wiring issuses

Josh,
Again, check the voltage to the coil.

skister72 wrote: I have some more questions. Which wires and what side do they go to the resistor. And also when the key is turned off the coil seems to be warm/hot to the touch. That can't be correct. What would make it become hot. Attached to the wrong lug on the ignition switch? Thanks

Josh,
Did you find the wiring diagram I posted the link to?

It does not matter which side of the resistor you go to. One side will go to the ignition switch and the other to the coil. Do you have power at the coil with the switch in the off position? What voltage are you getting to the coil?

skister72 wrote: i have a question ive got everything back on and when i turn the key to on the water temp needle maxes out. could the sensor be bad or do i have something wrong with the wiring?

Josh,
Double check your wiring. The sender wire on the back of the gauge should show resistance. If close to zero, then it may be grounded or a bad sender. Take the wire off the sender and check it to ground (engine block). The sender is a variable resistance device - about 240 Ohms cold and 33 Ohms real hot.

We don't

When I rewired my "new" gauges,I ended up removing all the old crimped on spade terminals that the VDO's used.The old Teleflex gauges use ring terminals,and I had a lot of these so I crimped and soldered them on. Then I used the shrinkwrap tubing to give it a finished look. Took alot more time but I have the piece of mind they won't fall off.

skister72 wrote: No I'm good with the sizing.   I just needed a diagram of the dash panel to make sure of what goes where in that mess of wire

Josh,
Ok, I've got it - you're not actually rewiring the boat but rather just putting all the wiring back together! Still, I suggest taking a real close look at all the connections. I did on my 77 and cured quite a voltage drop problem. The biggest problem were all the .250 quick connect crimp ons on the back of all the fuses. They were all brittle and some were even broken.

Josh,
Since you are rewiring, I suggest marine grade wire. It's strands are tinned to prevent corrosion. Also, the best crimp on connectors. The top of the line have adhesive lined heat shrink insulation on them.

Follow the standard marine wiring color coding:
Color     Item     Use
Yellow or Blk     Ground     Return, Negative Mains
Lt. Blue     Oil Pressure     Oil Pressure Sender to Gauge
Dk. Blue     Cabin & Instrument     Fuse or Switch to Lights
Brown     Generator Armature     Generator Armature to Regulator
Alternator Charge Light     Generator Terminal or Alternator Auxiliary Terminal to Regulator
Pumps     Fuse or Switch to Pumps
Green     Bonding System     Bonding Wires (if insulated)
Grey     Navigation Lights     Fuse or Switch to Lights
Tachometer     Tachometer Sender to Gauge
Orange     Accessory Feed     Ammeter to Alternator or Generator Output and Accessory Fuses or Switches
Common Feed     Distribution Panel to Accessory Switch
Pink     Fuel Gauge     Fuel Gauge Sender to Gauge
Purple     Ignition     Ignition Switch to Coil & Electrical Instrument
Instrument Feed     Distribution Panel Electrical Instruments
Red     Main Power Feeds     Positive Mains (particularly unfused)
Yellow     Generator Field     Generator to Regulator Field Terminal
Brn w/Yellow     Bilge Blowers     Fuse or Switch to Blower
Yellow w/Red     Starting Circuit     Starting Switch to Solenoid

Do you need any help with wire gauge sizing?

heat shrink insulated connectors

Josh,
Yes, I just posted one this morning in this thread. It's also in the manual in the ref section.