Wiring question??

[MikeMo]

Uusually this is pretty simple for me. At least it has been in the past. I'm wiring a new 16' princecraft starfish. Bow light, stern light, electric start 20hp yamaha (3 yrs old). I put a switch in at the back (toggle switch) to control the lights. All slices were soldered together. Lights and bettery have separate feeds.
When I tested it, the lights worked and the motor started to smoke!! (Motor was not turned even turned on!) Turned off the switch and the smoke stopped. Tested the motor and no damage seems to have been done.
All of these are running off one battery. No lines have shorts that I can see.
What did I do wrong??

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: Wiring question??

im no expert in the wiring field(as u might kno from my other topic) but i would say that you prolly have a short somewhere. i have done it a few times before where i hooked up wires that shouldnt be and they fried. my problem with that was that i had to replace all the wiring i put in cuz it completly melted the wires.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring question??

A diagram of what you did would help. When you say lights and battery have separate feeds, that's confusing since the battery IS the device supplying the current. Everything else is fed from it. It is apparent that the light switch is back feeding something in the engine. The wiring path should be as follows:

1) Battery POS to fuse to line side of the switch.
2) Load side of the switch to the lights. (This should be an ON-OFF-ON switch by the way so you can turn on the NAV lights (bow and stern) or just the ANC (anchor) light when not under way at night.
3) Ground side of the lights to battery NEG.
4) Engine battery cable to POS and NEG on battery.