Boat Wirning Help, please!

[savage0102]

Hi, Boaters!

Recently, I have got an old 16 feet Lund boat with an outboard engine. The boat came with unfinished wring. So I attached the two cables from the engine to the starter battery, and the engine fires off right away, when turning the ignition. But I have no clue for where I have to attach the grounding wire (green wire).

I guess this grounding issue causes a problem. The problem is that the engine fires off right away out of water, but the engine does not start, when the boat is on the water.

I am planning to use a "a small navigation light (green and red), a head light, anchor winch, and a down rigger (and a selector, too)." Thus, I have put two batteries (a deep-cycle & a starter battery) in the boat. But I don't know how to wire for all of these. I am not trained in electrical things at all. :joyous:

If any experienced boater with good electrical knowledge can give me a clear diagram for wiring, that will be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much for your attention!


Boaters are good people!

 

[roscoe]

Welcome to iboats, savage.

Not sure what you have a green wire for, or what it is attached to.

Possibly a ground wire for a built-in permanent fuel tank?

Most outboards are only going to have one pos and one neg cable connected to the battery.

What do you have for an outboard motor?
make, model, hp ?
Tiller or console steer?

Motor that starts out of water, but not in water, is often a sign of motor not firing on all cylinders.

Could be caused by carb issues, spark issues, or low compression.

The effect of submersing the motor in water is that there is now back pressure on the exhaust side.

Generally, for electric accessories, you are best to attach 1 wire to the positive terminal of the battery, and run it to a small panel with switches and fuses of the appropriate size.

Then from the accessory ( lights , etc ) run a ground wire back, connect to a common ground bus, and run a single wire back to the battery negative terminal.

This is all totally separate from any motor wiring, ignition switch, or gauges.

http://www.iboats.com/Switch-Panel-H...view_id.939655