Steve Lusardi wrote:

Many equipment manufacturers insist that NO cable splicing be done EVER. No
method is without potential trouble and often splices, after corrosion, are
fire hazards.
Steve


Steve I second that!

My boat was built in 1979 someplace around SF Bay, CA. Has spent its
whole life on the west coast. I flipped on a mast head light about the
second year I owned my then 25 yo boat. Nothing on the tri color.

Then the fun started. After a few days the short turned out to be a
SPLICED wire about half way between the panel and the mast step. That
problem wire was nested inside a tangle of about 9 other wires. Plus
the splice "looked" great. All shrink tubed and all. Just took a
long time to find the damn thing. So I opened the splice. Ugg! The crud
went about three inches up the strands on either side of the splice. I
found two other wires spliced in that same rat nest.

Lesson learned: Never splice wires unless you want to make somebody's
life very miserable a few years later.

Solution: I cut the splice out and put in another so I could go
sailing...................................... later gutted it all. The
wire needed to be sized up for the run anyway. The boat manufacture
sized the mast head lights for a 10% volt drop. I though, and USCG/ABYC
too, that 3% volt drop was better.

Thy shalt not splice........... please.
Bob