I'm a bit confused with the current wiring in my boat. I've stripped
everything out except for the gauges and the ignition, as I'll be installing
new wiring for all the switches and accessories. My goal at the moment is
to install a fuse block and a negative bus bar. This all takes place in a
1970 Century Resorter, and the existing wiring was obviously "modified"
during the various projects of previous owners.

Lead Up Question #1
I'm confused on how the Battery, Alternator, Amp Meter and Ignition are
wired. There are three terminals on the back of the amp meter: [Wire to
Battery Ground], [Wire to Battery Positive], [Two Wires: 1 from Alternator
and 1 to Ignition]. The wire to the ignition is the "hot feed" to the
ignition. It's always on even when the Alternator is not producing power.
It appears that the two positive terminals on the back of the amp meter (one
from positive battery the other from alternator) are both always hot. Are
these simply common terminals?

Lead Up Question #2
The positive lead that goes from the battery to the amp meter is split by a
small cylinder "thingy" mounted behind the dash board with a "40" on it. Is
this likely a master 40 Amp Fuse?

The Main Question
How should the new Fuse Block be wired in? Where should it exist in
relation to the wires described above?

Unrelated "What the heck?" Question
My stern light has a positive lead coming from it's switch. The negative
lead is terminated on the gas tank's sender unit (a perimeter screw, not the
center screw which I assume is the "sender"). As far as I know, the gas
tank is not grounded to the engine or the battery. The only other wire
coming out of the sender unit goes directly to the Fuel Gauge. Is the light
grounded to the fuel tank?

Unrelated Garble...
I've greatly appreciated the great responses I've received from this
newsgroup over the past couple of months during my never-ending project.
It's truly been a great resource. Thanks to everyone that makes this a
worthwhile newsgroup!

Doug

Correction on terms... what I was referring to as an Amp Meter is actually a
"Zero Center DC Ammeter", similar in appearance to...
http://www.bluesea.com/Products/small_images/8252.jpg

Here's the installation diagram for this product...
http://www.bluesea.com/Instruction/9878.pdf

It looks like my installation is similar to (but not wired the same way) as
gauge #2. Is it possible a gauge from 1970 would have a built in "shunt"?

Thanks Again!

"Douglas St. Clair" wrote in message
...
I'm a bit confused with the current wiring in my boat. I've stripped
everything out except for the gauges and the ignition, as I'll be
installing
new wiring for all the switches and accessories. My goal at the moment is
to install a fuse block and a negative bus bar. This all takes place in a
1970 Century Resorter, and the existing wiring was obviously "modified"
during the various projects of previous owners.

Lead Up Question #1
I'm confused on how the Battery, Alternator, Amp Meter and Ignition are
wired. There are three terminals on the back of the amp meter: [Wire to
Battery Ground], [Wire to Battery Positive], [Two Wires: 1 from Alternator
and 1 to Ignition]. The wire to the ignition is the "hot feed" to the
ignition. It's always on even when the Alternator is not producing power.
It appears that the two positive terminals on the back of the amp meter
(one
from positive battery the other from alternator) are both always hot. Are
these simply common terminals?

Lead Up Question #2
The positive lead that goes from the battery to the amp meter is split by
a
small cylinder "thingy" mounted behind the dash board with a "40" on it.
Is
this likely a master 40 Amp Fuse?

The Main Question
How should the new Fuse Block be wired in? Where should it exist in
relation to the wires described above?

Unrelated "What the heck?" Question
My stern light has a positive lead coming from it's switch. The negative
lead is terminated on the gas tank's sender unit (a perimeter screw, not
the
center screw which I assume is the "sender"). As far as I know, the gas
tank is not grounded to the engine or the battery. The only other wire
coming out of the sender unit goes directly to the Fuel Gauge. Is the
light
grounded to the fuel tank?

Unrelated Garble...
I've greatly appreciated the great responses I've received from this
newsgroup over the past couple of months during my never-ending project.
It's truly been a great resource. Thanks to everyone that makes this a
worthwhile newsgroup!

