lost electronics

[upinsmoke]

as the title states i lost my electricity on my boat. the gauges light up, theyre digital, as they are wired to engine. we were out one day in the gulf, seas were 6-8 ft, we were slapping hard in some spots. im thinking something couldve popped loose, but my buddy did the volt meter thing, touch here light goes on deal. all good, even behind the accesories panels, and breaker panels. he also touched all the breakers and theyre good also. is there something im missing? should i be looking somewhere else? not really an electrician so any help would be greatly appreciated.

its a 25 ft wellcraft, 250 fisherman, tourny edition. yamaha 250 4 stroke. ive looked on wellcrafts site but no wiring diagram. also the speakers are corroded, could they be causing a short? both batteries are new, maybe 25 hrs on them.

thanks for any info

 

[Splat]

Re: lost electronics

Do you mean the backlights on the gauges come on? Or the digital readouts on the gauges actually come on? Did your buddy use a test light or a volt meter? Does he know what he's doing?

Start simple, look for loose connections, pull cables off the battery and clean with some steel wool or crocus cloth, do your accessories all work?

You can also try to gently push and tug a bit on the wires under the dash with the key on. This can help trouble shoot a broken wire and even possiably a bad connection.

Bill

 

[upinsmoke]

Re: lost electronics

thanks for ringing in bill. the digital readouts come on, mph, gas, rpm, and fuel all come on. we looked for loose connections on batteries and all is well. when i first bought the boat i tore all that apart and sanded and used that wire brush to clean all the terminals and all the oxidized stuff. then used grease my neighbor the engineer gave me for saltwater corrosion. it didnt happen till we slapped the waves, i think its something loose but everything we touched to the screwdriver looking thing with a light in it lit up. we pulled all the accesories panels off and tested them too. none of the accesories work. gps, depth gauge, vhf, all pumps, including fish boxes and live wells, and bilge pumps. weird thing is the next morning after it stopped working(electric that is), it fired up the next morning, so i left it alone. i came down the next weekend and it was dead. im not an electrician and my buddy is good at it, hes not certified but knows what hes doing. again thanks for any info.

edit i also cant use my trim tabs and when i lock my engine into place i have to use the switch on the throttle instead of the switch on the engine.