Added New Dash Ground to 93 with Pics
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URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21901
Printed Date: April-29-2024 at 1:57am
Topic: Added New Dash Ground to 93 with Pics
Posted By: Bri892001
Subject: Added New Dash Ground to 93 with Pics
Date Posted: June-01-2011 at 1:47am
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Hi All, this weekend I added a new dash ground to my 93 Ski Nautique. It helped my gauges read more accurately and my Perfect Pass works reliably now.
I figured I'd take some pictures, because this one of those projects that everyone mentions doing and it sounds easy enough, but sometimes it's good to see the details. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 
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Replies:
Posted By: M3Fan
Date Posted: June-01-2011 at 10:57am
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Nice work. I like the idea of running it to the engine rather than right to the battery. Slick! ------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-01-2011 at 11:15am
| Thanks Joel! It was definitely nice to have the Perfect Pass working reliably all weekend too. |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: June-02-2011 at 1:06pm
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Did you just do the ground only? I like the explanation written on the pictures, what did you use to do that? How many volts did you pick up at the dash?
I added a 2 batterys, 2 switches a ground bus for the batterries and a voltage sensing relay last weekend. I'm sick of wiring, but the stereo will run for many hours now and that is making the detailing process much easier. |
Posted By: kapla
Date Posted: June-02-2011 at 1:17pm
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Nice!! this is the help I was needing to do it in my nautique
Nice pictures!!  ------------- <a href="">1992 ski nautique |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-02-2011 at 1:26pm
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I just did the ground. My local west marine only had 8' rolls of 10gauge red, so I figured rather than butt connecting two together, I would wait until I could get a 15' piece and do it right. I also ordered a new Ignition breaker from Nautiqueparts, as the old one was a little suspect, but I'm still waiting to get it in the mail. So, I figured I'd do that together, I have to pick up some more terminal connectors as well.
Everything works about 80% better with just the new ground, but the blower does still slow down a little bit when you turn the key to on. I cleaned up/re-insulated and re-connected a lot of the connections under there that looked suspect too, and that helped things as well. I'd be curious to see pictures of your stereo/dual battery install; sounds cool. Are you using the PerfectPass itself to test voltage at the dash? I actually just used Microsoft Paint that comes with Windows to add those little text boxes. There's a tool that looks like a "A" and you can draw a little box in the picture then write in there. You have the option of the white background, or just putting the words right on the picture. I used the white background so it would stand out. You can also use Paint to cut down the image sizes. That's why I was using it, then I discovered the text box thing. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-02-2011 at 1:50pm
Thanks Kap 
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Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: June-02-2011 at 2:45pm
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I'm a Apple person so no windows, I'm sure I can find something if I look.
I'm getting the volts from the guage on the dash, 13.5 if I remember. There's still some drop, the new alternator is putting out 14.5 at the battery. I haven't checked to see what's changed with all the new wiring. I do know that there isn't any drop between any of the batteries and the amps, I was a little worried because I moved 2 of them to the other side of the boat. I haven't even started the motor so I don't know if anything has changed at the dash, but it shouldn't have. Once I get done with the detailing this weekend I'll figure out how to post up my wiring diagram for the batteries, there's not much to see, I tried to make everything stealth and hidden so pictures wouldn't help much. I'm not the best with electrical stuff, but I'm learning, I was very glad that evrything didn't burn to the ground when in hit the switch the first time. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-12-2012 at 12:21am
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I figured I would add a few new pictures to this thread. I replaced the cross thing I made above with a more proper ground bus. I chose a dual circuit bus, because it was lower profile than some of the other bus strips. I made it into one, by wiring the two sides together. I also added a positive to the input side of my ignition dash breaker button. This perked up my horn a bit, and made my Perfect Pass able to start up with the blower on. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-12-2012 at 12:25am
 The ratcheting crimper really comes in handy. If you close it one "click" on to your terminal, it will just hold it in place automatically. Then, you can more easily insert your stripped wire end into the opening. Well worth the money over the cheapo one I was using before.   The multi stack terminals are very useful. You take a length or wire, and attach these to one end, and a ring terminal to the other. You put the ring side on your bus bar. Then, the multi stack connection can connect to your gauge, and re-connect the original daisy chain on top, to keep it in tact.    
