After being stranded three times in my first year of ownership with no wind and no working engine because of the wiring, I decided to strip out my entire engine wiring "system" and start over. The first step was to decide what I wanted and didn't want.
-Eliminate the high amperage circuit running to the panel and through the ignition switch. This is a fire hazard. I had several switches fail.
-Separate the glow plug and starter switches. I found pushing both switches with your nose on the cockpit sole every time you wanted to start the engine to be a pain. The glow plugs are only needed if the engine is really cold.
-Eliminate the long high amperage run for the glow plugs to prevent voltage drop.
-Eliminate the ammeter and install a voltmeter.
-Raise all wiring connectors as high as possible above the bilge.
-Eliminate in line fuses and collect all fuses together for ease of troubleshooting.
-Provide a means for troubleshooting while single handing.
-Make all connectors screw on solid contact to eliminate possible arcing of push on connectors and use tinned wire.
With all this in mind, I sat down with a blank piece of paper and started to design. What I came up with is the "Gold Plated" Terra Nova system. I have not experienced an electrical problem since. That includes my "near death" experience with salt water over the top of the dinette table. Any original wiring was toast but my newly installed wiring survived without problems.
This kind of system is not required but there are some things that absolutely need to be corrected.
-Get rid of the trailer connector harness and the excess wire immediately. This is a fire hazard.
-Pull all connectors as high above the bilge as possible.
-Replace any automotive type connectors in the bilge with shrink fit ones to prevent corrosion.
-Check and clean your ground connector to the engine block. Use dielectric grease on it. This connector is where so many electrical problems originate.
-Use marine rated connectors. They are more expensive than automotive connectors but you get a much more robust connector.
-Use dielectric grease on the connectors. It is most amazing stuff.
Good luck and happy boating.
Well Guys, I almost lost Terra Nova Thursday. I got a call from the Harbormaster at about 4 pm that she was taking on water fast. By the time I reached the boat ten minutes later, the anchor was resting on the dock. Upon opening her up, the water was up to the bottom of the chart table. I...
ericsonyachts.org
The rewiring of Terra Nova's engine is complete. The incentive for this was the frying of the fuel pump, the tachometer, and the temp gauge. It turned out that the fuel fuel pump was running on 9.7 volts and that the rest of the system was running on 10.7 volts. This was caused by a bad ground...
ericsonyachts.org
