SS wiring requests

[Starman8]

Do any SS owners have the following:

1. A purple IGN wire directly attached to your POS battery post?

2. One wire coming out of your pitot Speedo?(not the tube)

3. More red POS wires than black NEG wires on your main battery?

4. Any wires near the batter or helm that are white with a green stripe?

Also, if you have the original fuel gauge, what color wire is attached to the "I" on the back of the gauge.

Thanks, getting ready for the electrical connections and my 1979SS has a few odd wires as mentioned, and the battery was disconnected when I got the boat.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: SS wiring requests

Yikes Did you not take a photo of the wires before you removed then during the rebuild? The reds will Im sure go to positive. ,The black are ground and some wires are connectd internally is why you have more red than black wires. What do you have now that is connected ?or are all the wires hanging loose. The wire for the spedo which is a air tube? will be for the light. Hard to tell without seeing the set up as a P.O. COULD HAVE DONE THERE OWN WIRING AND USED WHAT HE HAD. Any question would require traceing each wire to its other end or totaly rewire the boat ( which is fairly easy to do.) I would suggest if you already have not done so, is to Run a # 8 or 10 Red positive and a 10 neg. to a central panel and supply all circuts from there. That way all the fuses are in one easy to get to location. The motor has its own wireing so not to worry about it.

 

[Starman8]

Re: SS wiring requests

Thanks Puget, just seeing if anyone else had a few similarities. The original panel pictures are no help, was a mess anyways, and rotted.

Most of the project is AOK and simple, and I spent good money on a new pre-wired 5 switch panel. That said, there are a few issues, I understand the basics of wiring but my questions are part of the rehab.

The 1979 Merc 115 also had some unique facets as did the trim motor that model year. My concerns aren't really about the switch panel, but other items as mentioned. The pitot tube is not a wire, but the speedo has one wire coming from it, the backlight, and wanted to know who has the same type and how they grounded it when only one wire comes from it?

 

[Starman8]

Re: SS wiring requests

I will make this easy. Most, if not all pulled apart their consoles and rebuilt them. I am attuned to the 2 powered system. The first is the engine and the subsequent harness, and the 2nd is a direct red/black panel feed from the battery.

Forget about hookups of VHF and fishfinders directly with an inline, they are common, and separate.

Now, add in another red/black for the trim motor, then from there is gets odd.

Why don't I have a corresponding black ground for the red that feeds the panel?

Why do I have 2 extra wires(purple and white-green) that appear to have been connected to the POS of the main battery?

Why do I have a goofy harness that emanates from the fuel tank and appears to have had some odd connections?

If it was standard setup, it would have been done already!

This is why I am asking if anyone with a Starcraft encountered these wires.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: SS wiring requests

Good luck I also have a 22 Starcraft and if weather allows I will uncover it and see what is there . I think it is all origional. There may be a extra wire on what you have, that may have been for a windshield wiper but not instaled. Ill let you know what I find My 22 holiday is a 1975 hope the wireing was the same.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: SS wiring requests

A purple IGN wire directly attached to your POS battery post?

Sorry don?t know but Marine batteries typically have two posts, a 3/8"-16 threaded post for the positive terminal, and a 5/16"-18 threaded post for the negative terminal. Use a drill bit to measure your terminal lug holes that may clear up some wires.

One wire coming out of your pitot Speedo?(not the tube)

That?s the power for the light. Hook that to the power for the light for your fuel gauge.
Then hook that one to your light switch. Use another wire to ground the speedo gauge and the fuel gauge and then run another to your ground block. Use one of the nuts on the back of the gauge as your ground post. You know the one that holds the gauge to the dash. Check the bulbs before you power up the circuit with your multi meter.
Look at this link and see how a dash is wired.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=186986

More red POS wires than black NEG wires on your main battery?

Yes more POS wires than NEG are very common on boats.

Any wires near the battery or helm that are white with a green stripe?

Starman do you have a switch that is attached to the bracket on the main motor? The switch is part of the trim / trailer circuit. This switch gets corroded and sometimes it is disabled. That could be one of your mystery wires.

Also, if you have the original fuel gauge, what color wire is attached to the "I" on the back of the gauge.

Don?t know the colour but it needs to be switched (key) power. Do you have a plug in on the front of the throttle / gear shift case. If so is the plug in switched power? Test with your multi meter. You can get new plugs for Merc and run it up to the fuel gauge if you can?t find a wire under your dash that is hot with the key on.

I don?t think Puget Sounds boat will have the same wire colour. His is a different brand of motor.

I have a buddy with a merc like yours and will try to see what he has on his. It won?t be for a few days but your not boating anytime soon are you?

GLG

 

[Starman8]

Re: SS wiring requests

Thanks GLG.

Here is what I think is going on with the wacky wiring, but will try and trace with a multimeter.

The white with green stripe wire appears twice, one looks like a poor attempt to power the fuel gauge as the prior owner said it never worked after the new permanent tank was installed. It looks like it was directly wired to the POS post. The same color also appears in a harness tied to the fuel tank.

I am not going to hook it up initially. I will try and trace where it goes to which may require opening up some sheathing. I will rewire the fuel gauge according to the diagrams provided on this site. That possibly eliminates some confusion.

I already planned wiring gauge backlights jumped from the bow running light.

If the above works, then that leaves a purple wire on the POS battery post. A Merc expert on this site mentioned the 1979 tower and trim were unique and the Trim and Engine were wired separately. He mentioned that the purple wire could actually be the power feed for the IGN switch on the control box?

I was always under the impression it was fed from the engine harness. I suppose that can be traced by hooking up the main engine red/black to the battery and turn on the key, or once again, remove the sheathing in the cable run to see where it goes to.

