A wire that may not be fused on your boat that needs to be.

jeff6645 · #1 10-14-2013, 10:46 AM

Thought this may help someone someday....

Put the boat in the water Saturday for a fishing trip, while still tied up at the dock heard a pop and everything went off, except the engine, it's on its own isolated battery power. The main fuse at the batteries was blown. Checked with a volt meter and had a dead short. So put boat back on trailer and headed home... had already had a bad day the day before in my other boat... (lost steering and then water in fuel).

We had just rewired the boat a couple months ago with high quality marine wire, waterproof connectors and all new electronics and bilge pumps and switches so this really caught me off guard because everything is fused and in most cases are also connect to a breaker switch so I was really confused why the main fuse would blow... Started trouble shooting at the batteries and working my way through the system. When I got to the AM/FM radio found the short... the main power wire (red wire) has 3 fuses, one on the fuse panel where it is connected, one in line and one actually in the back of the radio... but the problem was with the yellow wire (memory) that keeps power to the radio when the key is off... it has no fuses and connects directly to the bus bar. It should be fused! I missed it when we did the install. Had it had a fuse would have never had the problem.

So long story short... make sure all connections are fused. Glad I spent the money to install a main fuse between the battery and all connections.

I think the radio got hit when we took a close by lightning strike a couple weeks ago, lucky no one was hurt bad. My son had a burn on his arm where he was standing next to the T-Top and my thumb was burned where I was holding the wheel. I will now head in as soon as I see I dark cloud anywhere in the sky.

uncleboo · #2 10-14-2013, 04:18 PM

Glad all are OK. How about some pics of your 23?

jeff6645 · #3 10-14-2013, 05:18 PM

Here are a few pictures

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...bum.php?u=2869

parrott · #4 10-15-2013, 12:18 AM

How are the transducers working out?

I usually run my red from the radio to a constant hot when battery switch is on and inline fuse then the yellow to a fused switch on the dash. Usually the yellow from the amp is on the switch w the radio too

jeff6645 · #5 10-21-2013, 12:05 AM

The transducers are working great. The reading seems more accurate... I get fewer fish hits but the ones I do get seems to actual fish. Depth reading don't fluctuate when on plain.