where do all these wires go?

[slikkrikk]

I have a 1987 Wellcraft 23 fish w/2.7 liter omc sea drive. had the boat for about a year & have been going through it & cleaning it up. I have found quite a few cut or disconnected wires. some i have been able to trace others no clue. any ideas on tracing wires so i can either use or eliminate them. thanks rick

 

[triumphrick]

Re: where do all these wires go?

This is gonna be hard...

Are there things that don't work on the boat? How about livewells, bilge pumps, blowers, old stereo speaker wires...

There are very few wires that are color coded that all manufacturers use.

Generally black and red are for power. Black being ground.

Some pics may help...or you may get an owner to reply...good luck!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: where do all these wires go?

There is a "generic boat wiring diagram" in the stickies at the very top of this forum. You didn't say whether the cut wires are in the engine to console harness or just wires under the console.

 

[slikkrikk]

Re: where do all these wires go?

Thanks for your help. two wires are in engine compartment. temp gauge does not work, possibly one of the wires is to that. several othe wires are under the deck but not part of the main harness. there are several leads at the fuse panel which is inside my center console. not real easy to get close to it. i just dont like having loose leads whether connected or not. trying to remove what isnt needed. is there a way to energize one end of a wire so i can check on the other end of the loose leads for power? all wires now appear to be dead. Thanks again

 

[Silvertip]

Re: where do all these wires go?

Wire color. The wire color at the engine end should be the same at the console end.

 

[Big Keepers]

Re: where do all these wires go?

Is there a way to energize one end of a wire so i can check on the other end of the loose leads for power? All wires now appear to be dead. Thanks again

There is a tool you can buy at Home Depot I believe that is battery operated and can be used to trace wires. One part is a small box with an alligator clip on it. That sends a signal down the wire. The other part is a pen type thing that gives off a nice annoying buzzer sound when you touch the insulation of the proper wire. If wires are zip tied together the pen will pick up the faint signals of that box to let you know you're close but only goes off loud when you have the correct wire.

Some of those dead wires may just be dead, clipped wires. Once they are run through little tight areas and are zip tied to something they stay there forever. Find out which ones are dead at the console and then see if you can find out where they originate (they would terminate at the console, or vice versa however you want to look at it.) They may be useful one day and can be spliced into something or used to pull a new wire through a tough spot.

 

[slikkrikk]

Re: where do all these wires go?

I'll check home depot for that tool. sounds like what i am looking for.about 6 or 7 wires were run for different things but were apparently spliced at some point. cant seem to trace just by color. 5 wires are the same orange color. thanks for your help. rick