electrical issues finding a wiring diagram??
 

HI,

I have a 89 four winns liberator 201 with a OMC 350.
I pulled the boat out today and started right up after being winterized. Planned on putting it in the water in the morning but now have new problems.

When i went to hit the horn to test it, the horn sounded weak and eventually faded and did not work. Next the navigation lights would not turn on. But when i hit the horn the lights will turn on until the horn is released then go off. Not sure if it could be a bad ground or short. I removed the access cover and found someone has cut and spliced wires on the boat before. There are also some wires disconnected and zip tied up and others just cut. The blower motor did work when starting the boat but now it also will not turn on.

The wiring looks like a mess i have owned the boat for 5 years and never had any issues like this before. Is there any way i can find a wiring diagram for this boat?? or am i pretty much SOL?? Not sure where to start without one. thanks

Pretty much SOL. Boats don't really have specific wiring diagrams, but they are/should be wired in a fairly standard manner. You will have to do some testing with a volt meter.

From what you described, I think you probably have a ground short going to much of the dash.

go here: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...print-out.html

i posted that a while back....its a general standard wiring color code for most boats....you can use it to help you trace things down. Unless its been hacked with speaker wires or something crazy, you should be able to figure it out. :)

ok thanks guys, im going to do a little research but what is the best way to track down a ground short?? I can easily use my test light testing to find out if things are getting power or not, but havent used a volt meter yet. I do have a cheap one but havent put it to much use other than testing glow plug relays and such on diesel trucks. thanks

Take your test light and hook the clamp that you would normaly hook to ground and hook it to power then you can see when you have a ground or not.