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Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: June-12-2012 at 12:46am
| How do you keep track of anything in all that mess with everything laying around. Lol. I just throw it all in my 5gal bucket and dump it out where I need it, saves time, I bet you spent more time organizing everything than you did making wire connections. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-12-2012 at 12:56am
It's the OCD I guess  I did it partially for the pictures too.The cargo liner is nice, cause it keeps everything contained. Black isn't necessarily the best choice when working in the afternoon sun though. |
Posted By: Cahill
Date Posted: August-18-2012 at 8:08am
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Where did you get that ground bus? I wanna do something like that. Thanks |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-18-2012 at 2:05pm
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I got the ground bus bar at West Marine. There is a big one near me that has a good selection of all that stuff. Keep in mind, the one I used is actually a two circuit one. I made it all into one circuit with that one wire that loops back onto it. I chose that particular model, because it's low profile. Some of the other ones had studs that were really tall. |
Posted By: tbeard
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 2:13am
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With my dash pod out of the boat I replaced 2 breakers and checked all the wires and replaced the speedo bulbs. I have 2 disconected wires??? There is one black wire running from the ignition switch over to the area of the breakers that is disconected. I have no idea where it connects. The black wire is connected to the ignition terminal with 2 purple wires and 1 pink? I also hace a very small resistor connected to the ignition breaker terminal that is not connected to anything on the other end? ------------- Thanks.......Tom |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 3:16am
| Neither of those sound right, blacks are grounds. Do all the lights work for all the gauges? |
Posted By: phatsat67
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 11:33am
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My volt meter reads low, This causes my gauges to read high. I know its a problem but I know the system charges properly so I haven't messed with it because I know it's a bad ground. I really like that Idea Brian. Quick simple effective fix. Probably on my to do list now. I was going to re run the grounds but that will be much easier. I also found a voltage drop over my ignition switch and my ignition breaker. Those have since been fixed. A few minutes with a ohm meter told me the voltage story and the ground story. CC sure did make it easy to get a good ground with the battery right beside you under the dash in the 2001 hulls! ------------- |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 12:35pm
| Whatever you do, shrink and seal everything. Every time I've had an issue it has started or gotten worse because the boat got too wet. It seems like no mater what at least once a year mine gets caught out in the rain somewhere that I can't keep it dry like I do when I'm at home. |
Posted By: tbeard
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 1:02pm
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Don, What does not sound right? There is a factory installed black wire disconected from over the years....probably by acident. I am trying to get information on where it connects. As with the small resistor. I will start a new thread in Maintance. Thx ------------- Thanks.......Tom |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 1:12pm
Of course, pics of what you're looking at will confirm. |
tbeard wrote:Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: January-29-2013 at 3:05pm
| I think Brian pretty well covered the not right part, I'll agree with the sounds like it was added. I haven't run into resistors or anything like that on mine, but there are a lot of wires and I haven't messed with all of the yet. I would strech it out and see where it will reach, make sure that everything that it could reach is working. Once you know that then you can use it or remove it. They key is usually a good place to get switched power so there is a good chance it was for something that isn't there anymore. |
Posted By: gsyogi
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 11:33am
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New "electrician" taking a shot at this upgrade. I have added the bus, cleaned up some wiring under the dash with the original ground chain, but am now second-guesing my choice of where I ran the new ground on the engine. After looking earnestly (I have Pro Tec) I wired to the battery ground on the engine block up front and THEN found what I believe is the original ground on the back of the engine. Do I need to run my new 10 AWG back to the original ground or am I good the way I have it? Thanks in advance! Under the dash pod, the new bus:  The new "front" ground on the engine block:  The original ground at the back of the engine (the post and nuts to the right of center): 
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Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 11:43am
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Your new ground is just fine; that is where I put mine. ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 11:47am
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Yup, I agree. Your choice of dash-to-engine ground should work great. One note, when you use a "dual" bus, as a single (ground only) bus, you have to remember to make a loop to connect the two sides to make it all one. It looks like you did that, but it's a little tough to tell for sure with the picture. |