Doug

Doug,

I rewired my 1958 Chris Craft last year. I asked lots of questions, learned
some things, and everything appears to be fine. But please double check my
answers since, especially when it comes to the heavy current going through
the ammeter, that wiring it wrong could produce serious problems & hazzards.


Lead Up Question #1
There are three terminals on the back of the amp meter:
[Wire to Battery Ground], [Wire to Battery Positive],
[Two Wires: 1 from Alternator and 1 to Ignition].

If your ammmeter is lighted by a bulb then I think the wire going
to battery ground is just to provide ground for that bulb. If so, it
is probably a smaller wier than the larger positive wires. Probably
16 gauge? ~~ Also, some ammeters have an external shunt. I
don't know how those work/are configured. ???

I think the positive wire to your key is just a place for the key to get
power. I'm guessing that someplace coming out of the key is a wire
going to all the "accessory" power items. This is OK in that all of those
items are then controlled by the key. But it also means that all of their
draw is going through the key. This is OK but I choose to do
it differently. (see below)

The positive to battery and to altenator make sense. Power is
being produced by the altenator, flowing through the ammeter
(making it show positivly), and to the battery. OR power is flowing
from the battery, through the ammeter the other way (making it
show negativly) and then to the KEY for use by all the accessories.

In short: What you describe is fine & makes sense.



Lead Up Question #2
The positive lead that goes from the battery to the amp meter is split by
a
small cylinder "thingy" mounted behind the dash board with a "40" on it.
Is
this likely a master 40 Amp Fuse?


That's my guess.


The Main Question
How should the new Fuse Block be wired in? Where should it exist in
relation to the wires described above?


What I did is a little different than some of what you have above. It may be
a good solution for you...or not. I also have a diagram I'd be happy to send
you
(or maybe I'll just post it on the web and leave you a link in a little
while).
My setup:

A) I have two batteries. They are connected to an A/B switch. The details
of this are for another discussion. But when I say "from the battery"
it
really is coming from the A/B switch.

B) A large 10 gague red wire comes from the battery positive, through a
fuse, and to the "S" post on the ammeter.

C) A large 10 gague red wire comes from the ammeter "I" post to the
positive bus on my fuse panel.

D) All accessories like lights, dash-board instrumentation, depth-finder,
12-volt outlets, etc. come from the "fused" side of the fuse panel.
That
is to say, the current comes from the positive bus, through a fuse,
and
out to each device.

E) The same goes for my ignition key. That is, there is the positive bus
on the fuse panel, a fused lead, and that goes to the key.

Note: This means my key does NOT turn on or off any devices. It
only gets power to run the starter-solnoid and to give the engine
"spark" to the coil. I realize that most people like to have items
turned on and off via the key. I choose to turn them on or off via
their own switches and/or to have a fuse panel that has switches
in it.

D) There is a large 10 gague Orange wire from my voltage regulator
(your altenator) that goes through a fuse and to the same positive
fuse-panel bus.

THE GENERAL IDEA IS:
Power flows from the battery, through the ammeter, and into the positvie
fuse-panel-bus. Power also flows from the ammeter to this positive-fuse
panel-bus. Some power is used from this bus to run all of the accessoris
and the key. ~~ When the engine if off all the power is coming from the
battery and shows as a negative amps. When the engine is on there is
"excess" power on the fuse panel bus and this flow through the ammeter
and to the battery - showing positive amps on the ammeter.

Note #1: Above I say "large 10 gague". I know this is redundant but it's
important that the wires are big ones and I wanted to emphisize that.

Note #2: I'm sure my colors are not standard. I wanted to have RED
be from the battery since that is how I think of it. I also wanted
the positive power form the regulator (altenator) be a different color wire.
Orange is what the store had in 10 gague when I went to buy it.




Unrelated "What the heck?" Question
My stern light has a positive lead coming from it's switch. The negative
lead is terminated on the gas tank's sender unit.

