"Glowing" electrolite wire???

[finneri]

Larson 330 cabrio 2000, 2 x VP 5.7 GS. The elctrolite wire that runs from the back of the engine to the transom(drive) is glowing when battery switch is in either nr 1 or 2 or both. Both are hot but left engine is glowing more than the right. When batt. switch is off they stop glowing. I have cleaned all the ground conn. wires on the engines and the battery(new batteries). The charger is pegging out(50 amp), but runs normal(3-7 amps) when battery switch is off. I had a overheat situation on one engine, could possibly have something to do with it?? I have looked for burned or worn wires without luck. I have pulled all the curcuit breakers and disconnected ac on the panel, but still glowing.
Is this positively a ground problem??? The mechanic at the marina had never even heard about anything like it. Anybody?????

 

[Don S]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

It's called a Dead Short and you must find it before you start a fire.
Your mechanic may never have heard of it before, me neither, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
Check all wiring.

And what is an "Electrolite" wire???? Never heard of that before.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

Can you tell what color the wires are/were?

 

[cheburashka]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

Not sure about boats, but I had a similar problem with a car. I hadn't connected the ground strap, and the engine grounded out through the heater cable, which started glowing and smoking like crazy. I assume there's some sort of ground strap that runs between the engine and the outdrive. Is it possible that it was disconnected and the wire that's glowing is taking on the task of grounding the entire engine?

 

[CharlieB]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

Left engine? Right Engine? New Batteries?

Any 'new' cables also?

Sounds like someone switched a cable somewhere.

Trace all battery cables, both batterys, both engines, see which cable got switched and correct it.

 

[finneri]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

Got it fixed. During the overheat one positive wire that touched the riser had melted and welded itself under the riser. Just luck that I felt around under the riser. Saved myself some money and time, and now all systems are working!!
Some days it works out!!
Thanks for all the help.
Elctrolite wire is connected to the drive to prevent corrosion I believe.

 

[Have Fun Today]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

If any wire is glowing, it's a bad situation. Even if there is a grounding fault, as suggested earlier in this post, there is still way too much current flowing from the battery. I suggest you do the following:

1. Disconnect and remove the battery from the boat...don't connect it again until the problem is fixed. Put the battery in your garage.
2. Get an electrical diagram for your boat/engine. Should be supplied by the manufacturer.
3. Use an ohmmeter with a AA battery to trace the short from the positive battery terminal to ground. This won't burn your boat up. Measure the resistance. It should be pretty low. You have a short.
4. Disconnect all possible electrical devices, including alternator, etc, anything that you can disconnect should be removed from the electrical circuit.
5. Then, check the resistance between the positive and ground terminals. Should be infinite. If so, that's good. If not, something is still connected, or the short is still there and should be pretty easy to find at this point.
6. If you make it to the point where the resistance is infinite, start connecting your electrical items, one by one, until the short reappears. Some devices (electric lights, motors, alternator?) might have low resistance to a DC ohmmeter. Use some logic, look for exposed and burned wires or broken/melted insulation.
7. Once the short is isolated, fix the problem.
8. Finally, inspect your wires, all of them, for broken insulation. Replace them if the insulation is compromised. And, REPLACE the electrolite wire, whatever that is. I'm sure the insulation is burned off by now and it's a dangerous item to connect to your battery.

 

[Have Fun Today]

Re: "Glowing" electrolite wire???

Looks like I was a little to late, but I still think you should inspect and replace any wires that were hot or have broken/melted insulation so it doesn't happen again. This can be very bad on a boat. Boat stores have some heat shrink tubing that is rated for marine use. The electrolite wire is probably pretty stiff from overheating and glowing. Was it insulated? Should probably be replaced since it's already started to burn up.