tripped main circuit breaker????
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Engine Repair
Forum Discription: Engine problems and solutions
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1944
Printed Date: November-26-2024 at 7:49am
Topic: tripped main circuit breaker????
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Subject: tripped main circuit breaker????
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 2:39pm
| 454 PCM,,,,what are the reasons for the circuit breaker to trip while running up the lake at 30 mph on a bright sunny day??? What should i be checking first. i noticed that the amp meter was not registering on this first voyage, but i only made it 1/2 mile before it quit and i lost ALL electrical. i didn't find the circuit breaker until after being towed and don't know for sure if that is the problem. i will check tonight. PLEASE HELP!!! |
Replies:
Posted By: David F
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 3:24pm
| Check the main engine to boat wiring harness connector for corrossion. Corrossion on an electrical connection causes high resistance which in turn increases the amperage required to maintain voltage across the connection. Often there is enough resistance across a bad connection to exceed the capacity of the circuit breaker. Clean up all connections and apply a dielectric grease upon reassembly. |
Posted By: Jim_In_Houston
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 4:20pm
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David. I = E/R
------------- Happy owner of a '66 and a '68 Mustang |
Posted By: Tarheel
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 5:10pm
| Boy, that's a bad day nautiquefanatic. If your boat had only died in front of your cousins place and his '84 was running; maybe he could have helped you. I bet I've been towed as much as anybody here. Sorry I wasn't able to help you, but maybe next time. Your boats need to run so I can rely on you to tow me home. That's a bad boat and can't wait to ride in it. |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 6:49pm
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Tarheel, i cannot believe you moved to Algeria! send me a postcard!! get the 84 running, i either need to buy it or use to tow me home.
pc |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 6:51pm
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UPDATE......now i have discovered that i don't think my boat has a "circuit breaker" like the COMMANDER engines do... does anyone know for sure if a 454 PCM will have one?? i am not near the boat at this time, but will be later tonight. i guess i will be having fun with a test light later today. !!
pc |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 9:30pm
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**NEWER UPDATE** i am home, and it DOES have a circuit breaker on the back of the motor. i pushed the button in and heard a click, now i have POWER to everything. now i must figure out what made it do it and that will be the hardest part i guess. any more suggestions???????? could the starter or alternator be causing it, or just look for corosion on the connection for the main harness......?? i am clueless.
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Posted By: Jim_In_Houston
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 10:08pm
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It could even be a weak breaker. If it was I would run the boat and see if the breaker trips again. Pay attention to what you are running when it trips. I know of nothing except corrorded and shorted wiring that pulls enough current to trip the beaker (except a faulty electrical device).
Bilge pumps are not wired through the breaker are they? What about exhaust fans? If those items are wired through the breaker a shorted motor in one of those items could trip it. (But they may not be wired through the breaker.) If it trips and you have a carburator try disconnecting the choke (the hot wire not the wire that is "grounded" to the chock itself.) Except for terminals or wires shorted together or a failed device (fan, pump, electric choke, horn, lights, etc) there is not anything else that can cause it to trip - unless like I said, it has gotten weak with age. Are you running any kind of monster amp? My advice: Go run the boat and see if the breaker continues to trip. If it does pay attention to any devices that may have been operating. ------------- Happy owner of a '66 and a '68 Mustang |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: June-27-2005 at 11:06pm
| thanks J I H !! i will try that. to my recollecion, i didn't have anything on. i had already turned the blower off and nothing else was running. but i will try to track down this gremlin this week. the soonest i will be able to get to water is wed. night. i hope to try it then. this time, i will carry a cell phone with the wood paddle option! i didn't have a paddle yesterday, but i was able to call all my friends and relatives (cousin) and tell them how much fun i had in a 1/2 mile boat ride! then i was able to tell them how great the gas mileage was with the 454, while being TOWED by a tri-hull I/O boat back to the boat landing!!!!! FUN, FUN, FUN!!! |
Posted By: JEFF KOSTIS
Date Posted: June-28-2005 at 1:27am
Im happy to see Jim in Houston with ohms law behind him!! I can say this, its not an accessory thats the problem because those are fused individually at the dash. The main breaker is usually pretty hefty and is designed to protect the big (If you call #10 wire big) feed wire up to the fuse panel in case it shorts out, and in case the alternator shorts out. Corroded connections might cause them to heat up, but will actually draw less current as the voltage drop increases. people get this confused from house current which is A.C. and can cause current to rise with a lower voltage. These items are loads known as inductive loads(motors, welders, refrigerators etc.).
Check the main wire leaving the breaker for cuts. If OK, then turn all accessories on and see if breaker trips. If it doesnt, the breaker is probably good. ------------- MUSTANG COUNTRY http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1074 - 1974 Mustang 17 http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1093 - 1976 Mustang 17 |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: June-28-2005 at 9:31am
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i intend on checking it out on wed. evening. it may have something to do with the alternator. i noticed while running the amp gauge was reading 0. that worried me but since it was my first time running the boat, i didn't know if the gauge itself had been working. we will see.
thanks for the continued help and suggestions, keep them coming. i want to play this weekend, i hope i get this figured out. |
Posted By: nautiquefanatic
Date Posted: July-03-2005 at 12:32pm
| have considered changing the name of this boat from Barefoot Nautique to PADDLE NAUTIQUE!! found the problem....an alternator wire was resting on the manifold and had burned the cover from the wire. it was shorting out on the engine block. fixed the wire and re-routed everything. ran the boat this morning with Tarheel and for the first time, we didn't need a paddle to get back to the dock! carb has just been rebuilt and is not dialed in yet (i am no mechanic or carb genius), so i will need to get someone that knows what they are doing to dial it in. it is running a little rich, blackening up the back of the boat just a little bit. not much, but enough to annoy me and make cleaning it up a pain in the butt. boat is running about 140 degrees according to the gauge, this seems a little cool, what do others think???? maybe a thermostat change is in order?? it will run about 135 range some, then up to 140 at others, and when idleing, it will run about 145. i am thinking that is too cool for this 454 PCM. thanks for everyones help on this board and thanks to Tarheel for being my primary "paddle pilot" on the last day if left us stranded on the lake! |