Posted By: gsyogi
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 12:05pm
| Yup, the loop is there ... Thank you very much ... once I had completed the work I, of course, found the ground at the back ... it was like "Oh S****" ... as I am trying to improve things, not muck them up. Thanks! |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 12:20pm
| In an ideal world the block is just a big ground buss. |
Posted By: gsyogi
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 1:25pm
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Yup ... that is what I thought I understood ... just looking for clarification ... Don, can't wait to show you my stereo solution ... busy, busy, but I will get pics up soon!!! Leaving on SN vacation on Wed. morning!!! Last electrical question, I need to wire up my PP StarGazer ... just want to clarify that I am put the leads on the right posts on the ignition switch. The ignition:  The leads off the PP unit: IMG]uploads/12767/PP_Leads.jpg[/IMG] Just to be clear ... I am going to connect the purple lead to the purple/red on ACC (12 o'clock) as shown, and the red lead to the BAT all red (at the 6 o'clock) ... the PP speedo requires a "continuous 12V source." Thanks, as I am trying to get this done today! Next, Gore shaft packing and then we are good to go (I HOPE)! |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 1:30pm
| PP goes on the purple wire, run the ground to the buss, grey goes to the tach. Be sure to use Enoch wire so that you can still flip the dash and work on things. |
Posted By: gsyogi
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 2:32pm
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Don, this is just the Precision Star (JUST the GPS speedo) ... it's installation says "Red" to continuous 12v, "Purple" to a switched 12v source ... "[m]ost boats will have a Purple wire at the ignition termini and at the back of your gauges if they are powered when the key is turned on" and the "Black" to ground. Please clarify. Oh yes, sorry, Enoch wire??? |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: July-22-2013 at 2:56pm
| Keith's video will probably show where, I've never done one of those. Doesn't sound much different though, red to the battery wire at the key, purple to the switched terminal at the key and black to the ground buss. I'm guessing it's not as temperamental about the voltage as the PP. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:08am
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Adding a couple pics of proposed positive side upgrade: Here a couple pics of the current positive daisy chained positive going to the inputs of all the breaker switches:  Some of the black wires you see are grounds running past and some go to those little led lights that illuminate when the breakers are on. Those little indicator lights just use black wire for some reason. 
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:11am
Holding my blank bus bar in front of the breaker switches for visualization: 
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:15am
When I lift up my dash pod, there is this little shelf like area that is part of the hard fiberglass behind the pod. The bus can sit in there as one place to put it: 
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:23am
Starting to build my positive bus bar:
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:32am
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:50am
   
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Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: December-28-2013 at 1:57am
| I stuck mine to the flat part of the dash just above that spot with double sided tape, and doubled the wires on each screw so that I could have a ground on one side. That way you can flip the dash without having to unhook things. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: May-21-2014 at 9:04pm
With all the wiring problems these boats have this post deserves to be kept bumped up. How did you run the additional positive? From the 50 Amp breaker at the engine? |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: May-21-2014 at 9:32pm
| Yup, I used the 50 amp breaker. There was just enough thread on the stud to catch a second ring terminal. I can grab a pic of that side when I get a chance. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-25-2014 at 9:34pm
Here are some updates with the positive bus bar I added to the dash recently.
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-25-2014 at 9:37pm
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-25-2014 at 9:39pm
My text added to the picture didn't really show up. This is where I start to one at at time connect the wires to the ignition breaker output and the various other breaker, key and horn inputs. When I get them all, I then fasten to the bus bar.    
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Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: April-04-2015 at 1:18pm
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Thought I would share my dash wiring on this dash wiring post. I added a 12 circuit fuse block and a 6 circuit terminal strip. The terminal strip has jumpers connecting each of the posts. I would have preferred a bus bar, but i could get the terminal strip locally. The three modifications comparing the diagram to the photos, I changed the main power to the fuse block from 14 to 10 gauge, the Pump/Auto went from 10 amps to 25 amps (per the specs of the switch), and i rearranged the locations of the grounds. The diagram is the current state. I left all the dash grounds original as they were all soldiered and sealed. Why mess with a working connection Let me know if you think i should change anything.   
