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Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:24 am
by Rivetman
I suspect Electrical issues on my restoration. Anyone out there have what I would call an "ELECTRICAL INSPECTION CHECKLIST"...for an electrical novice? I would like to start...go through each system or area of the boat and attempt to find/correct problems. Seems daunting to me (great architect...crappy electrical engineer).
There seems to be a lot of "Mickey Mouse electrical stuff added over the years...pics are truly scary. I can use testing equipment well and have a helper. Noodle on it for a while.....I've got some time.

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:09 am
by Fastjeff
I hope you have LOTS of patience!

Jeff (I hate electrical crap)

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:25 am
by GB49
Separate 120VAC and 12VDC in your mind. Makes it easier to focus on one or the other. Trace and label wires that are needed, usually factory wiring etc. Remove any unused, mickey mouse wire. Once you get rid of the junk its much easier to replace, wire tie etc. Always cut only 1 wire at a time.

Jeff is correct. It will take lots of patience and time.

-Karl

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:13 am
by jtalberts
Doing a good bit of this myself at the moment. AC is a lot easier than DC. You wont believe the amount of DC stuff that is wired into your boat that you can't even think of when making a list. I love all my panels being in one location however I am tempted to remotely locate some DC fuse blocks so I can run one larger feed to it and not deal with a whole bundle of cables.

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:01 am
by ericinga
I'm doing the same thing on our boat. Luckily, the POs left most of the original systems alone and added their own custom systems. I started at the panel, traced wires back to the source and fixed from there. There was a power wire connected to the ground bonding strip, open power wires,open grounds, etc, etc.

You might want to buy the book "12 volt bible for boats", $10 on Amazon. It has been very helpful. You might also ask the same question on the metalboatsociety.org forum. It's a group of west coast boat steel / aluminum restorers that have provided a ton of useful information. Very practical responses and information.

Eric

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:53 am
by Rivetman
Thanks guys!!!!! Getting started this week........and it is only in the 90's here! Will probably invent a few new cuss words to my already, extensive vocabulary of expletives. If I get struck by lightening...first one to the boat gets to keep it.

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:27 am
by yooper
For less than $5 you can buy a used copy of "Your Boat's Electrical System" by Conrad Miller. This is the correct vintage book for your boat. I have both the 1973 and 1988 versions. I made the dual purpose testing light described in that book.

The wiring just looks complicated. It runs from the batteries to a main distribution panel to the switch/breaker panel to the devices. Look at the back of the instrument panel. Complicated? If you ignore all the panel lighting wires, it is simple. No more that three wires to each readout indicator. Just ignore the unimportant stuff until after your ignition, engine harness and instruments all work. On one of my boats the prior owner made you turn on the horn circuit to start the boat. That was kind of hard to find. He also had no idea how the bilge pump was supposed to be wired. He just kept patching stuff until it would turn on. The engine harness plug was cut and discarded making a big mess out of that. I had trouble finding the right replacement ignition switches off-on-mon. Make sure these switches are in perfect shape.

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 5:50 am
by Rivetman
A message from your friend at the "Tucker Engineered Lumber Yard Yacht Club and Reggae Bar"...Thanks Yooper et al. Will find these books this week. Basic "cleaning up" going well. Making inventory of wiring projects and hitting them one at a time. Must admit that I'm some :shock: what addicted to tie wraps....seems so....organized! (I do find I sometimes have to snip an clip them away as I forgot to include something in a bundle). I posted on FB to my friends a photo of looking into the Engine room and labeled it "Another Fine Mess". :shock:

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:41 pm
by Difrenzi
New owner of a 1978 28 flybridge on Cave Run Lake Ky. Can anyone tell me where the fuses are located?

Re: Electrical Inspection Checklist

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:21 pm
by jralbert
M's typically have ckt breakers. They're described as aircraft type which would be logically considering the origins of the company. In the cabin, they are usually behind the panel over the helm. I do recall a breaker on the engine itself - for the engine but I don't think that's what you're asking about. And, I do recall fuse (don't know its purpose) on the panel near the instruments, another for the fume sniffer and, perhaps, VHF radio.