AAAaaaarrrg!
Installing a new bilge pump I have found no less than 4 sets of wires that
are just cut amidships. The battery charger wires were just shoved into ring
terminals but not crimped. A single black wire w/o terminal attached to a
POS battery terminal - I can not find the other end anywhere! I killed my
starting battery. I left the switch on #1 (starting batt), shore power off,
solar panels on, all other switches off. As far as I know nothing is wired
direct to the batts not even bilge pumps at this time. Starting battery went
dead, as in 0.00 volts, in 24hrs.
OK that's my rant. (that was just a sample).
Any suggestions for tracing the wiring and drawing it up on paper? Is there
a way to attach an RF transmitter to one end of a wire then track it with a
receiver? Best way to label wires?
Well thanks for being here. I'll be taking life one wire at a time from now
on.
- Allen

"bushman" wrote in news:A1EVg.2184$fe2.1365
@tornado.tampabay.rr.com:

OK that's my rant. (that was just a sample).


Great boat! Searay?....(c;

I feel your pain. Cap'n had already bought a new B&G sonar transducer when
I found the UNPROTECTED European-style wire screw terminals, those little
strips with screws in them the wires are clamped into by the little
screws....IN THE BILGE, all green and rotten...

The sonar worked fine after a little "modification" to this atrocity....

And a stupid NASA engineer owned the boat last!



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

Everything on the boat has been working fine. I just like order and things
will stop working eventually so better to have the documentation now.
- Allen

"bushman" wrote in message
...
Everything on the boat has been working fine. I just like order and things
will stop working eventually so better to have the documentation now.
- Allen


Everyone has mentioned tone trackers to help you locate wires but, I didn't
see anyone mention color coding specific to boats. Do yourself a favor and
try to locate a copy of the ABYC standards for electrical systems. That will
help you to identify what circuits you are looking at as far as color
coding. Also, you had asked about wire marking. You can buy wire ties with
write on tabs to mark the wires you have checked.

AndyK.

And a stupid NASA engineer owned the boat last!

Well, it's not like NASA gear has to contend with marine corrosion....

"Bill Kearney" wrote in
news
Well, it's not like NASA gear has to contend with marine corrosion....



And, it only has to work a week or two before its next multimillion dollar
extended refit.....a boater's dream....(c;



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

Larry wrote:
And a stupid NASA engineer owned the boat last!

He should have gotten a technician to do the dirty work. Engineers
are good at figuring out how to do things, technicians are good at
actually doing them. We've received many donated boats here at the
Naval Academy over the years and its very rare when one comes in with a
decent wiring installation. It's amazing what people do when it comes
to electrical/electronic installations on boats. I should have kept a
photo log!

Eric

wrote in news:1160227955.480294.112830
@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

He should have gotten a technician to do the dirty work. Engineers
are good at figuring out how to do things, technicians are good at
actually doing them. We've received many donated boats here at the
Naval Academy over the years and its very rare when one comes in with a
decent wiring installation. It's amazing what people do when it comes
to electrical/electronic installations on boats. I should have kept a
photo log!

Eric




Several years ago, I bought a used USAF Chevy stepvan, Air Force Blue,
6.2L diesel V-8, Powerglide, PS/PB, etc. They bought them this way so
the girl cadets could drive them without breaking fingernails, I suppose.

When I got it, AF had replaced every hose, belt, tires, many things it
needed that just wore out, like the torque converter I found out later.
UNfortunately, AF also replaced the primary wiring from the brand new red
AGM starting batteries (12V in parallel, GM style so they could destroy
each other if left idle too long). The AF geniuses ran the main primary
wires with no link fuses RIGHT PAST THE EXHAUST HEADERS, melting them and
causing some amazing intermittent shorts. Under the dash, some idiots
had been rewiring the simplest of wiring harnesses simply clipping any
necessary wires they didn't like the color of.

Mechanically, the truck was in fantastic shape as it only had 55K miles
on it running up and down the tarmac at Pope AFB, NC, between the C-130s
and the engine shop who owned it. It never went over 15 mph, so the sgt
in charge I called told me. I asked how long it sat idle and he told me
none as the AF would raise hell with anyone just leaving it running alone
next to a multimillion dollar airplane where it might wreck it.

I rewired the electrical system like I like to see boats wired, house
batteries (330AH golf cart batteries in a custom made box in the driver's
footwell), a big ON-OFF boat switch between the house battery bank and
AGM battery bank so I can parallel them for charging, either off the one
120A mil-spec alternator on the diesel or with the 40A Amel battery
charger out of my buddy's Amel ketch off my Honda EU3000i electronic
power plant mounted on the rear door of the van in a custom aluminum
enclosure to keep it out of the weather, but operational inside. Primary
wires and house battery/switch wires are all #0 welding cable I got from
another friend with a surplus. If the house switch is on, the lights
don't even dim starting the diesel monster with all these AH in
parallel....(c;

Power is our friend!....she's got plenty.

Now I want to Frybrid her to take her off the oil company profit
margins...http://www.frybrid.com/ It's incredible the amount of free
"fuel oil" I can get for the asking from restaurants within 10 miles of
home. I'll be drowning in it! I also have two diesel Mercedes cars and
can't decide what to convert first....???



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

bushman wrote:
AAAaaaarrrg!
Installing a new bilge pump I have found no less than 4 sets of wires that
are just cut amidships. The battery charger wires were just shoved into ring
terminals but not crimped. A single black wire w/o terminal attached to a
POS battery terminal - I can not find the other end anywhere! I killed my
starting battery. I left the switch on #1 (starting batt), shore power off,
solar panels on, all other switches off. As far as I know nothing is wired
direct to the batts not even bilge pumps at this time. Starting battery went
dead, as in 0.00 volts, in 24hrs.
OK that's my rant. (that was just a sample).
Any suggestions for tracing the wiring and drawing it up on paper? Is there
a way to attach an RF transmitter to one end of a wire then track it with a
receiver? Best way to label wires?
Well thanks for being here. I'll be taking life one wire at a time from now
on.
- Allen

The tracing the wire part can be done by getting a tool the telco
people use, a line toner. Electricians have one, too, but it's lots
more expensive.

It puts an RF tone on the wire. Two different ones, for pairs, if you
want, and the tool pokes around in the rat's nest until it hears the
tweedle. Mine is a Progressive Electronics Tracer 2 for the tone, with
the 200EP inductive amplifier tool. If you have long enoungh wires
without twist, it will pick up WSB in Atlanta on non-toned wires :{))

The drawing them out is up to you as to how you want to do it. You can
spend a lot and buy a proper electronic charting program, or just draw
it on paper, or do something in between...

Had lots of that on my boat - no rants from here, because I don't have
the time. Lift's coming to put me in the slings so we can finish the
bottom of the keel, and the stand bare spots, to splash Monday...

L8R

Skip and Lydia, on the home stretch

I bought a GB Wire Tracker a while back and use it all the time to figure
out where that wire I ran last year and forgot to label goes. Well worth
the $30.00. Besides the regular alligator clip it also has connectors to
trace telephone and Ethernet cable

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com