Electrical help

So I've never wired anything before and I need to start, what I would imagine is a simple wiring project. I need to install a bilge pump and I want to add it to a simple SPST ON-OFF Marine Toggle Switch for it. I would also like to do the same and hook my nav lights to a switch as well. Right now those just hook up to the battery directly. I also have a fish finder and my trolling motor (which will hook up directly to the battery and no need for switches on those. Is that right?) and that's it for electronics at this time.

That being said, I don't know what/how to accomplish this. I've look through the site and found info but no clear cut instructions. Maybe I'm searching wrong. I want to keep this simple. I don't think I need a gang box with multiple switches. I'm thinking I could add these few switches inside one of the bench seats or construct some sort of box and mount it near the transom of the boat like this:



Again, I'm a complete novice and have no experience wiring a boat. Any and all help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

If you're wiring up multiple items, most people will install a ground buss. That way they run a ground wire from the battery to the buss, then they attach the ground from each device to the buss. Next is your hot or positive side. You can use a buss for this as well if you like. The whole purpose of a buss, is so you don't end up with a rats nest of wires on top the battery and you can run a single wire from battery to buss and it keeps the whole wiring job more organized and able to add or expand for future items to be added to the circuit. Wiring like you are describing, you would then run a hot wire from the hot buss to the toggle switch and then from the switch to the device + connection. For your trolling motor, you will need to make direct connections to the battery with both + and -, you'll need the appropriate sized breaker and wire for the size of your TM and the distance the wires run. If you're unsure of what size wires, breakers, etc to use, give us more specific info on your motor size and run distance and someone can help you. Some people have reported interference problems when running their TM and fish finder on the same battery, so keep that in mind.

Something like this:

I would recommend you look into a smaller waterproof (regardless of where you locate it) switch panel with circuit protection built in. It will simplify things greatly by having one main hot wire to power everything but the TM, and can also be had with an ever important 12v outlet as well. There are many configurations, just avoid the cheapest ones unless you want to expand your electrical troubleshooting knowledge sooner than necessary.

I like having a switch on everything so I have redundancy on killing power to loads independently, and absolutely everything when not in use. Very few surprise battery drains this way, only when my kid gets to playing in the boat and leaves something on [-X

As stated above, a dedicated circuit to the TM will be required, and it'll need to be sized properly as well. Here, i like auto reset circuit breakers instead of fuses. But I also carry a few jumper wires in the tool kit in case one gets suck open for some odd reason and I need to bypass it in an emergency. Never needed them, but they are small and better to have and not need..........


The buss bars are nice for grounding, keep things neater and easier to track down problems in the future should they occur.

Bottom line is, each item will need a hot and ground to work, how you go about it will make the difference between having a rat nest of wiring or a minimal amount neatly installed. SJOOW chord is great too. It is chemical/saltwater rated, comes in many configurations with various amounts of conductors, and being double insulated it holds up well in a mild marine environment.

Soldering and heatshrinking connections are the best way to go. But you can also use butt connectors sealed with liquid tape, then heat shrinked as an alternative. Anything less than a sealed, secure, connection will give you troubles at some point.

I'm also curious about how I should wire up my electronics. I'm planning to install 2 6" strip lights, 1 10" combo led light bar, Maybe a bilge pump and navigation lights front/rear. How would you do it? I bought a 4 switch panel from academy and a waterproof box to mount the switches. Do I need a bus? All lights are led

I've been working on just this stuff the past couple days. I made my own buss bar by drilling screw hole in a piece of stock steel bar. Ran the main wire to the battery negative post then a new screw hole for each device negative wire. On the posative side I sprang for an 8 gang switch panel that has a circut breaker for ea. switch. Came pre-wired so all I had to do was put a posative and negative wires to the panel. (the negative went all of 6" to the buss bar). It all worked out great.
I'll be putting some new pics on my build thread here in a few minutes showing that set up.

Y_J said:

I've been working on just this stuff the past couple days. I made my own buss bar by drilling screw hole in a piece of stock steel bar. Ran the main wire to the battery negative post then a new screw hole for each device negative wire. On the posative side I sprang for an 8 gang switch panel that has a circut breaker for ea. switch. Came pre-wired so all I had to do was put a posative and negative wires to the panel. (the negative went all of 6" to the buss bar). It all worked out great.
I'll be putting some new pics on my build thread here in a few minutes showing that set up.

Click to expand...

I'd reconsider using raw steel for a buss bar if it's not plated with chrome or some other conductive rust inhibitor. I think that down the road you'll be fighting rust and what it's doing to all the connections on that buss. And rust will add an endless supply of OHMs to your circuits.

Thanks for the input!

JMichael said:

Y_J said:

I've been working on just this stuff the past couple days. I made my own buss bar by drilling screw hole in a piece of stock steel bar. Ran the main wire to the battery negative post then a new screw hole for each device negative wire. On the posative side I sprang for an 8 gang switch panel that has a circut breaker for ea. switch. Came pre-wired so all I had to do was put a posative and negative wires to the panel. (the negative went all of 6" to the buss bar). It all worked out great.
I'll be putting some new pics on my build thread here in a few minutes showing that set up.

Click to expand...

