92 Nautique Rewire

Hello,

I am starting to look into rewiring my 92 Sport Nautique (helm console needs a complete overhaul) and was wondering if anyone had advice on best/most economical approach.

Thanks

Thanks for the quick reply. Tried replacing gauges last summer and during the install started running into all sorts of issues. Ended up scrapping the install all together after a local nautique dealership recommended I rewire the helm. The boat had original wiring that was in bad condition when it was bought. Trying to ultimately clean everything up and have all working gauges at the helm. I found some pre crimped and cut harnesses online thinking that may save me in labor costs but am not sure the best approach.

These are the two that I have been going back and forth on picking up.

http://www.ezacdc.com/boat-wiring-products/marine-electrical-switch-panels/panel-rewire-system/

http://boatwiringstore.com/boat-wiring/harness/

If you're facing a full rewire anyway, this is a good time to get away from the daisy chains, and either re-inforce or replace with bus bars.

The daisy chain approach, is basically one long wire, goes from point to point along the dash. When you look at any connection at a switch or gauge, you're going to see two wires twisted together, and crimped into a single terminal.

Each of those double wire crimps is a junction along the chain. Kind of like a video game with a hopping frog, except the frog is tracing a line as he goes. Each time he lands and jumps again, you have a double line, half where he is landing and half where is taking off again. In your dash, he is hopping from switch to switch to gauge to gauge etc. Crazy analogy, but the best I can think of right now.

Anyway, you really want to replace all of that with bus-bars:
1.) A bus bar for the ground at the very least. Usually done as a re-enforcement first, but if you have a handle on everything, it could fully replace the daisy chain. Instead of hopping from point to point, every ground connection just goes back to the bus bar.

2.) A bus bar for the red/battery

3.) A bus bar for all the lighting positives blue or white

4.) A bus for all the purple, switches ignition sources.

From there, then there's the stuff that interfaces with the engine harness, and then the hull harness.

Gary S wrote: With individual runs you could disconnect the one in trouble and go right to he spot. Took longer to install though and could be a nightmare of ends but much better.

That's the way I wired my phones in my house but each run is clearly labeled at the buss. I remember when AT&T brought the service into the house. The "tech" said I used the wrong type of wire. Well, I've never had a problem!!!