Switch wiring question
02-05-2015, 12:34 AM
#61
Registered
Thread Starter
Well I had some spare time over the weekend and it wasn't raining so I uncovered the rear and went to work now that I had all my supplies. First off working on that panel with the rear bench seat still attached and sitting in the storage area was NOT FUN AT ALL. For all you less limber folk I would highly recommend removing the rear seat to work on this area!
What I also found that I did not realize, is that there is VERY LITTLE extra wire to even clip off the damaged ends and have anything left to work with!
For this reason I decided to leave some of the connectors alone and simply carefully inspect the connections and clean up the ends of them well. I did not want to have to extend the wires and introduce another connection or failure point into the equasion. It's weird some of them were very corroded and rusty and others looked near perfect. I think what happened was that where the panel is, the boat has two holes that are meant to drain water that collects in the panel area. Mine were of course plugged so I made sure to unclog them. Perhaps the water was collecting, overflowing and seeping down around the panel but only on a few of the breakers that were corroded? After making wiring repairs and replacing the old or brittle breakers (some of them broke when I removed the screw terminals) I hosed everything down with CorrosionX as pstorti recommended. Adittionally, as mentioned previous by US1 about the loose connection theory, after I was all done I used zip ties and tied all the wires I could together to give them more support. After doing so I attempted to fit the panel back in its location. It would not fit due to the wires getting in the way and being all tied together as such. I managed to bend and prod things back in place and got it to fit but then remembered US1's theory (post#48) and took out the panel to check connections once more. Sure enough even with zip tying everything together the act of me manipulating the panel back into place indeed caused some of the connections to come loose, not very loose mind you, but enough that over time it surely may have been a problem! Just like before! I removed all the zip ties and retightened everything and placed the panel in place without having to manipulate any of the wiring. After screwing it down I then used my non existent yoga skills to wiggle myself under the rear seat area so I could see everything and zip tie the wiring again to provide some stability to it and keep it out of the way of all the "stuff" that would enevitably be thrown under the seat...
After all this was done I flipped my "cabin power" switch and allowed my audio system to power up... After a few moments it came on and then for "the moment of truth"... I hit the drivers seat power bolster and sure enough no audio drop out! Then on to the other seat and finally to the "engine hatch".... NOTHING! Everything functions as it should and the system played without interruption!
PROBLEM SOLVED with BIG thanks to everyone that participated and responded to this thread. Even if you don't feel I took any of your advise in this repair all of you helped the process a great deal to sort things out one way or the other!
THANKS AGAIN!!
P.S. if there is a moderator reading this (and if it is possible) I would like to rename this thread so someone that has a similar issue can "search" and find this info easier. I don't feel the title accuratly describes the problem I was having which led me to create this post. Please PM me on this.
What I also found that I did not realize, is that there is VERY LITTLE extra wire to even clip off the damaged ends and have anything left to work with!
For this reason I decided to leave some of the connectors alone and simply carefully inspect the connections and clean up the ends of them well. I did not want to have to extend the wires and introduce another connection or failure point into the equasion. It's weird some of them were very corroded and rusty and others looked near perfect. I think what happened was that where the panel is, the boat has two holes that are meant to drain water that collects in the panel area. Mine were of course plugged so I made sure to unclog them. Perhaps the water was collecting, overflowing and seeping down around the panel but only on a few of the breakers that were corroded? After making wiring repairs and replacing the old or brittle breakers (some of them broke when I removed the screw terminals) I hosed everything down with CorrosionX as pstorti recommended. Adittionally, as mentioned previous by US1 about the loose connection theory, after I was all done I used zip ties and tied all the wires I could together to give them more support. After doing so I attempted to fit the panel back in its location. It would not fit due to the wires getting in the way and being all tied together as such. I managed to bend and prod things back in place and got it to fit but then remembered US1's theory (post#48) and took out the panel to check connections once more. Sure enough even with zip tying everything together the act of me manipulating the panel back into place indeed caused some of the connections to come loose, not very loose mind you, but enough that over time it surely may have been a problem! Just like before! I removed all the zip ties and retightened everything and placed the panel in place without having to manipulate any of the wiring. After screwing it down I then used my non existent yoga skills to wiggle myself under the rear seat area so I could see everything and zip tie the wiring again to provide some stability to it and keep it out of the way of all the "stuff" that would enevitably be thrown under the seat...
After all this was done I flipped my "cabin power" switch and allowed my audio system to power up... After a few moments it came on and then for "the moment of truth"... I hit the drivers seat power bolster and sure enough no audio drop out! Then on to the other seat and finally to the "engine hatch".... NOTHING! Everything functions as it should and the system played without interruption!
PROBLEM SOLVED with BIG thanks to everyone that participated and responded to this thread. Even if you don't feel I took any of your advise in this repair all of you helped the process a great deal to sort things out one way or the other!
THANKS AGAIN!!
P.S. if there is a moderator reading this (and if it is possible) I would like to rename this thread so someone that has a similar issue can "search" and find this info easier. I don't feel the title accuratly describes the problem I was having which led me to create this post. Please PM me on this.
02-05-2015, 07:26 AM
#62
Charter Member
Good deal. Sometimes I think boat builders run the wiring, pull it tight so no slack, then cut off another 1/2". 
__________________
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
