engine switch and guages

[Realgun]

How is the switch wired so that the guages get power when you turn the switch?<br />Do the guages take much power? I will be wiring the lights up seperately.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: engine switch and guages

The purple wire from the control box is switched 12V. It becomes hot when the key is in the run position. I run that to my gauges. The gauge lights I connected to the running light switch. If you can't see the gauges because it is too dark, the running lights should be on anyways. Gauges and the lights require very little power. I'm not sure of the correct gauge wire to use but I never use anything less than 16ga. Don't forget a separate fuse for every circuit.

 

[Realgun]

Re: engine switch and guages

Ok the key has a spade connector do I need a bus to connect to all the hots on the five or six guages?<br />Can you stack all the rings on 1 pole? Or better yet should you?

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: engine switch and guages

You can do a gauge to gauge wiring routine. Light to light to light. That way you wind up with 1 wire to go to ignition on. Neat and easy to.

 

[Realgun]

Re: engine switch and guages

I have the light thing down i was talking about from the HOT spade to each +12V or IGN pole that every guage has.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: engine switch and guages

Don't stack the connectors, daisy chain off the tach is neater and better. <br /><br />You can usually run the ignition hot to the tach and then piggy back to the other gauges so that all gauges come on together, some tachs have a terminal just for this purpose. I've recently wired up mine, I can't remember the how much they draw but it ain't much, the tach is the most power hungry. All you need to do is buss the earth.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: engine switch and guages

I ran switched +12V from control box to first gauge (voltmeter in my case). Then daisy chain from each gauge to the next, ie each connection will have two wires except the last connection point which will only have one. I used a common bus for the common connections. Very neat and simple with minimum number of wires.<br />I never connect lights in series as Richard I think was saying. If one bulb burns out, all instruments go black and you have to hunt for the burnt out bulb. Always wire lights in parallel.

 

[Realgun]

Re: engine switch and guages

I think the easy way will be to just make a positive switched bus and attach all + or ING from all guages to that bus. <br /><br />The guage panel should be able to accomadate this I think. <br />I am going to redo the dash guage cluster. Right now it is thin aluminum but I was something a little different that is not wood with epoxy on it! Thats all over the rest of the boat.

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: engine switch and guages

I was referring to a daisey chain. My guages do not have the ( - ) available to wire the bulb in true series. Only the + is avail.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: engine switch and guages

Sorry Richard, I jumped to conclusions by the way you stated the connections. Ive seen people do it that way (series)and I always try to steer them away from it.

 

[Richard Petersen]

Re: engine switch and guages

I am so old, I can't find the bad bulb in my Christmas lights.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: engine switch and guages

Hey I think I have an old string of those around also. No end of amusement trying to figure out which bulb is bad