Silly question

[laserbrn]

I know this is a retarded question, but I'm unsure of the answer nonetheless. The PO of my boat wired in a fuse box and all of the + connections run through it. Simple enough. The grounds all seem to be wired to a negative battery connector like it was originally connected to the negative battery post. Is that normal or should it be grounded to the aluminum hull?

I don't see a spot on the hull where a bolt was clearly placed for grounding. I'm thinking it was connected to the negative battery post. Is that okay? Do I need to run all of my grounds all the way back to the negative battery post or just the positive leads when wiring more accessories?

Thanks for helping, I'm hitting the lake tomorrow AM and I'm trying to test the fish finder (pretty old, I'm not expecting much) and the trolling motor as they came with the boat.

Thanks for your help, I'm having a great time with this.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Silly question

All your grounds need to be run back to the battery. Most install a terminal strip at the helm then run one larger ground back to the bat.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Silly question

Your boat is wired properly. Grounding to the hull is not recommended however, if the boat has an outboard motor, buy default the hull is actually grounded because the engine is bolted to it and the engine block is grounded via the negative battery cable.

 

[Don S]

Re: Silly question

if the boat has an outboard motor, buy default the hull is actually grounded because the engine is bolted to it

And that only works if you have an aluminum boat, if you have a fiberglass boat the glass wouldn't make a ground anyway.
On boats, unlike automotive, the hull (even if alum. or steel) should never be used as a ground for accessories or the motor.

 

[sasto]

Re: Silly question

See....not so much a retarded question after all.