check the circuits, all I did was ohm each one out from + to ground [-] and check for continuity and some resistance [bulbs]. You can even do the trolling motor like this and check the windings as long as it is "on" [switch] at the time. |
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If nothing works then I'd check the connections at the battery. I'm assuming they have multiple connectors you slip over the threaded post and tighten down. If everything DID work then it is somewhere in the connection block. I'd also just hook up one load at a time [IE, rear light, then front light, then trolling motor] and see if that worked. I'd also do the easy stuff and check out the light bulbs and make sure they are good before assuming they do. Since you don't have a switchable power block then the problem almost HAS to be at the battery connection point. Well, there is a small junction box with a two spot pull out "switch" (think cigarette lighter). |
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Do you have a multimeter? After you have the battery charged up (have you checked the battery???), measure to see if there is current. You have a pretty simple wiring setup, it should be easy to locate the problem.
You could also use some jumpers and bypass you normal connections to work backwards towards the source of the problem. |
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If nothing works then I'd check the connections at the battery. I'm assuming they have multiple connectors you slip over the threaded post and tighten down. If everything DID work then it is somewhere in the connection block. I'd also just hook up one load at a time [IE, rear light, then front light, then trolling motor] and see if that worked. I'd also do the easy stuff and check out the light bulbs and make sure they are good before assuming they do. Since you don't have a switchable power block then the problem almost HAS to be at the battery connection point. Well, there is a small junction box with a two spot pull out "switch" (think cigarette lighter). Look there for corrosion on the terminals or just bad inside. [my bet] Pretty common. Unhook the battery and OHM across the switch using the terminals in both the on and off position. If you get OL in both switch positions then the switch is bad. Many autostores have a pretty good selection of switches, make sure it's rated at a high enough amp draw with everything on or it won't last long and might overheat. |
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One very obscure thing on boats that can throw you is that water can get inside the plastic jacket of insulated wires and slowly dissolve the copper wire inside the jacket, especially on salt water boats. The twisted wires inside the plastic jacket act as capillary tubes and suck the water from an end of the wire at a terminal down to a low point where the wire droops.
For this reason every wire terminal and connection on insulated boat wires should be sealed with heat shrink tubing or brush on Liquid Tape to seal off the ends of the insulation. |
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One broken wire isn't gonna take everything out of comission if the diagram is correct and most items are in parallel.
-I'd start at the battery. Check voltage. -Clean the battery connections even if it doesn't look like it needs it. -Is there a bus-bar everytihing is fed off of? -Is there voltage present at the connection to each item? -Try taking readings with the meter connected directly to the battery ground. -Are there any exposed wires? A greenish whitish corrosion will give you some idea to how bad things are inside the sheathing. -Try taking items out of the circuit one at a time an placing them back in one at a time. -Try operating items directly from another DC source. Just some ideas... |
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The rear light is tapped into the line that provides power to the trolling motor and front light. Same for the front light. The fish finder has its own power and ground run to it. Since neither line is working (and your drawing shows both lines connecting directly to the battery posts) the problem is most likely to be either the battery itself, or the battery post connections. |
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http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa309/evo4620/boat.jpg The rear light is tapped into the line that provides power to the trolling motor and front light. Same for the front light. The fish finder has its own power and ground run to it. you have a bad connection or broken wire Possibly use a multimeter to locate the wire? Use it to check continuity to rule out a broken wire ETA: I messaged member KB7DX for ya, he has helped me and a few other guys on here with boat troubles |