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Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: April-04-2015 at 1:59pm
Colin, The upgrade looks great. I hope you used marine grade wire like Brian did. I also like to see heat shrink adhesive lined crimp connections. They and the marine wire really pay off in the long run. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: April-06-2015 at 11:16am
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Looks like great work
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Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: April-06-2015 at 11:21am
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Pete, Thanks! Unfortunately I did not use marine wire or heat shrink ends. I understand the risk of corrosion, so I took the steps to at least soldier all the ends along with crimping. Where two wires were joined, I did soldier and heat shrink those connections (no butt splices). I am really happy knowing that if a component stops working, it could be a blown fuse before expecting the worst or having the rest of the system inoperable. Colin |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: April-06-2015 at 11:24am
| The fuse block is definitely a nice addition. Seems like the fuses are a nice first line of defense, rather than strictly relying on the breaker switches. |
Posted By: phatsat67
Date Posted: April-06-2015 at 11:50am
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Good write up sir. Honestly, basically every boat 99 and older probably needs to have a modification like this done. While my engine is out I plan on running additional ground/power wires to the front. ------------- |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: April-06-2015 at 1:19pm
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I will admit, I did mess up when ordering the fuse block. I meant to get the one with the negative bus included and ordered the one without. Here are the links to the four with the negative bus bars: https://www.bluesea.com/products/5025/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_6_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus_and_Cover" rel="nofollow - 6 Circuit Fuse Block w/ Neg Bus with cover 5025 https://www.bluesea.com/products/5026/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_12_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus_and_Cover" rel="nofollow - 12 Curcuit Fuse Block with Neg Bus with cover 5026 https://www.bluesea.com/products/5030/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_6_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus" rel="nofollow - 6 Circuit Fuse Block w/ Neg bus no cover 5030 https://www.bluesea.com/products/5031/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_12_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus" rel="nofollow - 12 Circuit Fuse Block w/ Neg Bus no cover 5031 |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: April-15-2015 at 1:50pm
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Well you know what they say, You learn something new everyday! Not that I ever doubted anyone, but Pete's comment about the connectors made me think. I learned basic crimping from my father...how could he be wrong, right? So off to google and lots of reading, i read some pretty good articles. I'm posting these so there is a reference for the next person doing this so they can make an informed decision when deciding how they want to land their connections. http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination&page=3" rel="nofollow - General Explaination of Crimping http://matronics.com/aeroelectric/articles/terminal.pdf" rel="nofollow - Anatomy of a good connection http://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/201%20General%20Requirements.html" rel="nofollow - NASA Standards My take away, i have done everything WRONG! lol Especially my theory of soldering the ends to prevent corrosion. But, thankfully, my boat is not an aircraft or spaceship and the likelihood of my connections leading to death are super duper remote. In fact, not to be morbid, but risk of death on my boat would be higher with other activities such as skiing, barefooting, or wakeboarding. I totally get the vibration and moisture aspect of a boat leading to premature wire/terminal failure. However, seeing how the dash was wired by CC in '89 (26 years ago) and those connections are still holding true today, not using marine-adhesive lined-heat shrink connectors is not the worst idea. The worst idea is just using masking tape or super glue to make connections. If home depot connectors last 15, 10, or only 5 years is that really a bad thing if you have the capability to redo the connections (or the $$ to have someone do it)? I'm not advocating using cheap connectors, in fact, i will probably swallow hard and spend the money on the right ones. But i'd rather someone enjoy the water with inexpensive connectors then sell the boat because they can't afford marine/aircraft grade parts. -Spiral |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: April-15-2015 at 2:00pm
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I wouldn't lose sleep over it. If you've soldered over the crimp, I can't imagine that's hurting anything. May not necessary but certainly not harmful. The main reason I didn't use solder is because of my own clumsiness. I used to solder some car stereo stuff; I was very adept at poking holes in my car's vinyl plastic console with a hot soldering iron and dripping molten solder onto my carpet. From then on, the only soldering I did was to connect a Crutchfield quick plug factory adapters to the stereo itself, but only on a bench. Soldering on a desk/bench is way easier than trying to free hand. |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: April-15-2015 at 5:14pm
