Re: electrical problem
Since you didn't start you're message with something like "NOTHING works anymore", you seem to imply that you have some things working and others that don't. Using this assumption, I will assume that many things do work and that you have lost several components. That would indicate that we are distributing power out into the power grid of the boat, not a loss of power distribution right after the battery or at the engine.. <br /><br />Since this happened right after you did some repairs, troubleshoot yourself first. Did you knock any wires off. Since you lost a variety of devices, it may be a lost ground or bad ground at a commoning connector.<br /><br />Take one component at a time, starting with the easiest to diagnose. That may be the anchor light. Turn on the devices' switch. Then using either a meter set to 12vdc or a test light, connect to a known good ground (such as the engine block or battery), check the socket for 12 volts. If it lights up the test light or meter, you have power. <br /><br />Now switch the grounded lead from the previous step, from a known good ground, to a known good power source, and recheck the other terminal at the socket. If the test light or meter doesn't repond, you've lost the ground circuit.<br /><br />Depending on what you've lost, trace the wiring back from where it came. If you lost the 12volt supply, you may be headed back to the dash area (I assume we're not talking a big cruiser here). You're checking fuses, checking for power at both sides of the fuse or a commoning distribution point, usually somewhere around the fuse box, or any connector from the device back to the fuse area including the switch.<br /><br />If you lost the ground, trace the wiring from the device to it's grounding point. For a stearn anchor light that would likely be at the back of the boat. It may go to a commoning block (a bunch of grounds all lumped together with a larger wire then headed the battery or engine block).<br /><br />Since it all happened at once after you worked on the cig-lighter, you may have either inadvertently disconnected something, disturbed the connection of something, or just out and out blew something. Start by retracing your steps of what you did. If the cig-lighter was at the dash, you may have a major wire loom plug/jack connector that connects the boats wire loom to the dashs' wire loom, check that also.
