TOPIC: boat wiring

During my recent replacement of the steering system in my boat , I noticed that the wiring looked a bit funky to me . My boat has a little fuse block near the helm . What caught my attention was that several wires are not connected directly to that block , but instead many are T tapped into other wires . This doesn't seem ideal , but I don't want to tear into it without more info. Everthing works ... It's just wierd that my fuel gauge doesn't work until I pull the light switch on !! If anyone could point me toward a good reference of any kind , I would be most thankfull.

I've found a lot of that in old boats. If you have a low draw item like courtesy lights, with a low draw item tapped in, like the fuel gauge, it's not likely to overload anything. As long as you don't mind turning on the lights to check the fuel level. But if you had, say, a bilge blower tapped into an electric air horn, that might not be a good idea. In a perfect world, they all ought to be separated and attached to a nice fuse block or breaker block. But, if it ain't broke...

Just an opinion...

I've found a lot of that in old boats.

I'm sayin', Norm! Everything from lamp cords spliced in with twist nuts, to 12/3 extension cords used for power supply from the battery to the helm!

Sounds like somebody started (or tried at least) to do it right Discoboater, but either strayed off the path or didn't complete the repair? I would definitely rewire with all circuits completed in the proper manner, to a switch or fuse by themselves. "T-Tap" connectors are not acceptable in a marine environment, IMHO. As Norm stated it may not present a problem right away on low draw items, but electrical issues out on the water can lead to disaster in a hurry!

Just my two cents worth, but wiring issues are much easier to deal with in the driveway.

I just recently took a marine electrical course that if nothing else pointed out to me just how wrong all of the "upgrades" that I thought I had made to our sailboat were. I was thinking that getting rid of the lamp cord and wire nuts was a huge improvement. Not so much when you find out from a professional marine electrician how to do it right. Everything from wire size to fuse sizes to lightning protection to resistance and so on. Sailboat Electrics Simplified by Don Casey is not a bad read especially for the novice. Also circuitwizard.bluesea.com is pretty helpful in alot of ways. Label all your wires both DC and AC. Mark couldn't be any more spot on when he says that electrical problems on the water can spell disaster. Good luck.

Something I will be ordering soon... www.amazon.com/12-Volt-Bible-Boats-Miner-Brotherton/dp/0071392335/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399985585&sr=1-1&keywords=the+12+volt+bible+for+boats

Thanks for the replys, Kerry , that looks like a great one for sure. Good deal too .

In every boat we restore, we gut all the wiring and start over from scratch. Yes, it's a pain in the butt but when it's done, it's right...right wire color and size, fused and switched properly.

I've seen it all: lamp cord for pumps, speaker wire for lighting, 14/2 solid wire romex, residential electric circuit breaker boxes, black, purple, white hot wires...you name it. Just about every boat fire can be attributed to faulty wiring...generally the add-ons by owners or former owners.

When in doubt, tear it out...all of it. It will allow you to sleep well at night and won't provide your insurance company with a reason to reject your claim...and they will if it's determined that non-code wiring caused a fire.

CYA!