I'd reconsider using raw steel for a buss bar if it's not plated with chrome or some other conductive rust inhibitor. I think that down the road you'll be fighting rust and what it's doing to all the connections on that buss. And rust will add an endless supply of OHMs to your circuits.

Click to expand...

Now that ya put it that way, makes sence. I was trying to make do with what I had. One more thing to add to the shopping list. Thanks for the heads up.

I appreciate the responses everyone!

bsacc said:

I'm also curious about how I should wire up my electronics. I'm planning to install 2 6" strip lights, 1 10" combo led light bar, Maybe a bilge pump and navigation lights front/rear. How would you do it? I bought a 4 switch panel from academy and a waterproof box to mount the switches. Do I need a bus? All lights are led

Click to expand...

You'll want to add up the amp draw for each item, and pull a wire that will handle the total amp load to power the switch panel. I would install a fuse at the battery end of that wire as a first/last measure of safety. Then each circuit would power the individual loads from the switch panel, each fused in the panel or just downstream of the panel if it doesn't have fuses. A ground buss would help keep things orderly, install it with the same size wire as the load's respective hot wire, and the main ground wire should be the same size as the main hot wire.

Anyone have any suggestion where I should place this on my boat? I'm thinking either inside on of my benches makes the most sense or building a box that will house this. Here are a couple pics with cardboard on what I'm envisioning:



and it would open up like this:


The battery and rest of the wiring for the bilge, nav lights and fishfinder would be housed inside as well with the switch and buss bar would go on the outside panel. Any thoughts?

I would love to see pics of any work anyone may have done with something similar to this.

Here's a couple pics of mine. Only the buss bar is inside the box.

!!! Update on my electrical project !!!

I just ordered the following items:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VHWLP2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019M3JJM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Now, I'll probably need to get some extra wire as well but I'm waiting until everything is here before purchasing. Someone asked how far these devices would be from the battery and every item - bilge, nav lights, trolling motor and depth finder are less than 6' from device to battery. That said, I'll be following this guide:



but I have questions. Most notably how would I select the CIRCUIT TYPE and know whether a circuit is critical or non-critical? This site states that Critical circuits, with 3% allowable voltage drop, include Bilge blowers, Electronics & Navigation lights. Is that correct? If so, then how do I find out the amperage (is that right) for each device?

Also, do I still need a buss bar with this setup? I'm also thinking of adding a separate plug for the trolling motor to connect to. Is that a good or bad idea?

Here is a list of the electric items I'll be connecting and working with:

Minn Kota C2 Endura 40 lb transom trolling motor
older Eagle model fish finder
Shoreline Marine Bilge Pump 600 GPH
Nav lights (don't know the brand), both bow and stern - these are already wired with a simple connection to the battery.

I feel dumb asking these questions but I just want to do it right. Please keep in mind that I'm a complete novice when it comes to electrical but very willing to learn! If I'm leaving something out, please let me know.

Any of those devices should indicate how many watts they draw - simply divide that by 12v. Keep in mind that chart is for the full circuit length, which is double the straight line distance (as routed) from the battery to the accessory.

pymybob said:

!!! Update on my electrical project !!!
<snip>

but I have questions. Most notably how would I select the CIRCUIT TYPE and know whether a circuit is critical or non-critical?

Here is a list of the electric items I'll be connecting and working with:

Minn Kota C2 Endura 40 lb transom trolling motor
older Eagle model fish finder
Shoreline Marine Bilge Pump 600 GPH
Nav lights (don't know the brand), both bow and stern - these are already wired with a simple connection to the battery.

<snip>

Click to expand...

Fish finder is critical - because it is voltage sensitive. Figure on a 3 amp draw and use the chart to maintain < 3% voltage drop

None of your other equipment is critical by that definition.

For your Minn Kota check here:

https://www.minnkotamotors.com/Support/Battery-Selection---Rigging/

This will give you wire & fuse sizes, etc.

Bilge - I went w/ 12 ga [overkill] just in case the motor starts to bind up. I also over fused at 15 amps where 7 amp fuse should be fine. If I need the pump - I need it. I don't need a blown fuse.

Nav lights 16 ga.

Yes you need a bus for negative at least and maybe positive also depending on your switch set up.

fish finder isn't critical...it'll function with >10% voltage drop you're fine

This is great. Just what I needed. Thanks everyone!

FYI...here's something I started as a 'draft' back in 2008 and posted on myClassic Parker website and have sent out to many, many others. It's just an intro into DIY boat wiring.

The prices are out-dated and the link to 'Best Boat Wire' website was replaced by this one for Genuine Dealz,https://www.genuinedealz.com/. I don't allege it is complete nor the only way to wire a boat, but perhaps it could be helpful.

But if anyone has input and constructive criticism to offer, I'll update it, as I have the original MS Word version. Plus I am in the midst of re-wiring a 16' Starcraft, at least after I get the transom fixed, so I plan to update this tutorial anyway.

Then maybe with YOUR help and input, we can post it here as a sticky to help other tin boat owners.

pymybob said:

!!! Update on my electrical project !!!

I just ordered the following items:

Click to expand...

That's a decent switch panel. I'm running the 5 switch/power port model on my boat. Been installed for a year and a half now with no problems yet. I have 3 LED circuits, my FF/GPS combo, and my stereo on mine. I pulled an independent circuit to the power port so it'll carry the load of my q-beam or other high amp loads without problems.