Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

1990 Bowrider 1850XL just bought from a friend and all the dash guages work but some of the navigational, accessory etc. switches cause problems. When the boat motor (alternator) is running, all is well. On land with only battery, I turn a switch on and none of the other switches work??? I have swapped two of the 12V switches for new ones form custom marine supply and still have the same problem. I see the dashboard power switches are in a series and have checked switches, fuses and connections etc. Everything looks okay and works fine until randomly one switch fails and dash guages go to the right indicating a short circuit? When I start the boat all is well. Starting the boat seems to reset the shorted circuit and all works well, even on battery, until I use one switch and back to failure mode.

Any thoughts on how to isolate this problem?

Thanks for the guidance. I'll check the voltage this weekend.
Any suggestions on removing visible rust or corrosion on electrical connections or components?

I used my voltmeter to test voltage when all is working fine and when the dash circuits fail. Normal conditions, voltage at the battery and guages are the same - 12.6V. When in the problem state, voltage cycles from 11.3 to 11.8V. Other items on independent circuits (radio) work fine. I'm still not sure why everything works fine such as when the engine is running and continues to work until one dash switch is used then back to nothing working???

You have the correct voltage it sounds like, so to me the problem would be a ground... Like wetwilly stated check all connection! The grounds are the most important and will be the likley suspect. :wink_thumbup:

Cj

Well, you were correct. The dash guages and switches are serially connected with the same ground wire. When I remove cig lighter ground wire and connect it to the steering bar, everything works great. Thanks for the advice.

Any thoughts on how to correct? The after-market radio was grounded to the steering bar. Should I do the same with the nav lights and dash guages? It difficult to trace the ground wire back to it's origin.

Any insight will be appreciated.

The ground is going to have to go back to the battery or the engine block which is hooked to the battery. The steering post is not a good location for a ground unless it is hook to the battery. The electricity need to make a loop back to the battery and fiberglass is not a good conductor which is what your steering post is hooked to.

Good Luck :wink_thumbup:
Cj

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

I have been out in my boat the week end and had a intermittent elec problem. I have found that the fuse holders are not tight which is giving me this problem so i need to have a look closer or replace the fuse pannel
My boat is a mariah 180 3.0l I dont know if this will help but might help others in the same sitch
:rolleyes:

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

I have same problem, where did you get new rocker switches from, can't seem to locate what I need for my Navigation light switch.

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

See this sticky thread in the Original Mariah forums: Mariah Parts List

About 1/3 of the way down the page you'll find links to the suppliers of the switches.

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

Custom Marine Supply (800) 992-7922. They are very knowledgeable and helpful.

A few of the switches needed to be replaced but the major problem was poor grounding. I ran a new ground wire and all worked well. You can check for ground wire problems with a basic voltmeter.

Good luck with replacing the switch. I took digital pictures of the switch before replacing to make sure the wires were reattached correctly.

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

I realize this is a late follow-up to this poster's reported problem, but...

When we took delivery of our 1994 182 Barchetta, I found that neither the bilge pump nor the courtesy lights worked. Funny thing was: We were certain we had heard the bilge pump working when we first checked-out the boat and tested all the switches. A mystery, to be sure.

To cut to the chase: It turned out the problem was mildly-corroded fuses and fuse-holders. Just removing and re-inserting the fuses made everything work again.

What I did was remove all the fuses (carefully noting which fuse went in which position!), used a small electronics wire brush on each clip (carefully! One side of each of those fuse blocks goes right to the 12VDC buss!), then applying a product called DeOxIt, wipe, and finished-up by treating them with another product called ProGold. Problem solved.

Jim

Re: Intermittent Electrical Problem
 

I have recently been experiencing Intermittent Electrical Problems. There are times when I go to start it and with the Key on I have no 12 V power to my Dash Instruments and it does nothing. I checked the Deadmans Switch, OK, Shifted into and out of Gear etc. with no help. What I have found is that with a slight tap to the Face of the Throttle it immediately corrects this and powers up all instruments and it will start. (I have the 3000 Model Throttle Assy.) So I took the Panel off that the Throttle Assy mounts to thinking I would find a loose wire or a pinched/nicked wire but never did. Is it possible that I have a Kill switch or Neutral switch going bad, or do these typically just quit?
The last 2 times out on the water while running at cruising speed I have momentarily lost all power (as noted by no power to Info center on Dash) only to have it pick right back up and continue running like nothing ever happened!!! Oh this is worse in rough/choppy conditions. Still sounds to me like a loose connection or nicked wire in the Throttle.

This winter I did have new stereo Installed and I initially thought they may have nicked a Ground Wire somewhere but I'm don't see how tapping the face of the Throttle would correct that.

Any thoughts?

Mike