[McGillicuddy]

Thanks for the PSA, GFS.

In light of these failures I still regard Blue Sea Systems as an excellent company with excellent technical assistance and design engineering.

I could definitely see where bad plastic sourcing could have led to some failure. The few pics I have seen certainly imply a weak link in both design, and boat manufacturer's application. Very little plastic and thin bracing at flange area, especially when combined with plastic expansion in screwing process, looks suspect. I would guess these re-assemblies are done with screw guns without proper clutching generating excessive heat and excessive torque, weakening or making the plastic more brittle.

3 to 4 or more heavy gauge battery cables on mini-Switches plus hard links to neighboring switches and the way they were strung (poor, if any support and, apparent indifference to gravity and tension), looked like an abuse of the product. That's on the boat manufacturer.

New re-design appears much better structurally.