[C38] Wiring Diagram

Tue Jul 4 02:13:12 EDT 2006

HI, All,
    Nancy and I joke that JACE was the last one of a run.  We found lots of 
5"-6" pieces of wire, and made a ball of electrical tape about 9" in 
diameter as I went through the wiring the first time.  I have a lot of it 
cleaned up and am now getting ready for a full wiring job.

     Seriously, these boats have been through a few hands at this stage of 
their life, and as we all know repairs are seldom done in the luxury of a 
yard.  So you do the best you can and clean it up when you have time and/or 
money to do it.  There are some places that we need to pay good attention. 
One is ground, because problems there will sure mess up your hardware. 
Another is AC because it is so much power and its ground is shared with 
other boats in your dock area.  These bits will affect your electroylsis, 
and can have bad (BAD!!!) effects on all underwater hardware and on 
mechanical systems as well.

    Checking your leakage to the ocean is a good idea.  Right now I have 
JACE down well below 1ma (I haven't checked it since my latest work, but it 
should be a bit lower now.  New boats should have no problem getting to 10 
microamps, but we do have some age and dampness in our boats, which will 
affect some of the numbers a bit.  Lower is better.  To check it, turn the 
battery switch to one or two, turn off all systems but turn on all switches 
at the power panel you can (don't use any that run automatically, such as a 
refer or autopilot)  Then put an ammeter (on the highest range like 10 amps) 
in the lead from the selected battery negative to ground.  The meter should 
read very close to zero if not zero.  The direction (+/- is not too 
important unless you are diagnosing electrolysis issues, but that is beyond 
the scope of this note) but the value should be well below 1 milliamp, 
preferably 0-10microamps.  You can have an electrician make this check for 
you if you are uneasy with batteries and wiring.

    Grounding and paths between hardware will also affect your lightning 
protection.  I cannot advise, but there are books on the subject.  The shops 
in Florida all have good rules they follow I suspect.  Here in California, 
it is a bit more informal, and no one seems to have published a definitive 
guide, because in all my reading, the directions seem a bit different from 
book to book.  I haven't checked ABYC on this issue yet (another one on the 
to do list).

Regards,
Les H
Les Howell Technical Specialist, Teradyne (retired) hlhowell at pacbell.net IM: 
OldETC (Yahoo) Professional Profile
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike and Jeannie Yount" <mandj3 at cox.net>
To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: [C38] Wiring Diagram


> Hi All
> I too would be interested in a wiring diagram. I think my boat was wired 
> by
> a high school shop class,first year students.I have slowly been re-wiring
> what I can. It is very frustrating trying to trace down wiring problems. 
> The
> previous owner seemed to think that if he twisted the wires together and 
> it
> lit up, that was good enough, after he cut a wire from somewhere and 
> twisted
> into it.Anyway, please send or post a copy of the wiring diagram. Thank 
> you
> Mike
> "Moonraker" C-38 #204
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Charles Finn" <charles at finn.ws>
> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 11:31 AM
> Subject: Re: [C38] Wiring Diagram
>
>
>> Bill and Max!
>> Can I post these (pictures and diagrams) on our website?  If so, please
>> send me a copy and perhaps some explanatory text?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Charles Finn
>> Mighty Quinn  #114
>> Webmaster
>>
>>
>> Bill Ferrera wrote:
>> > Hi Max
>> >
>> > I believe I have the wiring diagram on Freedom.....I'll try to get by
>> > there today and scan it tomorrow morning and send it to you.
>> >
>> > Your traveler risers pictures are great.  Although I don't have
>> > problems with leaking at this time, I will store them for future.....
>> >
>> > Thanks
>> >
>> > Bill Ferrera
>> > Freedom #297
>> > Alameda, CA
>> >
>> >     ----- Original Message -----
>> >     *From:* Max Soto <mailto:maxsoto at hotmail.com>
>> >     *To:* listserve at catalina38.org <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>> >     *Sent:* Tuesday, June 13, 2006 7:47 PM
>> >     *Subject:* [C38] Wiring Diagram
>> >
>> >     Hi,
>> >
>> >     Do any one has a Wiring Diagram for the C38????
>> >
>> >     I need to do some work on this area and it will be great to have
> this
>> >     around!
>> >
>> >     thanks
>> >
>> >     Max Soto
>> >     C38 #198 ESTANCIA
>> >     Puntarenas, Costa Rica
>> >
>> >     _________________________________________________________________
>> >     Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's
>> >     FREE!
>> >     http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
>> >
>> >
>> >     _______________________________________________
>> >     Listserve mailing list
>> >     Listserve at catalina38.org <mailto:Listserve at catalina38.org>
>> >     http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Listserve mailing list
>> > Listserve at catalina38.org
>> > http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Listserve mailing list
>> Listserve at catalina38.org
>> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>