boats at my camp in maine still shrink wrapped.
if you go ahead just make sure whatever you do each circuit has a breaker or a fuse.

I rewired my helm and used new wire marine, everything came prewired on the panel and all wires labeled....

OK back to the topic, has anybody purchased the switches I posted? I am in need of 2 and was hoping for some feedback.
If Oconner Marine said that is how it came I would take it at face value. It would be interesting to see how they wired it and why different from others. The factory under dash wiring on these boats look WAY sub standard, in my opinion. Every thing else is soo top quality, what a shame.
I broke one of those stupid aircraft pushbutton circuit breakers in the stern, I now need a 3 (or 5) amp breaker (mercathode) anybody have any hanging around that they would part with? Just ordered one online, now back to the switches.
Any feedback welcome.
Thank you and bee safe.

all my formulas have been wired far superior than most brands. Your statement " substandard" ? No way . Ive worked on countless boats being in the business for 40 years. Formula was a benchmark in the 80's. And still is. A leader in quality. No bashing please. When my boat gets prepped ill take some photos of the old switches and my breaker panels.
here is a photo of my 272 at my camp.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a9dc52eed2.jpg
To the😩 left of the building

Breakers
 

Original

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...cbc7845077.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7af2e80098.jpg

Thanks for the update Oconnor. I'm almost afraid to post this. I'm not really trying to be a jerk but you need to read my post #30 in this thread. You no doubt have experience with boats. But the pictues you just posted actually prove the point I have been making all along. You posted a picture in post #65 of the switches in your dashboard. I explained in post #30 that there are TWO circuits for the bilge pump> One is the automatic one protected by the breaker on the panel in the picture in your post #87. The other circuit is directly from the switch so you can manually turn on and off the bilge pump. No breaker switch = no protection for the wire from the dash switch to the bilge pump = possible fire. The breaker for "interior lights" is for the cabin lights. You have no breakers for "Courtesy Lights","Bilge Pump" (manual), "Depth Sounder", "Port Docking Light", "Stbd Docking Light", "Dash Lights", "Anchor Lights, "Nav Lights". Your boat originally came with a 3" thick three ring binder that Formula puts together for each boat they built. The wiring diagrams were included in that binder along with catalogs from Mercury, VDO guages, Owners manuals for the engines and drives, Manufacturers installation manuals for all the equipment, and the engines and drives. You name it , it's in that binder. The wiring diagrams are not some generic diagram from Mercury or other source. It is put together by Formula for every specific boat that was built. The 272 diagram is different than the 311 diagram, and different than the 357 diagram, and different than the 402 diagram, etc. If you have the binder look at the wiring diagram carefully. Look for how the electricity flows from the battery to the switches and then to the device. You will see by studying the correct diagram that those dash switches must have an internal breaker or a breaker just before the switch. I implore anyone to obtain the correct wiring diagrams for your boat if you do not have the binder. Many of us on here at OSO would be happy to send you a copy, or just call Formula. There are two or three of us in this thread that by our own foolishness or by the ignorance of a previous owner found out the hard way not to screw up what Formula designed our electrical systems to do. There are a lot of instances of all kinds of boats catching fire due to the same foolishness, that aren't even a part of this thread. For the 2 or 3 of us that dealt with this, we simply want to put out the warning not to do what was done to O'connors boat. When people see these cool lighted tip stainless toggles, or are frustrated that the original breaker/switches can't be found anywhere; we become tempted to listen to someone who did it wrong, or bought a used boat that someone else did wrong. The consequences of this bad advice could be fatal. Oconnor, you have nine switches that have no breakers on them. I count 15 plugged openings in the breaker panels you are showing above. The original push/pull breakers for those panels are still readily available. Figure out (from the correct Formula wiring diagram) what each of those switches should have had for a circuit breaker amperage and get some breakers in those blank holes. Run a little bit of wire back and forth to the dash switch panel. Then you can rest assured that you and your loved ones are safe. And when you sell the boat, you can sleep easy knowing that you didn't endanger someone else's life. And a a special bonus, you have some truly Kick-Ass looking switch gear in the dash. It completely blows away the look of the original lighted red rockers! I feel very strongly about this because my family could have been killed because some idiot that owned one of my boats previously didn't know what the hell he was doing and circumvented the breakers. Fires in boats are not good. Get the wiring diagram and figure this out correctly.
Al Janus

good point. Illnlook a little closer and see if there is a fuse panel i never saw. There has to be🔥

Hey o'connor, I'm really sorry. I'm sure this seems like I'm bashing you. I am really passionate about this because of how close I came to a disaster. There is no other breaker panel Bud. If that switch you posted is what you think is the original lighted toggle that was provided by Formula when the boat was built, it isn't. Looks like a cheap unit from an automotive supplier like Del-City distributors or something. Check who the manufacturer of the switch is. It should be marked on the switch case. Formula only used top quality components like VDO, Carling, Ritchie, Livorsi, ETA,etc. Hell, they use aircraft components in the bolsters, and for the door latches on the head compartment and galley doors. That switch.... no way.

I'll try to find a wiring diagram for a F272SR1 also.

i have all my build papers. 88 272 sr1.
The switch says "alda" on it
? 12v 20 amps
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...e945f34bbd.jpg
Alda

That 12v 20amp is the rating of the switch. Period.
The 12v 20 amp label, means that switch will handle the voltage and current listed.
Has ZERO to do with circuit protection.

