New fuse block, now loss of power

[nyykk1]

I just installed a new fuse block, had corrosion issues with the old one, now I have power issues with the new fuse block.

If I turn my ignition key to ON, the voltage meter reads 12V. While the ignition ket set to ON and I turn on the anchor light, the voltage meter drops to 10V and the lights are dim. Next test, I turn the ignition key to OFF, turn the radio on (works fine) and then turn on the achor light. The light is dim but the radio is still running. Next, turn the radio off and turn on the anchor light. The light is very bright.

Could I have a bad wire from the circuit breaker to the fuse block? Bad ground wire? I cleaned the terminals at the circuit breaker, no change. I also noticed if I push on the terminal at the circuit breaker, the breaker pops. Could it be a bad circuit breaker?

Any suggestions?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

Sounds like a bad ground. Where are all the ground connections made. There should be a ground buss at the fuse panel. That ground buss then connects to the negative battery terminal either with a separate wire in the control harness or a single wire run back to the battery.

 

[nyykk1]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

The ground wire, connected to the negative buss on the fuse block, is coming from the wire harness from the engine. I tried tracing it back but I can't find it after it goes into the wiring harness. Should I try running a separate ground from the battery to the fuse block?

 

[cjames]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

it wouldnt hurt to run a ground wire either directly to the engine (which is grounded to the battery), or run one directly to the battery. The ground wire should be the same guage as the 12v+ wire you ran to the fuse block. Be sure to use marine AWG wire, not SAE wire from home depot or walmart. You can probably find your problem by checking all your ground connections on the existing system, which you will probably need to do anyway because theres most likely other things using that same ground circuit, you just dont know it yet make sure your battery is in good shape too...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

i personally like to keep my engine separated from all accessories, except the T N T. run you accessories on a separate wires off the battery, with a master switch. of course if you have an automatic bilge pump it should be wired direct to battery with an inline fuse.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

The ground wire in the engine harness will terminate at the engine block. Therefore, if the negative battery cable is corroded or loose, you will have a bad ground throughout the system. There should be no reason to run a separate ground wire except for personal preference or to troubleshoot the system.

 

[nyykk1]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

Ok, well I haven't run a separate ground wire yet. I checked the ground wire from the wiring harness to the engine block, removed it cleaned it with a wire brush (it looked pretty clean before) and tightened it backup and still no change.

Here's my configuration:

I have two batteries hooked up to a battery switch.
- two negatives are hooked up
- neg from battery 1 is hooked up a neg bus
- ground wire from engine hooked up to neg bus
- Battery 1 from switch is hooked up to pos 1 of battery 1
- Battery 2 from switch is hooked up to pos 2 of battery 2

- ground wire from wiring harness hooked up to engine block
- pos wire from wiring harness hooked up to circuit breaker

All Ground and Pos wires were cleaned and tightened. No Luck!

 

[wire2]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

When you have "strange" voltages at the dash, run a wire to the (-) of the battery for a reference to the - of a voltmeter., Then place the + lead of the voltmeter on a black wire in the dash.

Should be 0.

If not, clip the reference wire onto a black - lead of dash.

Voltages normal now?
If so, there's a resistance connection in the dash ground circuit.

 

[nyykk1]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

Question with the ignition switch, I have three wires. One is going to all the gauges, another one goes to the wiring harness, another one goes to the fuse block. Does this seem right?

Gauges:
oil pressure, voltage, water temp, speedometer, tach, and fuel gauge.

 

[nyykk1]

Re: New fuse block, now loss of power

I Found IT!! It wasn't the ground wire, it was the 12v wire. So now I'm, going to run a new 12v wire from the circuit breaker on the engine to the fuse block.

Thanks for all your help!