bds85466
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2007
- Messages
- 375
Hope everyone?s boating season is turning out to plan! I?ve got an issue that I could use some advice on. From the outside, it looks a bit similar to OctoberSea?s post about a ?bad ground?, though I doubt it will require the same resolution:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=317155
I?m having issues surrounding what at this point seems to be switching on my blower motor. On occasion everything works but more frequently I?ve gone out to my boat, turned on the blower motor, and everything goes dead.
A bit of background: 1982 Celebrity with a 898 Merc. Our boat was sold to us and the blower was not functioning which had driven me crazy long enough. The blower accessory switch was getting power as it was lit when flipped on, but no blower power. After manually venting (obviously a safety hazard -- lifting the engine cover off for a good 10 minutes?sometimes fanning with a type IV) for a season I got underneath to check our blower. I finally got to it past a nest of cords and hoses, unscrewed it from the wall and hoses. Looking into the blower (still wired) I told my buddy to flip the switch ? it turned on (loudly) and blew a bunch of crap right in my face ? quite funny actually. I thought I had it licked, musta been just a crimped wire or something. The blower was original with the boat I?m guessing (Attwood 3? hose diameter) because it looked old. The thing is loud -- so at this point I was considering getting a new blower just for the sake of saving my hearing as well as I believed it to be drawing quite a bit more amperage if it was rattling and noisy. It was working and kicking out air so I didn?t believe it to be a huge issue so I put it back in working for the time being. This was a couple weeks and several runs ago.
Sorry, I haven?t even got to my problem yet. So recently my roommate has taken the boat out and found that when he tried to turn the blower on post run (luckily back in the slip), it seemed that we lost all power. Not fun when you?re out on the lake. The next day when I looked at it, that seemed to still be the case. Dead. The ignition didn?t work, or any of the accessories. I went back into the nest and began moving wires, but not really touching too much, looking for loose stuff, corrosion etc. At this point I just thought maybe the ground had gotten shaken around or a loose end short or something. I went back to the dash and tried the stereo and it popped on! Awesome! I thought that I must?ve done something by tugging on the battery a bit and what not. So I listened to some doobie bros (oh black water, keep on rollin) for a minute and then went back up to my apartment, not starting the boat, but thinking that everything seemed to be in order. Came down the next day and went for the blower. Turned it on, and I saw what has now become a common occurrence, briefly lit switch followed by a complete power outage. OutRage is what I should say. So I went back under into the nest looking for whatever I may have done the last time, moved some wires with my hands. The spot in particular which I?ve found to move is a group of wires, some taped some not in a wire tie screwed to the transom wall. It appears that when this happens and I lose power, if I move some wires around in this spot, everything works again. Like OctoberSea?s post, I was concerned that it may be an overload or short in the wiring combined with some sort of auto reset fuse type deals, but I?m doubting my system has any of those. I could be wrong though. Under further trials (wow I?m risky out on a lake doing a manual vent) I?ve gone without trying the blower first (cowling cover completely removed), and all other accessories, including the ignition work. It never seems to have a problem unless I try the blower. I?ve gone on two successful trips by not using the blower (danger), but I want to resolve this before I take my boat out again.
So on to my questions: Besides actually going in and dissecting the wiring (which I know I should do ? clean, check for corrosion and breaks etc) does this sound like it could be an auto resetting fuse of some sort? Could it just be a short in the wiring? If it is a short in the wiring, by turning the blower circuit on, why exactly would the entire electrical system of the boat not work? Would it be possibly be shorting +12V between the blower switch and the battery ground somewhere? I?m having a tough time (though looking at Tashasdaddy?s/Silvertip's beautiful wiring diagram makes it easier) figuring out how that would work.
I spoke with an electrical engineer whom I work with and he said he?s had a bilge pump motor short out and have the exact same thing happen. He said sometimes the brushes in the motor wear (which sounds like my motor definitely!) in certain positions to the point where it creates a big short/overloaded circuit. My next step, since I was planning on doing this anyway was to buy myself a new blower and install it, trying to clean up the leads and other wiring. I won't get to that for a day or two, but I wanted to begin thinking about this. If anyone has any advice, I?m all ears. I like hearing what you guys (gals too?) have to say unless it?s way wrong! Only kidding. Any help is as always appreciated. Thanks.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=317155
I?m having issues surrounding what at this point seems to be switching on my blower motor. On occasion everything works but more frequently I?ve gone out to my boat, turned on the blower motor, and everything goes dead.
