Have a 1988 Princecraft 165 Pro w/Classic 50 Merc, and had a problem with my front navigation light, cargo light and front live well pump. After many hours of diagnosing I finally traced the problem to a broken ground wire under the live well that was a common ground for all three of the affected parts. What a pain in the butt to get to and repair.
Anyway while in the process of finding the problem I noticed that my dashboard and for the most part the entire boat is grounded by a ground in the cargo light that is grounded by one of its mounting screws. Nothing else in the boat is grounded to the hull except the cargo light. Is it normal to ground the hull or should it be not grounded at all?
Also last season I had an overcharging condition when without accessories drawing current my voltage would spike up to 17 volts using anything more than half throttle. When running the live well pumps and lights I was able to keep the voltage down to an acceptable level of 13-14 volts. Replaced the rectifier and it didnt help. Batteries are fairly new and the terminals are clean. Any ideas where else I should be looking? Thanks for your help.
Anyway while in the process of finding the problem I noticed that my dashboard and for the most part the entire boat is grounded by a ground in the cargo light that is grounded by one of its mounting screws. Nothing else in the boat is grounded to the hull except the cargo light. Is it normal to ground the hull or should it be not grounded at all?
Also last season I had an overcharging condition when without accessories drawing current my voltage would spike up to 17 volts using anything more than half throttle. When running the live well pumps and lights I was able to keep the voltage down to an acceptable level of 13-14 volts. Replaced the rectifier and it didnt help. Batteries are fairly new and the terminals are clean. Any ideas where else I should be looking? Thanks for your help.
