[C38] Electrical Problem
Les Howell
hlhowell at pacbell.net
Mon Jun 9 10:51:31 EDT 2014
While you are doing the electrical, you might consider dividing the
cabin lights. Original wiring had both port and starboard on the same
fuse. Putting port on one and starboard on another will relieve the
load, and at the same time, make sure your whole cabin doesn't go dark
in case of a failure.
Regards,
Les H
On Sat, 2014-06-07 at 18:42 -0400, Steven Ribble wrote:
> I have to agree with Michael; Rich, thanks for using the listserv for
> asking the question and Tom for lurking ;).
>
> This is going to be my 2nd year on the hard and I'm Jonesing to sail,
> but since I'm out of the water I'm trying to do projects...and
> electrical is one of them. Thank you for continuing to provide
> insight, Tom.
>
> Steve, #64
>
> On Jun 7, 2014 3:14 PM, "Michael de lisle" <krazymiked at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> Tom and Rich, thank you for posting all this great info! I
> just started having issues with my electrical and this is
> going to help immensely.
>
> On Jun 7, 2014 11:41 AM, "Tom T." <tdtron at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
> Hello Rich,
>
> I think you may have already answered your own
> question about possible problems with the harness
> going to the engine control panel. The original
> wiring system was dangerous when the boats were new
> and only get more dangerous with time. Eventually the
> harness can fail causing possible dire consequences.
>
> Not only are the plugs on the original harness prone
> to failure but the long length of wire going from the
> alternator to the panel and then back to the batteries
> causes a voltage drop which greatly reduces the
> vessel's ability to recharge the batteries. Owners
> have been known to pay for expensive alternator
> upgrades which only magnify the fire hazard. A new
> harness will be like having a larger alternator
> without the expense and also without the extra load on
> the engine. There have been reports of alternator
> mount failure with larger alternators adding to the
> dilemma.
>
> You do NOT need a whole new engine panel harness.
> You only need to bypass the heavy current lead from
> the alternator to the panel. Use a heavy inline fuse
> at both the alternator end and the battery end and use
> heavy marine grade wire to make a new alternator lead.
> Marine grade wire was not used in the past because it
> was rare and expensive but marine grade wire is tinned
> so it is more corrosion resistant and easier to
> solder.
>
> Since you will not be having a large current going to
> the panel any longer, you can still use the existing
> wires if you want to for running a volt meter which
> has almost no load so it will not be fire hazard or
> cause failure from corrosion arcing at the connectors.
> It may be a good idea to make a whole new harness but
> the main thing is to get the charging circuit out of
> that harness in any case. Even if you make a new
> panel harness, the charging circuit will no longer be
> part of it.
>
> A volt meter is one additional advantage of the
> harness upgrade.If you replace the amp meter with a
> volt meter, make sure it is a marine unit. The
> automotive units will look and work good for a short
> time before they fail due to the salt corrosion of
> marine use. As a side note, if a volt meter does
> fail, it will not kill the charging circuit like an
> amp meter will so by changing to a volt meter you will
> also increase reliability and safety there also.
>
> The difference in the wiring connection of the volt
> meter as compared to the amp meter is that the amp
> meter was a series fed meter going back to the
> batteries while the return leg on the volt meter just
> goes to the panel ground which is adequate since there
> is very little current through a volt meter.
>
> I wrote a Mainsheet article some years ago detailing
> the harness upgrade but I can't remember what year or
> month. Maybe another member with website access can
> direct you to the article if it is archived. In a
> nutshell, the main accomplishments of a new harness
> are:
>
> 1, Shorter and less resistive charging lead from
> the alternator to the batteries for more efficient
> charging.
> 2. Elimination of failure prone harness connectors.
> 3. No phantom electrical loses from corrosion in
> the connectors or amp meter.
> 4. A volt meter installed in the engine panel in
> place of the original amp meter. A volt meter will
> give you better information of your electrical system.
> For instance, if you had a battery with a broken and
> shorted cell plate, an amp meter would possibly still
> show a good charge rate while a volt meter would show
> you had low voltage caused from a problem that needed
> attention. Often an amp meter will give a false sense
> of security..
>
> Good luck,
> Tom Troncalli
> Former owner of #95 and now in lurker status
> 770-356-2223
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/7/2014 7:38 AM, fleet2001 at aol.com wrote:
>
> > Guys,
> >
> > I need some electrical advice. My boat
> > "Merriconeag" hull# 138 has about a
> > 2amp drain in the engine compartment. I think I
> > should replace the trailer type
> > harness with a bus bar. Also, possibly replacing the
> > ammeter with a volt meter.
> > I have to switch the engine battery switch to off
> > when I shut the engine off or
> > the battery will drain power. Help.
> > Thanks
> >
> > Rich Grassia
> >
> > fleet2001 at aol.com
> >
> >
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>
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