The gas tank SHOULD be grounded to some metal (probably the engine)
that has a path to the water. If you ground the tank I can't see any reason
not to let the stern light ground through there. Except that you want it to
be
a good solid connection with no chance of a spark jumping from wire to tank.

But also no reason you couldn't run a seperate ground wire (or wire pair)
back
to your stern light.


I've greatly appreciated the great responses I've received from this
newsgroup over the past couple of months during my never-ending project.
It's truly been a great resource. Thanks to everyone that makes this a
worthwhile newsgroup!


I agree. This group has a lot of politics and non-boat junk (which I am
guilty
of adding to) but whenever someone needs information this is a great place
to ask for it. Lots of people here with knowledge that are willing to take
time to share it.

I'll post my wiring diagram in a little while and then leave a link here.

Good Luck.

Gary

Here's a link to my wiring diagram:

http://tinyurl.com/yqud3

Thanks Gary!

What you described makes perfect sense. I printed out your post and took it
out to the boat for comparison. The only difference I found is that the
wire from my alternator is not fused prior to the ammeter. Should I put one
in? If so, what amperage?

I'll be hooking up my fuse panel the same way. I'll run the ignition
through it's own fuse on the panel. How do you pick the proper fuse for
such a setup? What type of draw does the ignition have - solenoid + gauges
+ ?

Thanks again -
Doug



"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

Here's a link to my wiring diagram:

http://tinyurl.com/yqud3

"Douglas St. Clair" wrote in message
...

This all takes place in a
1970 Century Resorter, and the existing wiring was obviously "modified"
during the various projects of previous owners.

I am not famialiar with this boat, is it some sort of runabout?

Is the only source of charging from the alternator, or do you have battery
charger, solar panels, etc.?



Lead Up Question #1
I'm confused on how the Battery, Alternator, Amp Meter and Ignition are
wired. There are three terminals on the back of the amp meter: [Wire to
Battery Ground], [Wire to Battery Positive], [Two Wires: 1 from Alternator
and 1 to Ignition].

Are you saying that one terminal connects to ground, the second terminal to
battery positive, and the third terminal has two wires on it, connecting the
alternator and ignitions switch together?

The terminal connected to ground confuses me, unless it is somehow related
to a light. Perhaps a light bulb plugs into the back of the case some how
and makes its ground return through the case of the ammeter.


The wire to the ignition is the "hot feed" to the
ignition. It's always on even when the Alternator is not producing power.
It appears that the two positive terminals on the back of the amp meter
(one
from positive battery the other from alternator) are both always hot. Are
these simply common terminals?

Ignore the ground connection for now.

The standard connection for an ammeter is to connect the output of the
alternator directly to the "load". The ammeter then connects between this
common load connection and the battery. If the alternator is not producing
sufficient current to supply the load then current flows from the battery,
through the meter to the load, making the ammeter read negative (discharge).
When the engine starts and the alternator provides output the draw from the
battery decreases. If the alternator is providing the exact amount needed
by the load then no current will be flowing through the ammeter and it will
read zero. As the engine RPM picks up and the alternator provides more
current than is being used by the load the excess will flow through the
ammeter to the battery, making it read positive or "charge".

The two main connection to the ammeter will be made with large wires as they
have to be able to carry the maximum output of the alternator. It is also
possible that the ammeter is a "shunt" style, where the big wires connect to
a shunt that can be located somewhere else and then small wires connect
between the shunt and the ammeter.



Lead Up Question #2
The positive lead that goes from the battery to the amp meter is split by
a
small cylinder "thingy" mounted behind the dash board with a "40" on it.
Is
this likely a master 40 Amp Fuse?

Yes


The Main Question
How should the new Fuse Block be wired in? Where should it exist in
relation to the wires described above?