My trim motor has its own red/black to the battery. From the trim motor, a 3 wire cable(green-blue-purple) goes from the trim motor to the control box, one for up, down, and trailer I was told. My control arm does not have a 3 button switching whereas the middle one is/was suppose to be the trim limiter.

I do know this. When I tested the trim, the down switch will lower it all the way, but the up switch stops at a certain point(limiter), and to raise the engine full up only works with the trailer button, so I suppose it was originally wired to enable the limiter.

If this purple wire that apparently was attached to the battery POS is for the limiter, then I just assume leave it off so I can fully raise with the UP button?

Everything else is standard except those items and tracing my panel ground which erroneously may be spliced into the engine ground, which is not desired. If that rings true, then all I have to do is disconnect my stern light and bilge ground and tie them into a fresh ground wire direct from battery to panel.

Fun stuff, isn't it!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: SS wiring requests

Boat wiring makes my head hurt

I ripped all mine out and started from scratch last spring. This winter I'm going to do the same again, and use a central fuse block as mentioned.

My trim/tilt is a bracket, not on my Merc so I can't help you there.

Good luck, wish I was more help

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: SS wiring requests

Starman 8--- I give up. Good luck on your wireing problem.

 

[Starman8]

Re: SS wiring requests

Puget, mine had the wiper and I disassembled it. It had 3 wires direct to the panel and was fed there on a switch. It is available to anyone here who wants it for FREE.

As I mentioned, the odd wires will not be used initially and some tracing and the process of elimination will get it wired OK.

The first order of business is finding where my panel ground main black wire leads to and how it is/was grounded. From there, the panel switches are easy. The fuel and speedo backlights are easy, and I will fix the botched fuel gauge wiring. If the panel works 100%, then I can move to the trim and tilt, then the engine. If all is AOK and I still have 2 goofy wires, then they don't get attached anywhere.

As I mentioned, I never heard of a non red/black attached to a battery?

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: SS wiring requests

Here is what I think is going on with the wacky wiring, but will try and trace with a multimeter.

Tracing with multi meter is the way to go as you don?t need to open up the wire harness to check the run.

I will rewire the fuel gauge according to the diagrams provided on this site.

As you should if the POS did it wrong.

I already planned wiring gauge backlights jumped from the bow running light.

You mean the bow running light switch right.

A Merc expert on this site mentioned the 1979 tower and trim were unique and the Trim and Engine were wired separately. He mentioned that the purple wire could actually be the power feed for the IGN switch on the control box?

He could be correct on that count.

I do know this. When I tested the trim, the down switch will lower it all the way, but the up switch stops at a certain point(limiter), and to raise the engine full up only works with the trailer button, so I suppose it was originally wired to enable the limiter.

You have proven that the trim pump is wired OK mark the wires, draw up a schematic and your done with that circuit.

If this purple wire that apparently was attached to the battery POS is for the limiter, then I just assume leave it off so I can fully raise with the UP button?

That purple wire has nothing to do with the trim circuit and that?s not how to disable the limiter. Check your trim circuit schematic you will see how to disable the limiter.

Everything else is standard except those items and tracing my panel ground which erroneously may be spliced into the engine ground, which is not desired. If that rings true, then all I have to do is disconnect my stern light and bilge ground and tie them into a fresh ground wire direct from battery to panel.

If you say so. I think I understand. The key if to have good grounds and do it right.

GLG

 

[Starman8]

Re: SS wiring requests

Did another visual on the wiring and leaning toward unsheathing.

Started at the panel harness, still wondering why colors change at each end of the clip connector? Anyway, further inspection revealed a disconnect midway thru the gunwale of the pink sender wire?

Also determined that as you follow the cable of wires, junctions, adds, etc. occur.

Traced visually the wires from the fuel tank and battery area, they also merge at some point. Yikes.

Anyway, what I first want to do is hook up what I believe is the screwy panel red and ground to the battery. Then I want to
test the red and black at the panel. At this juncture, can I use a simple 12v test light red on red, black on black and see if the bell rings? Not a multimeter, just a simple test light.

If this is an OK approved method, then I can conclude my panel ground is as follows:

Black wire at panel via harness. On opposite end of clip, the black grabs the bow light ground, then flows back and grabs the bilge ground, anchor light, then connects to ground on fuel tank via the funny harness which was hooked to my NEG battery post.

Since it appears my pink sender was cut and the PO tried to have this wired, and never worked, better to remove that mess.

Also during the looksee, no wire from control box to panel for IGN power to fuel gauge. There is the female end of a plug in on my control box. Is there suppose to be a cable that plugs in there and leads to the dash? If not, then I rather borrow continuous power and use a toggle switch to read the gauge and complete that circuit.

We all know how this stuff is suppose to work, but a old tin can will definetly have its share of patchwork messes!

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: SS wiring requests

Have fun When I bought my 16 SS I cut all wires to everything and ran new wires and a common ground to a multi. panel. The 200 Johnson has its own wires dirictly from the motor and tilt, and connected to the battery. None of the formentioned wireing has any thing to do with the motor or tilt/trim. Again good hunting these things can make you really scratch your head. Thats why a complete rewire makes sense.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: SS wiring requests

Also during the looksee, no wire from control box to panel for IGN power to fuel gauge. There is the female end of a plug in on my control box. Is there suppose to be a cable that plugs in there and leads to the dash? If not, then I rather borrow continuous power and use a toggle switch to read the gauge and complete that circuit.

Bingo that?s the plug in. I?m not sure if it?s switched power or not that is something you need to test for. Use a mulit meter and you will see there is a NEG and a POS in that plug. You can get the male end of the plug at any merc dealer. Test the female end before you go buy the plug to make sure it is switched or just grab a hot wire from your switch panel if that turns out to be non-switched.

GLG