Wally

iTrader: (1)

you got that right!! i'll gladly sit here and pull my hair out tracing down problems over spending hundreds monthly for a toy i can use barely half a year in these parts!

Steve H

Just for fun, try running a temp ground wire from the neg bat post or engine block to a ground post on the back of your gauges. I really mean right to the gauge. I have a feeling that your problem will disappear.
I'm sure that the other issues are ground related also.

Steve

boatputz

Heres my 2 cents from an electtrician's point of view. What you are describing sounds like a definate ground problem. If you turn on the blower and the light for the horn lights up thats typical of a missing ground. It will run in series through another component to get to a ground any way it can. Best bet to try a new ground cable from the battery to the main grounding bar and check the inside of that breaker panel real good as well. Also would be a good idea to disconnect the main feed of that breaker panel and check for the problem with it disconnected.
Good Luck.

Liberator21

I have to agree with Steve H, and boatputz. Having an electrical background myself, I've dealt with similar issues in both boats, and cars.
I really sounds like a bad ground to me. That could also explain the alternator going bad. Like was said, run a ground wire directly from the battery to the ground bus under the dash, or right up to the ground posts on the gauges. It just might help.

Mr Gadgets

Old School,
If you see the Batt V slowly drift downward on the gauge, what is the voltage at the back of the gauge. Measure it across the gauge and then use the battery " -" as the reference. If you see different voltages, bad connection in the ground circuit. Now mesure the battery "+" and then the 12v at the guage. Are they the same, if not you have a poor connection, read that voltage drop, in the 12v supply to the guages..
If the wiring is good, then you should see almost the same voltage at the battery as you see at the back of the voltmeter gauge. I believe, typically the 12v is then daisy chained to the other gauges. If the source is faulty.. the guages will all be affected. If it is one guage that is bad, then it could reflect back to the others.. Check the source first, Positve and Negative, if that is good.. then work your way towards the problem..

When you flush the head?? The radio cuts off??? That sounds like a plumbing problem?? Just kidding..


Hope this helps..

Dick

BillR

Radio cutting off when flushing and all other problems sound like a ground issue. Radio cuts off due to lack of voltage.
On my TG port side there is a ground block in glove box and another behind the AC/DC panel. Check those if you have them. There are also ground blocks behind helm.

When checking connections, just don't see if they are tight, loosen them up and re-tighten.

For general trouble shooting, I would also loosely run a ground wire from one of the batteries and try different grounding points and see if you problem goes away. (I'd start at the voltage gauge to see what happens) If it does, then you are closer to problem. You just have to back track then.

Also check for some corrosion/tightness on battery switches. The problem sounds "global" to the port side, thus it is likely closer to batteries & switches vs under the dash.
(radio & head likely run off port batt)

Pull that rig down here, I'll find the problem.

OldSchool

Thanks for the replies gentlemen!!!!! That seems like enough info for me to figure it all out.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a 4 day trip on the boat over to Cambridge, MD for the OPA boat races. I'll start checking things next week.

Thanks again,
Craig