A bit of background: 1982 Celebrity with a 898 Merc. Our boat was sold to us and the blower was not functioning which had driven me crazy long enough. The blower accessory switch was getting power as it was lit when flipped on, but no blower power. After manually venting (obviously a safety hazard -- lifting the engine cover off for a good 10 minutes?sometimes fanning with a type IV) for a season I got underneath to check our blower. I finally got to it past a nest of cords and hoses, unscrewed it from the wall and hoses. Looking into the blower (still wired) I told my buddy to flip the switch ? it turned on (loudly) and blew a bunch of crap right in my face ? quite funny actually. I thought I had it licked, musta been just a crimped wire or something. The blower was original with the boat I?m guessing (Attwood 3? hose diameter) because it looked old. The thing is loud -- so at this point I was considering getting a new blower just for the sake of saving my hearing as well as I believed it to be drawing quite a bit more amperage if it was rattling and noisy. It was working and kicking out air so I didn?t believe it to be a huge issue so I put it back in working for the time being. This was a couple weeks and several runs ago.
Sorry, I haven?t even got to my problem yet. So recently my roommate has taken the boat out and found that when he tried to turn the blower on post run (luckily back in the slip), it seemed that we lost all power. Not fun when you?re out on the lake. The next day when I looked at it, that seemed to still be the case. Dead. The ignition didn?t work, or any of the accessories. I went back into the nest and began moving wires, but not really touching too much, looking for loose stuff, corrosion etc. At this point I just thought maybe the ground had gotten shaken around or a loose end short or something. I went back to the dash and tried the stereo and it popped on! Awesome! I thought that I must?ve done something by tugging on the battery a bit and what not. So I listened to some doobie bros (oh black water, keep on rollin) for a minute and then went back up to my apartment, not starting the boat, but thinking that everything seemed to be in order. Came down the next day and went for the blower. Turned it on, and I saw what has now become a common occurrence, briefly lit switch followed by a complete power outage. OutRage is what I should say. So I went back under into the nest looking for whatever I may have done the last time, moved some wires with my hands. The spot in particular which I?ve found to move is a group of wires, some taped some not in a wire tie screwed to the transom wall. It appears that when this happens and I lose power, if I move some wires around in this spot, everything works again. Like OctoberSea?s post, I was concerned that it may be an overload or short in the wiring combined with some sort of auto reset fuse type deals, but I?m doubting my system has any of those. I could be wrong though. Under further trials (wow I?m risky out on a lake doing a manual vent) I?ve gone without trying the blower first (cowling cover completely removed), and all other accessories, including the ignition work. It never seems to have a problem unless I try the blower. I?ve gone on two successful trips by not using the blower (danger), but I want to resolve this before I take my boat out again.
So on to my questions: Besides actually going in and dissecting the wiring (which I know I should do ? clean, check for corrosion and breaks etc) does this sound like it could be an auto resetting fuse of some sort? Could it just be a short in the wiring? If it is a short in the wiring, by turning the blower circuit on, why exactly would the entire electrical system of the boat not work? Would it be possibly be shorting +12V between the blower switch and the battery ground somewhere? I?m having a tough time (though looking at Tashasdaddy?s/Silvertip's beautiful wiring diagram makes it easier) figuring out how that would work.
I spoke with an electrical engineer whom I work with and he said he?s had a bilge pump motor short out and have the exact same thing happen. He said sometimes the brushes in the motor wear (which sounds like my motor definitely!) in certain positions to the point where it creates a big short/overloaded circuit. My next step, since I was planning on doing this anyway was to buy myself a new blower and install it, trying to clean up the leads and other wiring. I won't get to that for a day or two, but I wanted to begin thinking about this. If anyone has any advice, I?m all ears. I like hearing what you guys (gals too?) have to say unless it?s way wrong! Only kidding. Any help is as always appreciated. Thanks.
