Wiring a stereo in a boat!

[john15]

I have very little knowledge in wiring a boat stereo.

I purchased a DUAL 200 watt stereo with 2 6.5" speakers and wanted to wire them to my bass boat : Heres what i did, i need suggestion please:

The wire harness on the back of the reciever has a cluster of wires, all 22 awg. wire for speakers and other accessories except 2 wires. 1 is yellow and its 16 awg. which is supposed to go to a constant 12v deep cycle source and 1 black also 16 awg. which is supposed to be ground then i have one thats red 22 awg. which is supposed to be hooked up to the keyed ignition. Well i wanted to wire it in a way that when i shut the boat down to troll with the trolling motor and fish or just beach the boat i could still listen to the raido. how do i go about wiring this system up efficeintly.......................

i have a cranking battery and another 2 nd battery which runs the trolling motor and a 12v plug up front for a spot light.

Can someone please help!!!!!!!

I tried splicing the yellow wire to the red troling motor 10 awg. wire that comes back from my trolling motor up front and the back wire to the black 10 awg. wire of the trolling motor line. and left the red 22 awg. wire out of the picture and im not and i got some power to the radio. but not alot. when i press the power button on the face nothing happens so i took the face plate off and theres a red blinking light blinking ???????

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

I have very little knowledge in wiring a boat stereo....I tried splicing the yellow wire to the red troling motor 10 awg. wire that comes back from my trolling motor up front and the back wire to the black 10 awg. wire of the trolling motor line. and left the red 22 awg. wire out of the picture and im not and i got some power to the radio. but not alot. when i press the power button on the face nothing happens so i took the face plate off and theres a red blinking light blinking ???????

Red blinking light= chassis security feature

As to the other stuff, you start out by saying "I have very little knowledge in wiring a boat stereo" but from the looks here you should have left out the "a boat stereo" part and just left it at that.

Don't just randomly connect wires to other wires and stuff!!

Do you have the owner's manual? It will show a wiring diagram. Whether you connect to the ignit circuit or an accessory power point doesn't matter, but power to the correct wires DOES matter.

Next, I would have someone knowledgeable about 12V and car audio work with you to keep from burning up your new stereo.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

The yellow wire (the one that must be hot all the time) is the wire that feeds a small current to the radio when it is turned off. It's purpose is to "store" the station memory presets. The red wire (the one you didn't connect) must have +12 volts on it and you can wire that to a circuit that is active when the key is on, or you can pair it with the yellow wire and go directly to a 12 volt source. With no power on that wire you will not have a functioning radio. You must ground the radio (black wire) to the same battery from which you are getting power. The radio has an ON-OFF function so the red wire does not have to be connected to the ignition switch.

 

[john15]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Thank you very much you all have been very helpful!!! greatly appreciated>>.

 

[stylesabu]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

can you pull start you motor? I would find out how long you can play your radio,with out recharging battery. so you don't wind up with a dead battery on the water

 

[slia67]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

can you pull start you motor? I would find out how long you can play your radio,with out recharging battery. so you don't wind up with a dead battery on the water

On his 2nd battery? He has two batteries, one for the trolling motor & 12v plug and another for his main battery.

 

[blairjbyrd]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

silvertip told you right. Do that and you will be rockin out

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

The memory (yellow wire) will pull current from the battery when the boat is not in use.Not much but it will drain the battery after several weeks of non-use.
I always install an inline switch to kill all power to the stereo when the boat will not be used for several weeks.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Ditto what gary said.

When I install radios or anything with a memory wire, Yellow goes to a fused 12V constant power source. Then i'll bring red to that same sourse (or clip it into the yellow) and then run it through a toggle switch that i'll mount someplace before the wire runs into the radio. That way if your a once a month boat guy all you have to worry about is no saved radio presets, and not a dead battery.

 

[john15]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

i tied the red and yellow together brough them to the positive of the battery and black to negative, bought a switch how do i installl the switch now ??

 

[thrillsea-ker]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

John,

If you aren't concerned about the clock keeping correct time or keeping preset stations then it is ok to connect the yellow and red wires together. You could Use a wire tester and find a wire that is "hot" with the ignition on or you could run a hot wire directly from the battery and connect it to the red wire on the stereo, putting a switch in that wire to disconnect the power from the battery. I would also install an inline fuse.

I am in the process of rewiring my boat and plan on using a dual battery system also. I am an aircraft mechanic so my plan is to wire the accessories off the secondary battery much like in an aircraft. I will use a solenoid to disconnect the secondary battery controlled by an accessory master switch on the dash. I will have a "hot" primary wire run to a buss bar, were all the power will be drawn from that and of course have each accessory individually switched. I will have an isolator installed between the batteries so they both will be maintained by the alternator, yet one battery will not drain the other.
I plan on having deck lights, a CB and marine radio as well as a stereo, fish/depth finder and of course all the standard nav lights and accessories run off the secondary battery, saving the primary battery for the starter and gauges. That way, I can use all the "toys" and not worry so much about being stranded with a dead battery! ... been there..done that!
I am drafting up a schematic if you are interested, I will post it when I'm completed. In addition I will post pictures of the completed project.

