Any wiring gurus out there?

[Doc]

Alright, the new boat is now in the water behind my house, but it has some wiring issues and I want to redo some of it, reorganize a bit, and add some new goodies... looking for someone who comes reccomended to contact, or if anybody reading this has experience and is willing to lend a hand, I will trade dollars or dive trips.

[The Collector]

Doc, it is a pain in the ass and might even cost more (probably did in my case) but do it yourself. After the trouble I had last spring, I completely rewired my boat myself and by doing it: a)I knew it was done right b) any bugs were relatively easy to track down and c) I feel more confident at sea that I can quickly track down a problem and fix it before anything bad happens......AGAIN.

Order from bestboatwire.com and you will save a bunch of cash.

edit: I forgot about d) it probably took 3 times as long to do :(

[Spearchuckerz]

Good wire, heat shrinks and lithium grease. It is amazing how far salt will move down a wire from crappy connections.

[SEATUX]

Good wire, heat shrinks and lithium grease. It is amazing how far salt will move down a wire from crappy connections.

By "good wire" he means the tin coated stuff (Marine grade), not houshold wire from Home Depot. Solder splices if possible and use "anchor" brand heat shrink (it has an adhesive inside to keep it water tight). If using "stakons" coat with a dialectric grease before inserting, then heat shrink.
Good luck.

[Bill McIntyre]

What do you guys think of the liquid electrical tape that West Marine sells? Is that effective at protecting connections?

[richhermes]

What do you guys think of the liquid electrical tape that West Marine sells? Is that effective at protecting connections?

I don't think anything beats a good heat shrink.

[SEATUX]

I like heat shrink w/the adhesive inside only. But for some things you cant get heatshrink around (size, shape, Y's etc) yes, liquid tape is second best.

[dugout]

What do you guys think of the liquid electrical tape that West Marine sells? Is that effective at protecting connections?

There are two schools of thought on this.
One is crimp, solder, and coat everything with dielectric grease of some sort and seal with shrink tubing.
The other is to leave your connections, terminals, crimped and soldered, and totally uninsulated. Then spray everything with "T9" or "Corrosion Block". The theory behind this is there is no chance of getting trapped moisture and one can inspect the connection. When it's covered up one can't see a problem until it's too late. The T9 or Corrosion Block will protect everything longer and better than one would think as long as the connections are not submerged. There is no choice with submerged connection. Crimp, solder, grease, and shrink wrap them.

[BLACKFIN]

Concur. If you rewire yourself, you will find it easier than you think. Get a good tutorial on 12V boat electrical systems; such as "The 12 Volt Bible for Boats." Then, like me, you will know every inch of your electrical system and can track down problems instantly. If I can learn how to re-wire the boat from battery cables to gauges, then you surely can. It is also VERY satisfying.

Some suggestions:

1. Use Ancor Type 3 wire/cable.
2. Crimp solderless terminals/lugs and heat shrink with adhesion on the inside. Use closed end lugs and terminals if possible. Solder & flux is old school.
3. Learn which wire size to use for the amperage draw requirements and learn to calculate a 3% drop based on the amp requirements and length of run. (use the 3% calculation for EVERYTHING - ignore the 10% table/calculations).
4. Adequately protect the positive conductor side of the circuits with fuses or CBs within acceptable distances from the battery terminal or downstream connections (which, basically, means protecting the the wire - since almost each appliance/device will have it's own fuse to protect it). There is an ABYC 100%/150% rule for sizing the required circuit protection.
5. Comply with the ABYC color code. Makes life way easier. (for example, this means use red for the positive conductors (feeds) and yellow for the negative conductors).
6. When in doubt, use Blue Seas bus bars, CBs, fuse bars, switches, posts, terminals, etc.
7. Last - but most important - draw a complete wiring diagram for your boat's system BEFORE you start. Label the color and gauge of each wire on the diagram. It's also very helpful to identify on the diagram the size of the terminal or lug to use for each post/terminal screw. So, for example, the wire going from the house battery switch to the main house CB: "2 awg - red - 3/8" lug on switch / 1/4" lug on CB."

Good luck to you!

[Dstruxto]

All good advice to live and swear by, but to avoid swearing later, LABEL EVERY WIRE and note it on the diagram. Keep multiple copies.
Good luck!

[Doc]

Lots of good information and I appreciate it all. Every spare moment not at work for the past month has been spent working on other aspects of the boat, and Im trying to get it done so I can move on the other things... Id rather spnd my time on the deck, fiberglass and gelcoat that remains to be finished, and have someone with more experience deal with the wire issues. I realize i'll probably end up doing a lot of this myself, and know it would be better that way in the long run. Im working today, but maybe tomorrow Ill snap a few pics of the dilema and you folks can give me some feedback on how to start...

[Spearchucker]

Order from bestboatwire.com and you will save a bunch of cash.

and who should you thank for that little morsal of information??? :eek: :thumps:

[Doc]

Ill thank my buddy Will (Dangerous) the most, he just called and offered to drop off a bunch of free wire an electric goodies leftover from his re-wire job!

[The Collector]

and who should you thank for that little morsal of information??? :eek: :thumps:

In my haste to respond to Doc's dilemma, I unintentionally left out the all important source of said highly informational (and hasty) response.
Mister Ex State Champion, Spearchucker. :thumps: :notworthy

To anyone I may have offended by forgetting to give proper credit where due, I hope you will accept my heartfelt apology. :knees: :knees:

In other words, thanks John, I probably saved $400 or more on my rewiring project. :beer: :beer:

[joel mcqueen]

liquid elec tape then heat shrink before liquid tape sets up and on bilge pumps 2 layers of liquid tape and heat shrink

[Kahuna]

Also. If you follow code there is not much to label on a boat that size.

[Mobile Diver]

All good points here, I'll a couple of my own:

1) If you heat shrink do like has been suggested here, crimp then shrink. Don't use crimp connectors with built-in shrink. Too easy to leave a small hole in the shrink from crimping.

2) A good way to make a connection for a location that is wet is use a wire nut, then fill with Marine Goop. I use this for trailer connections & bilges & have never had one fail. Not pretty, but very effective.

[Marcus]

Spearchucker never passes on an opportunity to toot his own horn. :D

[Spearchucker]

Also. If you follow code there is not much to label on a boat that size.

That is actually very hard to do, I tried. Fact of the matter is that most of the specefied colors are somewhat obscure, and not even close to readily available. The manufacturers do it, because they order their wire in 500' rolls.

[bilnitro]

Try Corrosion X heavy duty on all the connections before sealing them. Sold at most Ace Hardware stores.

[stevemc1]

If its the engine harness, get a new one, dont even try to rewire it. A new harness will be so much easier than rewireing the engine, and its hard to get some of it done, because of sealed areas, without having butt connecters etc. But of course if its the boat chassis wiring, then rewireing is the only way. When you pull a wire down the chase, windshield, gunnel or tube, or under a floor, tape a string onto it. Then pull the wire and string through. And when you are all done, leave these strings in place so you can pull for something in the future. I used to be a boat rigger, doing generators, electronics, and other wiring nightmares, and it can be a nightmare! And like they said, use solder on all connections where 2 wires meet, and heat shrink every place you have an opening to the wire itself, such as butt connectors, spade connectors, etc. Spray with corrosion x on everything once its done.

[Kahuna]

John is right. I was thinking of my shop. I did order in 200ft rolls which was the minimum then for the odd-ball stuff. I don't know how it is now. But the basics are still available. Just don't be so stupid as to go to West Marine and buy anything.