We are not going to convince you that your switch is not a circuit protection. So take your switch and go directly between the positive and negative on your boat battery and see what happens.
Then do that with an ORIGINAL Formula helm switch. Your results will be different.
I have the Formula Factory wiring diagrams that show amp ratings on ALL the switches on the dash.
Scott at Formula tech support was kind enough to share them with me.
I have them for my old 1989 272SR1 and my 1993 419SR1. Both boats have circuit protection that ALJ has been talking about for Years. And has been kind enough to attempt explaining their function to you.

IF formula did not need circuit breaker (Circuit protection) at the switch, they probably would not have
spent the money to install them.

Since I re-wired my 272 left side through the galley to aft nav light due to a wiring fire.....
Trust alj when he takes the time to help others not aware of the pitfalls of working on wiring on Formula SR1 series.

wasnt me that said the switch was a breaker. Why the hell did u guote me??
i just posted the rating. Ive been saying all along my switches are not breakers. 🤔
i have breakers.

Read my post again.
I DID NOT QUOTE YOU.
All I did was comment that the 12V 20A pointed out on the switch was the switch rating.

Just humor me. Im old and tired.
my comment was meant as a FACT statement. Not a dispute.

In my experience, since you quoted yourself to being in the industry for 40+ years, sometimes we run across things that have defied logic.
If I’m wrong I will apologize and shut up. Just humor me and try an experiment WITH me.
I tried it on my two Formulas and would like to hear your experience with my test.

Select the switch at the helm to ON for your bilge pump. The pump should run.
Correct?
If it is running, hope it is.

Then with the bilge pump running, pull your circuit breaker under the seat that says Engine Bilge.

Does the pump continue to run?
Mine does.

Even when I Pull every circuit breaker on the panel in front of the engine compartment.
Now go under the dash and pull every circuit breaker under the dash.

Does the bilge pump continue to run?

IF it does, can you explain that logic?

Has anyone tested my theory of power to the circuits on a formula instrument panel?
Plus.....
I have broken one of my last spare switches on the panel to run the bilge pump. 15A
Looking to replace switch and having difficulty finding lighted toggle switches previously displayed during this thread.
I would like a resource of those blue lighted toggle switches.
Void of discussion on IF the switches and circuit breaker type or not.
I can handle the issue with zero problems, once I find a source for the blue lighted toggles

with enough current, everything is a circuit breaker ;)

https://www.reddit.com/r/ANormalDayI.../safety_first/

Sabertoothsquirrel.... I had to laugh. Some folks just should not work on electrics. For them, I say, use the wire as the circuit breaker! Much cheaper for the materials than the way Formula engineered it. Laughing my a** off!

Constant power for bilge pump
 

Opie,
I looked again at the Formula wiring diagram supplied in my Formula Owners Information binder (F206LS ... should be the same as all others until you get to multiple bilge pump models). In diagram 206-95A on the far left of the diagram it shows the line for "constant power for bilge pump". It is a red wire with a brown trace line. On our boats of this era, there is an acrylic power post block on the hull side right next to each battery. Positive and negative from the battery goes to the appropriate post on those blocks and are NOT fused or circuit breakered. That Red/Brown wire is connected directly to the positive side of that power post (so not switched off when we turn the battery switches off). That wire leads directly to the bilge pump breaker at the rear of the cockpit which is usually under the rear seat. From that breaker the wire continues directly to the bilge pump float switch that was originally installed by Formula. That circuit provides "constant power" to the bilge pump that is automatically switched on in case water gets into the bilge and you aren't there to turn it on manually. (note that this circuit also supplies power to the Mercathode circuit breaker under the back seat if your boat is equipped with that option. The Mercathode must also operate even if you have the batteries switched off.)
As for the switch on the dash... That switch is for you to "manually" operate the bilge pump, regardless of whether the bilge FLOAT switch calls for the pump to turn on. You flip the switch= the pump turns on even if there's no water to pump. The power for that switch also comes off the same terminal on the bilge pump circuit breaker that the wire for the automatic float switch is getting power from. The "float" switch and the dash switch are wired "in parallel" so if either is switched on , the pump runs. The wire from the bilge breaker (rear) runs up through the instrument panel harness to the dash switch and is also supposed to be Red/ Brown. It goes through no other breakers and is wired directly to the dash switch and it returns back through the dash harness as a solid brown wire to go directly to the bilge pump ( not to the float switch this time ). Properly wired, the bilge pump will have three wires going to it. A red/brown from the float switch. A brown from the dash harness/dash switch. And a Black that goes directly to a ground through the bilge harness. Many people install new bilge pumps that have built in float switches and then get confused about how to wire three wires into the pump. I have also seen where "mechanics" have run a new wire to the breaker and are confused about which terminal or which side of the breaker is dead when the breaker is tripped off. Also check to make sure that a defective breaker wasn't replaced and the wires reinstalled all wrong completely. It isn't hard to screw it up because there are multiple Red/Brown wires at the rear circuit panel and one of them is always hot to the battery. Hell, it could have been screwed up by Formula at the factory when they built the boat.
Opie, if pulling that Bilge pump circuit breaker under your seat doesn't turn off the bilge pump, something is wrong. I know that you know 12 volt wiring so it shouldn't be hard to find the problem. Get out the test light! I had the same issue with my F402. Someone changed out the bilge pump on my boat and didn't understand (I'm guessing) why there were two wires powering the bilge pump. So ..... they just ran their own wire directly to the battery. No fuses, no circuit breaker, no fuss, no muss! Pigtail completely cut off near the pump and not wirenutted. They did the same thing with a blower. Maybe these "mechanics didn't know there was a second circuit breaker panel under the back seat? Maybe they were just idiots?I have no idea, but it caused a minor fire. It sounds like your fire was major. Take a look at your bilge pump wiring to see what got cut up and rewired.
Happy Holidays everyone!