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I have not checked Home Depot here up north but in Florida they sell the good adhesive plated connectors for a reasonable price. As soon as I get a chance I'll check them out ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: April-15-2015 at 6:30pm
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Gary, I might have been a bit flippant with using Home Depot. I should have said "big box store". We have a Farm & Fleet and a Menards. Menards has every cheap connector imaginable and very limited heat shrink only connectors. Farm & Fleet did have the http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/858946-gb-xtreme-crimp-solder-and-shrink-ring-terminal.html" rel="nofollow - adhesive lined heat shrink , but like $8 for 6. At the time that was tough to swallow and they only have ring terminals like that in store. In that first article post, the author states he gets his connectors for $70 qty 100. At least that is less than $1 per connector. Though I shop online a lot, there is something nice about working on a project and being able to get more parts locally if I can. I wish there was a larger marine presence her to have someone stock the right parts. I think the articles were more eye opening to me and I wish i had read them before i started the project. I just didn't know any better or what I should have been looking for. Now I do and I hope that others will educate themselves as well. |
Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:30pm
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Hi. I'm new to the forum. I have a 93' SN and have been meaning to solve some electrical issues First I want to add a new ground to the dash. The picture shows my original ground with 3 other wires but-spliced into it. Can I just run the new ground and get rid of the old ground wire then but-splice the same 3 wires into the new ground or is there some benefit to keeping the old ground in the system? I am not great with electricity but am trying to learn. Thanks, Tim 
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:38pm
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That's a perfect situation for a ground bus. Something like this: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-sea-systems--minibus-100a-bus-bar--P009_273_004_008" rel="nofollow - http://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-sea-systems--minibus-100a-bus-bar--P009_273_004_008 Technically, leaving the old ground in place isn't adding anything, but it isn't hurting anything either. I left mine alone, and just added the new. The bus bar lets you tie everything together, and get good solid connections. Splicing like you show, was just kind of done for cost savings, but if you're doing new work, it's not the best way to go. |
Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:41pm
| Your project looks like the way to go but don't think I'm ready for that this year. Some planning over the Winter and next Spring probably. I'm going to pull the old ground so I don't have to wire it. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:48pm
| I would keep it simple and just splice in the additional ground wire. Extra copper doesn't hurt anything. Is there a specific problem you are trying to fix? |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:53pm
+1 The bus not only provides better connections and eliminates potential issues (aids in troubleshooting), it allows for quicker and cleaner additions to the system if need be. Just follow what Brian has laid out with increased gauge marine wire and adhesive lined heat shrink ends. With all the parts at the ready, shouldn't take more than an hour or two. If a cocktail is involved...2.5 hours 
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Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 4:54pm
| It seems to be the usual on these boats. Voltage drops when turning on several things at at time such as blower and bilge. Turning the lights on last trip really dropped the Also seems like I can't run my stereo unless the boat is running or I get low voltage. The battery is good but I need to check the alternator and all the gauges. The better ground seems like a good starting point. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 5:17pm
| Adding a buss bar for all the dash grounds is a nice idea and if you have the time and skills I would go ahead and add one but it is really not necessary and it doesn't address the other half of the problem which is the positive side. I ran a second ground wire and positive wire from the engine to the dash and then added a single positive wire from the output of the ignition breaker to the input of the key switch. I did this about 15 years ago and haven't touched it since. Connect the second positive wire to the 50 Amp breaker on the engine. |
Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 5:31pm
| Sound good. I will try to tackle both sides. |
Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 9:00pm
| Ah, now I see. This looks easier and better. Of course couldn't make the third trip today to West Marine today because they CLOSED at 6pm. Hopefully I can get this finished before the last trip of the season. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: August-31-2015 at 11:08pm