 

[srimes]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

please do, I'd like to see it. Sounds like a good plan. What size relay will you use to connect the two batteries?

 

[thrillsea-ker]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

I will.. However, the project has been on the back burner. I have been doing some fiberglass work on the stringers. I am kinda working from the hull out. I am also going to redo the interior. Once the fiberglass work is done then I will start running the wires so I can hide all the wires neatly behind the sidewalls once they are finished. I have drawn out some schematics, but I end up making changes so I have yet to finalize them. As far as the relay I plan on using, I am not sure. More than likely it will be like a Ford starter relay. I have not decided just what kind of relay I will use. I am also building some bench seats one on each side of the engine cover. I plan on installing the batteries under one of the seats, so it will also depend on the space I have available.

 

[john15]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Gary H NC Thanks for your help how do i go about installing and toggle switch near the radio to save on the battery

 

[NYBo]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Feed from the positive side of the battery is attached to one terminal, the red and the yellow wires to the other.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Come on folks -- you don't want it "required" that you have the key on to listen to the radio - especially if this boat happens to be an I/O or a four stroke outboard. Key on = ignition/ecm powered. There are two power feeds in a boat. One in the engine harness that goes to the ignition switch. The other is the smaller pair of wires that feeds from the battery to the console to operate all accessories. Connect the station memory and the red +12 volt wire to a constant 12 volt source and go boating. The radio has an OFF button. You don't need another. If the static current draw bothers you, THEN install a separate switch. One terminal goes to the constant 12 volt source, the other to the red & yellow.

 

[Bluesmobile]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Heres a quick diagram. I can draw a better one if you want. This diagram is if you dont care about clock and presets. Also, wiring it this way, there is no drain on the battery when its off.
Build a homemade fused distribution block (radioshack $15 in parts (can give more details if needed)). And put it where it wont get wet (under bow, etc). Run a pair of 8awg wires from the battery to that box and then run your accessories from that box. It minimises the amount of wire you need and makes it a neater install.

I've been doing car audio and accessories for 6-7 years and can help you with just about anything wire related. Hope this helps

 

[Bluesmobile]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

I remember wanting to put in a radio in my boat but decided that since there is only one radio station where i boat, that a small amp, a pair of speakers and an ipod were the way to go.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

Come on folks -- you don't want it "required" that you have the key on to listen to the radio - especially if this boat happens to be an I/O or a four stroke outboard. Key on = ignition/ecm powered. There are two power feeds in a boat. One in the engine harness that goes to the ignition switch. The other is the smaller pair of wires that feeds from the battery to the console to operate all accessories. Connect the station memory and the red +12 volt wire to a constant 12 volt source and go boating. The radio has an OFF button. You don't need another. If the static current draw bothers you, THEN install a separate switch. One terminal goes to the constant 12 volt source, the other to the red & yellow.

Amen to that. Hook 'er up and be happy. If you don't already have a two bank onboard charger get one. They're not very expensive, they're easy to install, they make your batteries last longer, and they save you from a dead battery in the event you forget to turn off your radio and leave the boat sitting for an extended period of time. If you do already have one good job. Now get after it!

 

[Audio Greg]

Re: Wiring a stereo in a boat!

I agree with Silvertip, except for "The radio has an OFF button. You don't need another." That power button is great for turning the stereo off while your boating. However, you really need to break connection to at least the RED lead when you are done boating at the end of the day.

Most modern Marine Stereos will have the BLACK, YELLOW, and RED connections. Where the RED lead is termed ACCESSORY, and YELLOW is termed MEMORY. Curiously, YELLOW (MEMORY) on most brands has the 15amp fuse. RED (ACCESSORY) has a 1amp fuse. WHY? Companies market the Marine units as "built for Marine & not a Car stereo painted white." Yet, (with very few exceptions) they are based on Car Stereos.

Bluesmobile can confirm YELLOW, "MEMORY," wires on car stereos always have the larger of the two fuses. Most car stereo installers call this CONSTANT, right? The RED "ACCESSORY" (in a car) goes to what a installer often calls "IGNITION," but is actually an "ACCESSORY" wire. That wire is only energized when the key is in the run or accessory position (unless it is a newer car that has a timer relay allowing the wire to stay energized for a few minutes after turning the car off).

I am not trying to ruffle any feathers here. I just want to share some knowledge with a great community of fellow boaters. So, in a car YELLOW and RED perform different functions and are connected differently. If the Marine Stereo is based on the Car Stereo (has both RED and YELLOW power leads), this is why I recommend AGAINST connecting the two together.

Maybe over the weekend I will post a thread titled "Why my stereo drains my batteries." I know this is long winded, and perhaps a bit off topic. However, as I said before, I am just trying to share some knowledge with what I consider a great community of like-minded folks.

Thank you and good night.