What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

[rbryant1492_mfb]

I cleaned and put new ends on all my connections to my battery. new battery cables and new heat shrink ends on all other wires to the battery
So here are my question

1)With the key totally out I can flip all of my switches on and what the comtrol work. lights, bilge and blower.

2) The aftermarlet radio is wired directly to the battery though an inline fuse is this ok?

I do need to get a new horn it seems stuck

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

actually i like my ignition to be for the motor only, and have a master switch for everything else. that way when anchored, you can operate what you want. bilge pump should be direct wired, with a float switch.

 

[PondTunes]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

On most boats esp outboards the ignition and controls only affect the engine not things like nav/bilge they aren't integrated into the controls. There isn't normally a "switched" or accessory circuit like on a car.

 

[jtexas]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

a lot of outboards do have switched accessory power available at the keyswitch, usually its a purple wire, but a lot of boats just don't use it for anything - I have the tach on it, and the nav lights (light switch on/key off = anchor, switch on/key on = anchor + nav), that's it.

Don't have radio, but....if you switch it off with the key you'll lose your presets; on the other hand if you don't switch it off it'll be a battery drain.

 

[PondTunes]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

I guess you Learn something new everyday.. maybe it's newer outboards who knows!, as for the radio if wired properly the red wire would be wired to the switch and the yellow to the battery to preserve presets. It would take a VERY long time to run your battery dead via the radio memory wire.

 

[ziggy]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

1)With the key totally out I can flip all of my switches on and what the comtrol work. lights, bilge and blower.

2) The aftermarlet radio is wired directly to the battery though an inline fuse is this ok?

that's what i have for non switched powered items too. + a cigg. lighter socket + the horn.....

as for the radio. my yellow and red wires are to always powered as noted above, remove the faceplate (assumin ya have one) and it won't drain the batt. but still retain it's memory.......

 

[PhilDx]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

Only the engine itself is on the key for mine. Everything else is on it's own switches, but I also have a battery isolator switch on the main battery positive lead, so I can leave the boat stored without worrying about battery drain.

 

[Big Keepers]

Re: What items should be on when the key is in the off position.

The best way to use accessories is to isolate them from the motor so the key can be off and you can still operate the bilge pumps, use the stereo, turn on the anchor light, etc.

This is how I re-wired my boat. Starting and house battery separated with an on/off switch and an auto charging relay link. I have a positive and negative bus under the dash. The switch panel is pigtailed and gets its power from the + bus. The stereo, sonar and VHF will all get power from the + bus and ground directly to the - bus. They all have their own inline fuses that if cut out, void the warranty.

I have an automatic bilge pump in the rear that is run off the switch as well. For the auto wire I crimped an inline automotive style two post fuse holder. It goes directly to the positive post of the starting battery for now. I'm going to move it to the house + though. It only draws .28 mA per day supposedly. I used duplex wire to get power from the switches to the pumps, lights, etc. Horn, nav and anchor lights all get grounded at the bus.

I have three LED courtesy lights that I was going to power from one switch but since they have their own on/off switches (you push the lense) I may pig tail the three +'s and -'s then run them to the buses as well. Why use a dash switch when I have the battery switch to make sure they aren't left on over night.

I will be using a switch for my gauge lights. I'll just send 12V from a switch to a gauge and pigtail them all from there.

Hey maybe someone can tell me where I can find these neat little plug connector's that have four boots on them. My Yamaha had them installed at the factory but I can't seem to find them in stores. I've seen Blue Sea's three way butt connector but this different. There are four connections, one to send power and the three to branch off it.