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Keep in mind, all of my photo posts were separate stages, actually 3, well 4. When I first added my new ground, I just sort of crimped all the grounds together, using piggyback connectors. Then, later replaced that with the ground bus. The bus would have actually been less work to do from the start, I just didn't think of it (or think to think of it before). So, I added that after. I got the bus idea from someone else on CCF. The third stage was doing a positive feed to the input side of the dash breaker. And, the forth stage was adding a positive bus to connect the output side of the dash breaker, to the input side of all the other switches. Now, the nice thing about starting off with a ground bus, is it's easier logically. You can safely tie all of the grounds together, and not worry that you're messing something up. You just want to make sure everything is in fact a ground. The only gotcha, is the little LED indicator lights have black wires going to both sides, so leave those out of your ground bus. On the positive side, you just have to be aware of the switching logic. You can't just tie all of your positives together like you do with the ground, because you'll have stuff on all of the time. All of the switching is done on the positive side. |
Posted By: TimF
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 1:24am
| OK here's another question. The positive wire going to the ignition switch looks to the same size wire as my new 10 AWG negative wire. Should I run an 8 AWG wire? |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 2:02am
| I thought the reference section had wiring diagram for 93, but I can't see one. In the late 80's, all dash wires were 16, but the main power was 10. It doesn't hurt to have the additional copper going with 8. I stuck with 10 myself, but I don't have anything fancy like perfect pass either. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 11:57am
| I assume you are leaving the original wiring in place so the wires you add will be in parallel to the existing wires. 10 will work fine. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 10:19pm
Remember that all the loads are not switched with the ignition switch. I'd run the 8 to the + buss and then the 10 to the switch. Don't forget the tin plated marine grade wire and the adhesive lined heat shrink "sta-kon" terminals. Going one step farther even though they are expensive are the solder lined head shrink terminals. You use a heat gun, the solder makes the connection to the terminal and the heat shrink seals it. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 10:48pm
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Hey Pete, are the "sat-kon" terminals a name brand? That's definitely something I'll look for in the future. On the 93s, basically everything is switched with the dash push button breaker. It's kind of like a crude battery cutoff switch in a way. So, even the blower and auto-bildge pump is supplied by that breaker. The positive feed goes into the breaker, then the output side of the breaker supplies: the bilge pump, blower, light switches, horn etc, and the input side of the key. Then, the output side of the key supplies the ignition, the gauges, and any ignition switched extras you have (in my case the perfect pass and depth gauge). |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 11:16pm
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Brian, The term "sta-kon" has become more of a slang term. I believe the first manufacturer (can't remember who) called their terminal product line something like sta-kon's. The ones with the adhesive lined heat shrink as well as the solder type I source from McMaster. However, I was at Napa the other day and noticed they have the solder type too. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: September-01-2015 at 11:38pm
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Sta-kon is T&B's (Thomas & Betts) trade name. https://www.carltonbates.com/static/catalog/products/images/PDF/THOMAS_BETTS_Sta_Kon_en-3.pdf" rel="nofollow - I did a search! ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: September-02-2015 at 1:58am
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Thanks Pete I think a few, but not all of mine were heat shrink adhesive lined, made by Anchor. I really just bought them because of the size of the ring as I wasn't really aware of the difference. The rest were just the generic Anchor brand sourced from West Marine. At least it was a big improvement over stock. It's surprising the stock setup lasted as long as it did actually. A lot of instance of wires just twisted together and crimped into the same terminal end. |
Posted By: Trader144
Date Posted: June-17-2016 at 4:50pm
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Hi everyone I am trying to do this on a 1988 Nautique 2001 without perfect pass. Can anyone help me find the dash ground so I can connect the new ground wire from the engine block to the dash ground? I have a bus bank that appears to connect to the breaker l.ights David |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-17-2016 at 4:54pm
| Can you post a pic of what you're looking at? |
Posted By: Trader144
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 10:10am
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Thank you, I have already put the boat back; I will try to get some. Basically it is a black plastic bus that has black wires running into it. The wires are black, and all of my breaker wires are red on both sides. David |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 10:43am
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It sounds like you already have a bus bar from the factory, so you'd add your new ground directly to that, and clean up as many connections as you can reach. Consider replacing some individual ground wires, and maybe adding a new one to the middle of the daisy chain of grounds connecting all the instruments. Luckily, the wiring diagram for the 88 is available in the reference section under misc files, here: http://www.correctcraftfan.com/downloads/1989_SN_Wiring_Diagram.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.correctcraftfan.com/downloads/1989_SN_Wiring_Diagram.pdf |
Posted By: Trader144
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 1:45pm
Here is a picture of what I was asking about - is this a ground bus that I could connect my new ground wire to for a better dash ground?
