rewireing console panle and confused. Please Help

[freebird0700]

I have a 1991 Glasstream 19' cuddy and am trying to replace the console. I don't know alot about wireing but I do know that I don't have a birds nest I have a rats nest where my switch panel is. We are trying to take the switches from fuse to breaker/switches and the old switches are on a harnest. As you can see from the before photo's to the what I would like to have photo's I don't know where to start. My understanding of wireing is you have a Pos and Neg wire coming from the item it's self and you need a Pos and Neg wire coming from the battary to the switch panel and you hook the Pos from the item to the Pos on the switch panel and run the Neg wire from item to Neg Bus Bar. But as I have found out there are like for to five wires on the back of the OLD panel for the same item. Can someone please help me.
I hope the pictures can help you see what I am trying to do. If you need more infor I will try my best to answer for you.

 

[jonesg]

Re: rewireing console panle and confused. Please Help

I just did that, same breaker panel too.

I took battery pos and plugged it on the top-end of the common power strip, thats the side that has the fuse/breaker.

At the opposite end of that same copper rail, you can feed a power buss.
Anything , self switching, that should stay powered up, such as auto bailer pump or ciggie lighter can get its power from there. Use inline fuses on those unswitched circuits.

Opposite rail gets the ground wire and feeds the neg buss strip.
Run all the neg's from instruments etc to that buss.

Just use a diode test light and label everything before tearing anything out.
A little aligator clip for the test light ground helps.
I cut all the excess wiring out as I went along.

 

[jtexas]

Re: rewireing console panle and confused. Please Help

yup, you're on the right track. batt (+) to fuse/breaker, to switch, to device. batt (-) to ground bus, to device. if you got breakers integrate into the switch panel, that saves you a step on the positive side.

I swear that top pic could've been taken in my boat when I got it. I pulled out must've been 2 miles of wires not even connected to anything...like the previous owners replaced a device, they just ran new wire & left the old in place.

Digital multimeter would be a pretty good investment - you can test for continuity with the battery disconnected, and it's a pretty handy thing to have around the house.