Wiring Question

[Oldsaltydog]

I have two switches on my dash marked AUX. Each switch has two prongs and in each case a red wire is attached to one prong, but none to the other. May I assume that these auxiliary switches are not currently connected? In any case, they do not seem to operate anything. So could I attach another red line to the empty prong, lead it to a new gauge, along with a black ground wire from the fuse board? What do you think? Please advise. I have a wiring diagram for the boat, but it shows nothing about the AUX circuits.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Wiring Question

You should use a multi-meter and probe for voltage. Start with the presumption those red wires are carrying voltage. I would never wired voltage to a switch that was not fully configured. Properly wired, those aux switches (spst) will be switching (+). If that is the case, you can add any appropriate load to the free terminal(s). Note: the load must be within the tolerances for the switches and wiring…i.e. amp rating.<br /><br />"Yes" on your description for wiring the gnd (-) back to the distribution source.<br /><br />Don’t have a multi-meter? You can probably figure out something using a 12v light bulb to test for voltage.

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: Wiring Question

Thanks for the advice.