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Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 4:46pm
| Definitely looks like it. Just try to confirm that those wires are actually grounds. Makes sense that they are, just want to double check. |
Posted By: Trader144
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 6:56pm
| Great. I will see if the multimeter has a reading by connecting the negative to this and the positive to the battery |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 7:22pm
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David, I think it was mentioned previously but I will again. Besides getting a heavier ground up to the dash, do the same with the positive feed. Both it at the ground are known to be marginally sized. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-18-2016 at 7:55pm
| I agree. I saw an improvement by adding just the ground, but didn't get the full benefit until I added a positive feed as well. |
Posted By: Airfooter
Date Posted: June-26-2016 at 7:37pm
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Hey guys, Does anyone know the size of the terminal on the load side of the 50 amp breaker off the top of their head ('92 Excel)? Also, are the spade connections on the dash breakers 1/4"? My boat is a few hours away and I wanted to order some connectors for the upcoming weekend. Thanks in advance! ------------- 1992 Nautique Excel |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: June-26-2016 at 8:04pm
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Adam, Get a box on #12 and 1/4" Stacons to match the wire size you are using. You should be good. I hope you are using marine grade wire and heat shrink adhesive lined Stacons. Yes, the quick connects are .250". ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: June-26-2016 at 8:07pm
| Pete beat me to the punch. I get anchor brand connectors. I second the adhesive lined heat shrink connectors. |
Posted By: Airfooter
Date Posted: June-26-2016 at 11:59pm
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Yep, I have tinned marine wire in 8, 10, and 14 gauge so that I'm fully prepared. I was going to run an 8 gauge + from the main breaker to the ignition breaker, but finding an actual 8 gauge female quick disconnect is challenging. It looks like the 10-12 gauge female disconnect might work with the 8 gauge wire, but if it don't I'm just going to run the 10 gauge +. I'm purchasing the shrink connectors from McMaster since they have a nice selection. My bus bars have 1/4" main terminals and the rest are #8, s0 I'm going to run with those two sizes. In my mind I was thinking that the terminal on that 50 amp breaker was larger than 1/4", so that's why I posed the question. I also do not recall the thread size of the engine ground bolt. McMaster does have 8 gauge 5/16" and 3/8" heat shrink rings, so maybe since I'm slightly unprepared I better spend an extra $10 for a larger size to be safe. Thanks for your recommendations and for confirming the quick connect size! ------------- 1992 Nautique Excel |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: June-27-2016 at 7:36am
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Adam, It's always great to hear of another McMaster shopper! Thinking back, I've used them for over 40 years and have never been disappointed. Before semi retiring and moving up to northern Wisconsin, I was really spoiled in that from work, I was 10 minutes from their main headquarters/warehouse. Getting desperately needed items within one hour was sure convenient. There was only one time when they didn't have nor couldn't find a item. It was a left hand 1/4" pipe plug that's a refrigeration special part It's also great to hear you're doing what I consider a proper job on the wiring. Regarding the feed to the ignition breaker, you don't really need the 8 gauge due to the load on it. 8 gauge to a buss and then smaller gauges from the buss to each individual load will do the job. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-27-2016 at 3:13pm
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I had been buying my terminal ends sort of piece meal. But, just to have them on hand, I just bought this box set, from McMaster, this item number: 70335K81 Is that what you guys are referencing? It's the fully insulated variety. |
Posted By: Airfooter
Date Posted: June-27-2016 at 9:33pm
