Fuses are good, now what?

[Dotson]

Hello. I recently bought a 99 Ranger R61 that sat outside all winter in Minnesota. Everything (including motor) is in good shape but none of the accessories are working. Gauges come on with key but no bilge, aerator, nav lights, etc. Fuses all seem to be ok. The only wires not hooked up appear to be for the trolling motor. Shouldn't all of the accessories be hooked to the starting battery? Any advice on what is wrong? THANKS!!!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Fuses are good, now what?

Gauges are powered through the engine harness. All of the other stuff you mentioned are powered through the boat harness. That harness is generally fed from the starting battery and is the smaller gauge red and black wires attached to the starting battery. Make sure those are connected and that the fuse or circuit breaker located in the red wire at the battery is ok. If the boat has a master power switch on the console, it must be on as well.

 

[Dotson]

Re: Fuses are good, now what?

Thanks!! If there is not a fuse in the red wire near the batter, where would I find the circuit breaker? What does it look like? Would the master power switch be labled on the console as such? I didn't see anything labeled that. Can it be located elsewhere? Thanks again and forgive my ignorance!!

 

[ebry710]

Re: Fuses are good, now what?

Hello. I recently bought a 99 Ranger R61 that sat outside all winter in Minnesota. Everything (including motor) is in good shape but none of the accessories are working. Gauges come on with key but no bilge, aerator, nav lights, etc. Fuses all seem to be ok. The only wires not hooked up appear to be for the trolling motor. Shouldn't all of the accessories be hooked to the starting battery? Any advice on what is wrong? THANKS!!!

Accessibility is the key. When you say all fuses seem ok, do you mean there is power to them?

If not, then on one side of the fuse panel, a single wire (usually red) feeds the panel. Follow it. I should either go to the switch or the battery. By following it you will determine if there is a key (ignition switch) problem or a missing hook up to the battery.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Fuses are good, now what?

A circuit breaker is normally installed directly on the POS terminal of the battery and it is a small rectangular box like object about one inch long. A fuse would be located in the same area but within a couple of inches from the POS terminal. If you had a master power switch it would logically be located on the console and be labeled MASTER. It would make no sense to have it located elsewhere.

The ignition switch and related circuits are not the problem as the as the accessories you mention are not fed from the engine harness. The items that don't work are fed from the boat harness which feeds the fuse panel directly through the MASTER power switch if you have one.