Re: Connecting electronics to ignition wire
Marlin<br />Go to the back of your key switch with a volt meter or test lamp.<br /><br />Put The meter on a voltage scale 13 volts or more. Connect your black wire to a good ground wire or the engine block, or the negitive battery post.<br /><br />With the key in the off postion prob the wires on the back of the switch. One should be +12 volts, this is your battery wire. The rest should have no voltage. Now turn the switch to the on position, (not start) and check the wires again. You should find one more wire with +12 volts. This will be your ingition wire, some may also have a accessory wire that will now have +12 volts. Some switches have the connections labled on the back of the switch. If you have a accessory wire use that, if not then use the ingition wire.<br /><br />The switch will have one more wire and this would be the start wire, +12 volts when switch turned to the start postion only. Do not use this wire.<br /><br />For low amp equipment it is ok to use the +12 volt ingition or accessory wire as your power source. For high amp equipment then use a relay or solid state switch to turn equipment on and only use ingition wire to work relay or solid state switch.<br /><br />High amp equipment like a VHF Radio, High amp Am/Fm radio, ect then do power from you ingition wire.<br /><br />I would not wire to the back of the switch for a Chart Plotter, GPS or Fish Finder, or VHF Radio as most of the time I want these iteams on when the engine is off. If I am drift fishing for example or even anchored I want the VHF on and the GPS on.<br />I would wire all these iteams to my house battery and not my starting battery.<br /><br />Hope this helps.
