Wiring Hell

[mercerfisherman]

I am a novice boater. I have a 20 year old fishing boat with the following operating features: Bilge pump, navigation lights, tach, speedometer, livewell and fishfinder. I have four red wires that hook up to my starter battery positive post. And four black wires that hook up to my starter battery negative post. When all are hooked up, my bilge pump works. My lights work. My livewell works. My tach works. But my fishfinder doesn't work. And I can't really tell if my speedometer works until I'm back on the water. I assume my big red and black wire is for starting the outboard engine. My question is: Can I check each of the remaining wires independently (in pairs + / -) to see what's powering what without causing any damage to my electrical system or fuses?

 

[ricksrster]

Re: Wiring Hell

Yes. Disconnect them one at a time and see what stops working. do all your accessories have seperate inline fuses? You could rewire using one red pos and one black neg to your dash an install a fuse buss and a ground buss. Makes things easier to trace.

 

[mercerfisherman]

Re: Wiring Hell

Thanks. It's a start. I know some of my accessories have an in-line fuse. My fishfinder for sure. Finding it is the trick.