And another McMaster shopper! 70335K81 contains fully insulated connectors, only meaning no bare metal is left exposed. On the same catalog page there are the "heat-shrink quick-disconnect terminals" which have the heat shrink and are available in standard, fully insulated, and sure-connect. I don't see them available as a kit from McMaster, but they're what we're referring to. I personally ordered the sure-connect with solder in it just because I've never tried them and would like to. ------------- 1992 Nautique Excel |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: June-27-2016 at 11:20pm
| Maybe I'll pick up some individuals of the sure-connect. I have to do a new bilge pump soon, so that would be the perfect application for those. I wasn't totally sure what gauge I'd be working with on that, but it looks like it's most likely 14 or 16, which would be the blue. |
Posted By: Trader144
Date Posted: June-28-2016 at 12:56am
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Comp[eted new ground wire. I retained a circular rope under the floor (like I do in the house) for the next wire run (positive) Dash voltage up to 13! Thank you for the instructions...I had to be towed back the other week so this was 1 of 10 things I changed. Great weekend afterwards. |
Posted By: gcam4
Date Posted: May-09-2020 at 10:42am
| I'm resurrecting an old thread. I installed PP last year and now have low voltage at the dash. So, my thinking is new power and ground wire to the engine and then get rid of the daisy chains and install two buss bars at the dash. I will be using marine grade wire sized up 1 or 2 gauges for the mains, 6 or 8 gauge, along with adhesive lined heat shrink connections. I believe that is the best option? |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: May-09-2020 at 11:06am
Grant, Sounds like the best plan. You're doing it correctly. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: May-09-2020 at 3:03pm
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If you are leaving the existing wires between the engine and the dash then you don't need to go that big. The new wires will be in parallel with the originals. 10 gauge is more than sufficient even if you disconnect the originals. ------------- 92 SN - Owned since 93 99 Pro Air 89 SN - Went to live on a lake in Texas 75 Donzi 16 - Sold in 93 |
Posted By: gcam4
Date Posted: May-11-2020 at 1:03am
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Pete, thanks for the encouragement. @desertskier yeah, i don't think i will need to go up in size but I do plan on installing a new receiver that has a class D amp in in it which calls for larger than normal power. I will likely just pull an 8 and know that I will have no issues. I haven't really had the opportunity to look at the wire routing. Does anyone know cable lengths on a 95? I think I'll do the battery wiring as well as the dash. |
Posted By: desertskier
Date Posted: May-11-2020 at 1:26am
You probably don't want to power this from your ignition circuit. If it draws a lot of current it should have a dedicated feed with it's own fuse. Not through the ignition breaker and accessory switches. Typically any stereo equipment other than a head unit is powered directly from the battery with in-line fuses and dedicated grounds. ------------- 92 SN - Owned since 93 99 Pro Air 89 SN - Went to live on a lake in Texas 75 Donzi 16 - Sold in 93 |
Posted By: gcam4
Date Posted: May-16-2020 at 10:06am
Yeah, i understand that. If i install the radio that I am speaking of with a onboard class D 40W X 4 amplifier, i will run a dedicated fused constant power to the battery. The switched power will be to the ignition. |
Posted By: gcam4
Date Posted: May-18-2020 at 12:07am
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With Memorial Day coming up on me sooner than I originally thought, I am going to have to forgo the bus bar for the near future. @desertskier, how did you splice into the main power feeding the ignition breaker? Adding a ground is simple because I can do that with a ring terminal, but the power wire is a quick disconnect. I could splice into it with a butt splice, but don't really like that idea too much. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: May-25-2020 at 3:36pm
You can use a piggyback type connector: http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/uploads/6518/Wiring04.JPG |
Posted By: kloeck6
Date Posted: June-24-2022 at 4:17pm
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Do you still have the pictures available? For some reason they don't show up for me. Thx! ------------- 92 Nautique |
Posted By: kloeck6
Date Posted: June-24-2022 at 4:18pm
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To original poster Bri892001, Do you still have the pictures available? For some reason they don't show up for me. Thx! ------------- 92 Nautique |