Wiring

Need a simple wiring diagram. For a 77 lowes bowt. I've tripped it now I need to wire it.
Trolling motor on front

Trolling motor on back
2 big pumps
Lights
Battery charger2-3 batteries

Are you looking for an OEM drawing or one made for the description in this post?

If you need wire sizes, you need to provide the lengths between batteries, switches, fuse block, etc.

Lights, are you talking nav, interior, or both?

Amp rating for bilge pumps? Pump switches? Are the pumps wired for emergency power?

Amp ratings for trolling motors?

Are trolling motors 12vdc or 24vdc?

Are you planning on using trolling motor battery to run lights etc?

Battery chargers will depend on battery hookup, separate, series, or parallel.

The drawings are kind of simple, but listing all the correct rated parts is a task.

you mean like thius... View attachment A102_73191_A_03.pdf

old_fart said:

you mean like thius... A102_73191_A_03.pdf

Click to expand...

Really nIce, but a couple of items to consider.

Fuse panel rated at 30a, Main fuse is 20a, but 26a total in fuses in the panel. Some may think they could use the spares at the displayed value. The two spare fuses, show as 1 amp.

Bildge pump, if under hidden panels, I would wire the float switch (brown wire) directly to fuse panel or battery(fused). My personal experience and belief is that when you hook the float switch to a on/off switch, it is no longer auto/emergency. If you can see the floors, no problem.

Really nIce, but a couple of items to consider.

Fuse panel rated at 30a, Main fuse is 20a, but 26a total in fuses in the panel.
Some may think they could use the spares at the displayed value.
The two spare fuses, show as 1 amp.

Click to expand...

A fuse exists to protect the downstream wiring.
It does almost nothing to limit current (**more discussion below)
before blowing.
The panel rating is an fun number,
but as long as the upstream circuit is fused at or below the wire and
panel rating, all is fine. That particular schematic calls
out #12 wire, hence the 20A fuse (close to the battery!).
That is to say you are not in danger of overheating the wire or
the panel.
The particular application for which that schematic was created draws
a total of about 5 amps.

As to using the spares, you certainly can use them at 5A if you
use adequate wire from panel to load. As to running 26A out
of the panel should all loads be 'ON', well you'll have to
go to the fuse vendor and carefully inspect the data sheet
for the fuses in use to see what might happen in practice.
So I rely on "A fuse exists to protect the downstream wiring",
and don't let the wires get hot... The #12 from battery
to panel shows excess ampacity with 80C insulation
(80C being the lowest rated insulation).
If voltage drop is an issue (as would be the case with a
trolling motor feed), adjust parameters and recalculate
(i.e. use bigger wire to waste less energy in heating up
the wire).

The particular panel called out in that schematic is simply the most
cost-effective and convenient for the intended application
(for most on this board, in small open boats).
The physical implementation has the fuse panel and switches
mounted under the console, out of the weather and away from
getting bashed by a knee or other equipment; i.e. it's in
a small jon with a console.

Bilge pump, if under hidden panels,
I would wire the float switch (brown wire)
directly to fuse panel or battery(fused).
My personal experience and belief is that when
you hook the float switch to a on/off switch,
it is no longer auto/emergency.
If you can see the floors, no problem.

Click to expand...

Good point for a wet boat!
Flip the float switch the the off position,
and you're an immediate hit on You-Tube
Brings to mind all those short boats leaving Haulover.

For a dry boat, perhaps a different set of issues and goals?
When the boat is in the garage, switches off avoids unintended
battery drain.

So, do you-all keep a spare drain plug handy so once
you're at the bottom of the ramp, in the water, you
can hold up up for your XYL to see? (I get this
from many, many, years ago... didn't you read that
Mercotronic thread last week; ROTFLMAO)

-W
XYL for non-Hams is the Wifey
==============
**
You use Ohms law with the circuit impedance
to determine a maximum current that can flow through
the circuit...
You got me wondering so I got the DVM out and did
a cursory measurement of the fuse (I can't see if
it's a 5A or a 1A) in the panel and see around 150mOhm
which, by itself, limits current to about 80A. Good
luck getting that much to flow for more than a few
uSec before the fuse vaporizes .
I had a peek on a fuse mfg. website for AGC style
fuses and they gave around 150mOhm for a 1A device
and about 90mOhm for a 5A device.

And, for those still interested
(this means you're not unconscious on your keyboards)
There is also a routing sheet and a crude mechanical drawing...

old_fart said:

And, for those still interested
(this means you're not unconscious on your keyboards)
There is also a routing sheet and a crude mechanical drawing...

Click to expand...

Perfect, on fuse panel, your 100 percent correct, and I would wire my boat using the attached schematic. Quick look and some miscalculation on my part.

Automatic Bilge - the ABYC standard is that an automatic bilge system must have an accessible manual override switch. Manual Bilge - must have a accessible switch. Wiring as an automatic bilge takes out some human factors.

If you have battery drain from bilge pump in a dry boat, in a garage even with auto switch on, something is wrong.

InSaneFisherMan said:

old_fart said:

And, for those still interested
(this means you're not unconscious on your keyboards)
There is also a routing sheet and a crude mechanical drawing...

Click to expand...

Perfect, on fuse panel, your 100 percent correct, and I would wire my boat using the attached schematic. Quick look and some miscalculation on my part.

Automatic Bilge - the ABYC standard is that an automatic bilge system must have an accessible manual override switch. Manual Bilge - must have a accessible switch. Wiring as an automatic bilge takes out some human factors.

If you have battery drain from bilge pump in a dry boat, in a garage even with auto switch on, something is wrong.

Click to expand...

In a previous life...
The automatic pump in the old Century Resorter was wired through an outboard keyswitch,
Take the key out to supply power to the float switch, stick the key in and turn it on to
disable the automatic part... Loved those old Johnsons for stuff like that
For some reason the key was always out of the switch :-(

Thanks. I sat down and fpdid my layout and wired... kill switches o the larger stuff..