view from a towrope

Two problems-

1. Still leaking from the transom- cheating on this one and taking it to a mechanic.

2. Major electrical issues- I am thinking the main fuse blew because we lost all power to the dash, which made us lose power to everything- including the bilge pump. Thats not too much fun when you are taking on water in the middle of the lake!!!!

However- despite all the problems- it hauls a$$ and sounds wicked(when its running)

ALLRIGHT!!!

You buy me the plane ticket and I will come fix your electrical problems! NO VIDS YET?

P.S - The boat is coming along slowly but it is coming, thanks for asking!

Tomorrow work ok for you? I would like it done for the weekend

I am pretty sure the relay is bad- and the funny thing is I don't know why they put one in it because the original wiring diagram from Merc does not have one- so go figure. Its not a big deal because I am waiting for parts anyway

relay? What does it power?

Also, you mentioned your bilge pump didnt work when the fuse blew? Do you not have a manual bypass on the pump in the engine compartment?

If you look at a normal Merc dash wiring diagram- there is a 20 amp fuse in line with the ignition switch, and on the other side of that is where the accessories pull off of, so if you blow the main fuse everything goes(which makes sense). For some reason the guy who wired my dash decided to put a 30 amp relay in line with the fuse, I think to power up the dash or something. I havn't gotten back out there to check, but thats the only other thing in line- so that has to be it, and this is not the first time I have had a problem with the relay. From what I can see it really does not need to be in there, so if it keeps giving me a problem I'll get rid of it, because like I said I have no idea why its there.

As far as the bilge pump- it was supposed to be wired direct from the battery to the float switch, with a bypass switch on the dash- however I don't think that is the case, as the float switch does not work when there is no power to the dash, so thats something else I have to fix- add it to the list

Are all of your switched accesories powered from the ignition switches? if so that would explain the relay and you will need it if thats the way it's wired. I am pretty sure the wire feeding the ignition switches is not big enough to carry the load of all the accesories. I wired most of my high drain devices that are on switches on the dash directly to the fuse panel under the dash. The keys do not have to be on for them to operate. Actually, Now that I think about it, the only power coming from my ignition swithces is to power the physical instruments and the actuial ignition to the engines.

This is random, but did you check to make sure the batteries didn't short out? I just had two brand new batteries completely short on one of my Chris Crafts. Can't find any reason why. Put two new ones in and haven't had a problem since. Again totally random just a thought.

Update- cheated and took it to a boat mechanic- they replaced the bellows and o-ring on the drive, so hopefully that fixes the leak. On the electrical I finally looked at it- and something keeps popping the main circuit breakers on the engine. I bought two new engine wiring looms so I am going to install those today(not really excited about pulling the starters) so I hope that fixes all the stupid electrical gremlins, as everything else is brand new. I will keep you guys posted- thanks for all the input!!