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32-3 Ignition panel wiring surprises and queries

windblown

Member III
I'm planning ignition panel wiring and switch changes, but have found some curious after market changes l'd like some input on.
First, I've traced wiring from the propane tank shut-off to the current tachometer to the solenoid gas on/off switch located over the galley sink. The wires are the 3-strand white/black/green in the white casing leading to and from the tach. The black wire is not connected at any end.
Here's the picture of the wiring at the tachometer (I've cut/loosened cable ties to see connections better).

20210102_150503.jpg

Attached to the top of the tachometer (with alot of sillicone?) is a round, plastic device. I'm guessing this is from the Nexus instruments that have been removed or from the original autohelm?
Note: I have determined that the grey wire with white tracer that is running over the top of the tach. Goes to the old nexus remote plug that is still around to the right.
Any insight or observations at this stage are most welcome.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Some excellent material in this thread:
Follow up on the embedded links in the replies, as well, for more enlightenment.

I have learned, thru painful experience, that's it is FAR better to "start over" when you have worn-out wiring and connectors from 30 years ago, made worse by prior owners' inconsiderate additions and modifications. (sigh)
 
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KWay

Member II
Well the "thingy glue to the Tach is your alarm buzzer by the looks of it. The white wire looks to be tied into a ground. The black wire
is hooked up to positive 12 volt.........But I would put a meter on first just to verify. Green is to the Solenoid?
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
If you can obtain a wiring diagram for your boat (it may be in the resources section on this site, or elsewhere on the internet), it might help you problem solve and then consider rewiring so you are comfortable that it's done right.
Frank
 

Chris Mc.

Member III
I'm planning ignition panel wiring and switch changes, but have found some curious after market changes l'd like some input on.
First, I've traced wiring from the propane tank shut-off to the current tachometer to the solenoid gas on/off switch located over the galley sink. The wires are the 3-strand white/black/green in the white casing leading to and from the tach. The black wire is not connected at any end.
Here's the picture of the wiring at the tachometer (I've cut/loosened cable ties to see connections better).

View attachment 36678

Attached to the top of the tachometer (with alot of sillicone?) is a round, plastic device. I'm guessing this is from the Nexus instruments that have been removed or from the original autohelm?
Note: I have determined that the grey wire with white tracer that is running over the top of the tach. Goes to the old nexus remote plug that is still around to the right.
Any insight or observations at this stage are most welcome.
I’m guessing the little round plastic device looks like an alarm/buzzer for high temp or low oil pressure.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
If you can obtain a wiring diagram for your boat (it may be in the resources section on this site, or elsewhere on the internet), it might help you problem solve and then consider rewiring so you are comfortable that it's done right.
Frank
Regarding that engine panel, if you have one, the Universal engine manual that should have come with your boat has a diagram for the wiring harness. This is separate from the EY wiring scheme for DC circuits.
Also, please consider bypassing all (!) of the ancient "trailer connectors" in the Universal harness -- they were severely under-spec'd originally by Universal/Westerbeke, and are a potential fire hazard.

Sidebar: (Past practices like that were one reason we moved this company way down the list when considering an engine replacement for our boat. The Kubota engine 'heart of the drive train' is great, but the peripherals 'engineered' by Universal were a mixed bag.
 

windblown

Member III
Well the "thingy glue to the Tach is your alarm buzzer by the looks of it. The white wire looks to be tied into a ground. The black wire
is hooked up to positive 12 volt.........But I would put a meter on first just to verify. Green is to the Solenoid?
Yes, alarm buzzer. Thank you.
Thanks for the correction on the black wire connection, too. Green and black (and white) run forward to the LPG switch in galley. I'll check the connections on the solenoid there. Here's where they go through to galley:
Wiring from ignition panel to LPG shutoff.jpg
 

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windblown

Member III
Some excellent material in this thread:
Follow up on the embedded links in the replies, as well, for more enlightenment.