If the fuse panel is very close to the ammeter then you can add a third wire
to the "ignition" terminal of the ammeter and run directly to your fuse
panel. Since this wire will be unfused it creates a risk should it break or
be shorted out, therefore you wouldn't want to make a long run this way. If
the fuse panel is going to be more than a foot or two away then you should
either install another "master fuse" between the ammeter and your fuse panel
or connect your fuse panel to the other side of the existing master fuse.


Unrelated "What the heck?" Question
My stern light has a positive lead coming from it's switch. The negative
lead is terminated on the gas tank's sender unit (a perimeter screw, not
the
center screw which I assume is the "sender"). As far as I know, the gas
tank is not grounded to the engine or the battery. The only other wire
coming out of the sender unit goes directly to the Fuel Gauge. Is the
light
grounded to the fuel tank?

The gas tank should be grounded to the battery. For one thing, the gas
gauge wouldn't work unless the sending unit had a ground, and the sending
unit normally grounds to the tank.


Rod

"Douglas St. Clair" wrote in message
...
Thanks Gary!

What you described makes perfect sense. I printed out your post and took
it
out to the boat for comparison. The only difference I found is that the
wire from my alternator is not fused prior to the ammeter. Should I put
one
in? If so, what amperage?


I don't think a fuse is required there. I just decided to do it on the "what
can it hurt" theory. I really don't know what size fuse to use there.
That's
a question I have myself.

Gary Warner wrote:


"Douglas St. Clair" wrote in message
...
Thanks Gary!

What you described makes perfect sense. I printed out your post and took
it
out to the boat for comparison. The only difference I found is that the
wire from my alternator is not fused prior to the ammeter. Should I put
one
in? If so, what amperage?


I don't think a fuse is required there. I just decided to do it on the
"what
can it hurt" theory. I really don't know what size fuse to use there.
That's
a question I have myself.

Normally that is the reason for a "fuselink" from the battery positive post.
It's not the amps that are put out from the alternator that cause the damage
of a short, it's the amperage potental of the battery that needs
disconnected quickly by blowing the fuselink open at the battery.

--
__________m___~¿Ô___m____________________________

I am not famialiar with this boat, is it some sort of runabout?


FYI...
Yes - a fiberglass runabout. The 1968-197x? fiberglass models were based on
the same design as the wooden Resorters (relatively flat bottom), so they
reflect a rather classic style. I purchased this boat at the end of last
summer (first boat I've owned). Last fall I gutted it and rebuilt the
wooden floor structure. I'm now trying to wrap up the interior in hopes of
a July 4 launch. For an early fiberglass Resorter the boat seems rather
unique, with the preferable navy blue color and a slight overkill of an
engine (18' / 427 Crusader). At first sight I knew the boat would require a
lot of work. When I heard it fire up and cross the water I pulled out my
checkbook. My checkbook hasn't been closed since

Here's a pic...
http://www.cuvantage.com/dougtemp/resorter.jpg

Thanks for the post, Rod. You are correct, the negative lead on the ammeter
is indeed for a light. I looked again at the gas tank this evening, and for
the life of me I can't figure out how it's grounded. I think I'm going to
run two new dual-wire leads to the back. One for the light, the other for
the gas tank (ground and sender unit).

Thanks Again -
Doug

Here's a pic...
http://www.cuvantage.com/dougtemp/resorter.jpg

Nice!


I'm now trying to wrap up the interior in hopes of a July 4 launch.

I was doing that a few years back with my last (first) boat. Spent all
spring
working on her. Finally got it all together on the morning of the forth. We
took
her to a local lake and put her in. As I put her in reverse to back away
from the trailer she went FORWARD. ~~ We had taken the outboard
off and hooked up the transmission cable backwards.

This year I'm hoping to have this boat (my second) in sometime in May
or maybe June. But July 4th weekend is the big goal that I hope I'm
ready for with all the kinks worked out.

Good Luck to you!


A slight overkill of an engine (18' / 427 Crusader).

Wow. Our 22' inboard is 130 horse / 320 C.I.



Pics of our boat / restoration at: http://tinyurl.com/spsv

Gary