Ground wire - newb question

[DocG2828]

Getting ready to install my fish finder this afternoon and trying to be prepared by the time I go down to the marina to work. I've found the fuse panel under the dash. Fortunately it has two open fuses with new crimp on connectors already attached. So power is easy enough. Getting a little confused about the ground wire though. Figured the fuse panel would also be grounded...and also assumed the wires would be black. But I've seen no black wires running from the fuse panel. <br /><br />Any tips on finding the ground wire? Dumb question, but will the ground wires be hot if I test them with a voltmeter? Worse comes to worse I'll trace the ground from the stereo but its on the other side of the boat....or I'll pull the electrical diagrams and trace a ground wire from a gauge or something.<br /><br />Any tips would be great. Thanks!

 

[jlinder]

Re: Ground wire - newb question

Ground wires should be 0 volts. When you are running equipment there will be some voltage drop so if you measure the voltage between the ground at the front/dash and the battery minus you will see about 1/2 to 1 volt.<br /><br />Grounds are never fused, so they would not go to the fuse panel. Try looking for another area with a plane copper or metal plate with wires connected. If you don't see that look for a point where a lot of wires come together, or try to trace the black wire.<br /><br />You can look at the volt meter. One wire is hot the other is ground. Try to trace it back.

 

[--GQ--]

Re: Ground wire - newb question

Originally posted by Jack L:<br /> Ground wires should be 0 volts. When you are running equipment there will be some voltage drop so if you measure the voltage between the ground at the front/dash and the battery minus you will see about 1/2 to 1 volt.<br /><br />Grounds are never fused, so they would not go to the fuse panel. Try looking for another area with a plane copper or metal plate with wires connected. If you don't see that look for a point where a lot of wires come together, or try to trace the black wire.<br /><br />You can look at the volt meter. One wire is hot the other is ground. Try to trace it back.

You are da man. Nothing more to add.

 

[DocG2828]

Re: Ground wire - newb question

Ok...did the install this evening. I looked over the wiring diagram for my boat...and it looked like all the ground wires are actually yellow on my boat. When looking at the fuse blocks....there was a bunch of wires distributed with fuses, then another set at the top distributed without fuses...and a handful of blank spots on this distribution with open spots ready for a connector to slide on. I doublechecked it by referencing the wiring diagram for the radio and a few of the gauges and all the guages had a yellow wire coming from them, and another colored wire coming from them which checked out on the diagram as the power wires. So anyways, I know none of this matters to anyone but me...but it seems like the yellow wires did connect at the fuse panel, which were grounds.