I have learned, thru painful experience, that's it is FAR better to "start over" when you have worn-out wiring and connectors from 30 years ago, made worse by prior owners' inconsiderate additions and modifications. (sigh

Regarding that engine panel, if you have one, the Universal engine manual that should have come with your boat has a diagram for the wiring harness. This is separate from the EY wiring scheme for DC circuits.
Also, please consider bypassing all (!) of the ancient "trailer connectors" in the Universal harness -- they were severely under-spec'd originally by Universal/Westerbeke, and are a potential fire hazard.

Sidebar: (Past practices like that were one reason we moved this company way down the list when considering an engine replacement for our boat. The Kubota engine 'heart of the drive train' is great, but the peripherals 'engineered' by Universal were a mixed bag.
Thanks, Loren. Yes, bypassing the trailer plugs was my end goal, thanks to the wise counsel here. I do have the Universal wiring diagram, but it's the additions that add intrigue.
 

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
Deborah, et al - Here is a wire color code list I made up from my E-34 and wiring diagrams for the E-32-3 and E-35-3 along with the BIA and ABYC standards. More information than anyone actually needs, but it's all just sitting there, decaying on my hard drive.

I hope it's helpful.
 

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Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Combined the following 32-3 drawing:
20200426_182921-4K.jpg


With the engine drawing, a ship's wiring drawing, and what I've found, then did some re-arranging for legibility to make this:


RAGTIME%20OEM%20SCHEM%209_21_20-X2.jpg



It looks like some of what is attached to your tach + terminal may be there because somebody ran out of room on the key switch A terminal. Electrically it'd be the same as long as the wire is heavy enough for the current.
 

wynkoop

Member III
Silver Maiden's wiring is a hot mess and it only had one owner before me, but he in some places used cloth covered #22 phone wire for connections. I recognized it from my time working as a phone tech in the 1980's. I never ripped any of it out or did any replacement because everything just worked, but now that some of the connections he made are starting to turn a lovely blue/green and some of the wire insulation is dying I plan a total ripe replacement in the warm weather.

My plan is to run mostly new wiring the swap over to the new wire after it is in place, then remove the old. I say mostly new because the factory 12 volt lighting circuits are still in fine shape. I am looking at doing it this way to minimize time I would be unable to use the boat.

I will also upgrade some of the factory wiring. I find the main 12V feed from the battery switch to the switch panel to be undersized, especially when one notes that the Ammeter is in the hot lead at the panel. It can have 25-30 amps running through it and the leads Ericson used on each side of the meter are not really up to the task.
 

Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Was the guy a Model T mechanic or something? Cloth covered wiring should be totally replaced as it has NO place in a boat and with corrosion becomes a hazard.
The minimum ABYC wire size is 16 AWG.
You'll probably find the trailer connectors still there, so get those out for sure, as well.
There are several threads around here about replacing the ammeter with a voltmeter which has more than one benefit.

I find that trying to do things piece-meal takes as much time as just replacing everything in an area and doing it right ends up in a more reliable result.
 

windblown

Member III
Combined the following 32-3 drawing:
20200426_182921-4K.jpg


With the engine drawing, a ship's wiring drawing, and what I've found, then did some re-arranging for legibility to make this:


RAGTIME%20OEM%20SCHEM%209_21_20-X2.jpg



It looks like some of what is attached to your tach + terminal may be there because somebody ran out of room on the key switch A terminal. Electrically it'd be the same as long as the wire is heavy enough for the current.
This is quite a piece of art, thank you.
 

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
Ericson, and lots of prior owners it seems, liked to use the (+) posts of many engine panel gauges as 'buses' to distribute DC power to add-on devices near the engine panel. This avoided the problem of having to add new wiring runs from the batteries up to the stern. A propane sniffer is an odd choice for this, though. You wouldn't have been able to use the propane system without the engine panel being switched to on.

More on engine panel re-wiring: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/another-engine-panel-upgrade-pt-1.701/
 
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wynkoop

Member III
Tin Kicker no trailer connectors, only barrier strips, but the cold weather was upon me before the really nasty stuff was discovered, which was only discovered because of other work I was doing. Since a bunch of the wiring is on the front bulkhead of the lazerrette and I do not like working in the cold without gloves on the electrics will wait till spring. They are working as they have been since I got the boat, and it will take some tracing to figure out what all that phone wire goes to!
 
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