Electrical problem on '81 ski nautique

Hugh - I am not familiar with the '81 dash but from your picture it looks like there are fuses just to the left of the helm (round caps). One of them is specifically for the ignition circuit & I would focus on the wires coming to & from that one. Your fuse could be corroded or the contact inside the holder for that matter.

If you can't make heads or tails of it, then this may be a case where a boat mechanic would be money well spent. You don't want to be out on a great lake with a marginal electrical system.

if its an amp meter then ck connections. i believe everything runs through it.   

shierh wrote: if its an amp meter then ck connections. i believe everything runs through it.

By 81, I'm 99% sure CC had gone to volt meters. Besides, there's not much that will go wrong with an Amp meter. It's simply has a heavy conductor from terminal to terminal with a current transformer wrapped around it. When they fail, it will stop reading the amps but will still carry the current through it. If you have an old one around, take it apart and see what's inside.

Ok, I checked the fuses, they were fine. Went back to the beginning with all the suggestions I had gotten on here, starting at the beginning. with all the electrical connections. So I rechecked the clamps on the battery terminals, they were tight. But this time I noticed the connection of the wire to the clamp was loose.on the positive terminal. So I took them all off, wire brushed all of it and reassembled. Now when I turn the key, the gauges come on an stay on. So that was my problem. I will now slink away with my tail between my legs. Thanks for all your help, everyone!

Hollywood wrote: hughman wrote: and when the boys see her, it is easy to get a tow back! pics

Kevin,
Didn't you just get married?

sorry, my 83 has amp meter set up.   Could have been upgrade. volt meter set up is way cheaper.

im keeping it as an amp meter as well.   

hughman wrote: She is one of those 14 year old's...

I'll have Siri remind me to recheck this thread in 4 years

That's battery connection is a relatively odd one, so no need to feel bad you didn't think of it first. Just good you found it and fixed it

I'll set a reminder to have Brian remind me in 4 years.

Electrical connections rarely "look" bad. You really gotta get in there closer.

8122pbrainard wrote: It would be a good idea to consider a new set of battery cables.

There you go suggestion just replacing parts without testing first, lmao!!

Agree with PD the clamp style battery terminals are garbage, if the cables all look fine otherwise NAPA has soldier style replacement terminals available with the solder already in them. If you do replace this way just be sure you get the correct + and - terminals as they are different sizes.

quinner wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: It would be a good idea to consider a new set of battery cables. There you go suggestion just replacing parts without testing first, lmao!!

Chris,
Aren't you supposed to be working on some clients project??