Hey, another wiring question!

First off, yes, i did search and did do a lot of reading. This thread was particularly helpful:

Click!

But, questions remain.

I have a few issues that I would like to correct. One is the ever common gauge jumping when different accessories are turned on.

The other issue is similar. I have an amp and small sub in my boat as well. When the bass hits, the gauges really jump around, causing some of the warning lights to light up and if I have it up high enough (not necessarily loud but just more bass), the head unit will reset on me.

I think they are all related to the ground issues with these boats. I have the boat torn apart as I'm in the middle of doing the dash plate and think this would be a fantastic time to give some attention to my grounds.

So, my questions are:

1. There is a lot of talk about the daisy chain of grounds...is that only referencing the gauges and their daisy chain? Or did CC daisy chain other grounds?

2. Would I benefit from running an individual ground from each gauge to a ground bus type of device? Or just leave it and beef up the wires from the block or add a heavier ground in addition to what's there?

The thread linked above is extremely helpful, I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

Thanks,

Matt

Feel free to check out my Thread when I ran new grounds.

I ran a new ground from the motor to the bus bar. Then I added a "Y" spade to the rear of my gauges with the new grounds going straight to the bus bar with the next gauge thicker wire. This solved a lot of my problems, but not all of them.

Check all of the other connections as well. They might need a quick hit with a wire brush or emery cloth. I've replaced many of the terminal ends on the original wiring.

As far as your stereo goes you should have the positive for the amp connected directly to the battery through a fused wire. The fuse should be as close to the battery as possible. The head unit should have an amp control wire that will turn the amp on and off but does not provide power only control (the amp has an internal relay that is switched by the head unit). The head unit positive should be connected to the output of the dash ignition breaker so that it will be disconnected when you turn off the breaker button. As suggested add a ground buss bar. Home Depot had some nice ones when I was there the other day or an electronics store. Connect the negative for the amp back to the battery negative or engine or the new buss bar and connect the head unit negative to the buss bar. Depending on how big your amp is it may draw a bunch of current and would be best to give it the best ground possible. As Mr. Brainard says the grounds are only part of the problem. The additional wire I mentioned from the positive battery terminal up to the ignition breaker (use the Y connector as mentioned in the other posts like Jpass used) to connect it and the additional wire from the other side of the breaker (using another Y connector) over to the key switch will reduce voltage drops and give you good battery voltage at the key. If you have any additional loads like your stereo head unit or perfect pass that you want to come on with the breaker then you will have to provide a wire coming directly from the ignition breaker (use individual wires for each load - no daisy chaining - although you can crimp or solder a few wires together and then attach just one end to the breaker terminal). Any loads that you want to come on with the key must have an individual wire from the output of the key switch to the load (does perfect pass come on with the key or ignition breaker? I have never had one). The primary load from the key is electronic ignition if you have it. In the case of ProTec this is a big deal but my "new" '89 just has a Mallory conversion so I don't think it needs much current. I measured the voltage at the ballast resistor and it was pretty close to the voltage coming out of the key so I am probably OK. You may want to make a similar measurement. I may still run an additional wire from the key back to the engine, not sure yet. The other loads from the key are the gauges which should be OK with the existing daisy chain (in my case the wires are purple) if you wanted to go above and beyond you could add a buss bar for the positive side of the key and connect all the gauges and whatever else is connected to it. Or just spice into the chain a few different locations then connect back to the key (I may still do this also). Like I said I just bought the boat but it is pretty well disassembled at the moment. It needed a dampener plate and since I had the tranny out I decided to install a new strut bushing.

Matt,
I would suggest that you add a capacitor for your bass situation.   The sub in your boat is the least resistance to ground, and therefor the path the power takes, instead of going through the proper accessory and factory wiring.   

the capacitor is like a quick charge/discharge battery that helps to smooth out the draw and spike that you are experiencing on the stereo side.   Your local stereo shop should have experience with this issue as it is common in vehicles with a large sub/amp set up as well.   you can probably buy the cap from crutchfields or other online sources.   check prices before you get in over your head at the local stereo shop.   

I am not entirely familiar with how to wire the cap, nor am I sure that an open cap on a boat would be a good Idea..(discharge from a cap can kill you)   be careful to handle it properly if you do go this route, and make sure that things are above any possible water line or intrusion.    

maybe a more technical question, but one you need to explore... how many ohms are your subs?   do you have them wired in series or parallel?   one causes the resistance of the system to go down, causing more power draw.    

good luck!

Maybe you should just start with adding the additional grounds then try the stereo. That may fix your problem. Also, you said that the PO used a proper amp wiring kit but then you said the stereo/amp are connected to one of the accessory breakers. The amp wiring kits that I have seen connect a large gauge wire directly to the battery. The accessory wire won't handle an amp very well and would cause the problems that you are having. If you want to be 100% sure about how the accessory breaker is wired just turn off the ignition breaker and then see if your stereo will turn on.

KRoundy wrote:     I remember back in college in our Engineering school we would take small capacitors, charge them up and then put them back in the supply drawers or just leave them lying around. When somebody would pick them up... BAMB! I got zapped once or twice. Good times.

Key words - SMALL CAPACITORS

I have a 1 Farad (1 million micro farad) cap that I used many years ago for car stereo. I never realized how dangerous it was until recently. A cap that size could easily kill a person. Anyway, the caps go inline on the positive wire with an appropriate in line fuse close to the cap and close to the battery.

Having said that, a heavy gauge ground is a directly to the amp/battery is a cheaper/easier first try fix.

I am planning a bus bar for better grounds for the 89 and the 78 someday...

I look forward to the pics. I plan on adding a hot bus bar myself in the future.

^^No problem Matt, glad to help.

JPASS wrote: I look forward to the pics. I plan on adding a hot bus bar myself in the future.

JP, I added some more pictures related to adding the positive bus bar, on the Dash Ground Thread

This is one of them: