I opened the dash of my 1986 Overnighter to find a lot of wiring insulation chewed by mice probably. Everything works with exception of hour meter. Suggestions? Not sure if it’s over my head to replace this, and is there wiring harnesses available. It’s a spaghetti mess.
1986 overnighter dash wiring
- Thread starter brodie129
- Start date
It may be that a lot of the wires are direct runs to the devices they control or it may be that the entire panel has connectors that allow it to be disconnected and removed.
My first reaction to your question is that if you are asking if the job is over your head, it may very well be
Now if the wires are in good shape other than the chewed sections, you may e able to undo one end and slip a piece of heat shrink tubing over it and shrink it. To do so, you may need to cut off the end terminal connector and after heat shrink, reinstall a new terminal.
If the chewed spots are small, you may be able to cut the bare spots and reattach using butt crimp connectors.
Wrapping the bare spots with tape will not hold up.
Be aware that there may be dozens of color combinations and it won't be practical to rewire using the original colors ( which tell you what the device is in most cases) Make sure you tag and label everything and take a ton of pictures.
Finally, if you are going to crimp on new connectors, use good quality heat shrink connectors and a good quality crimper. That toll might cost $50 but is a necessity. Buy extra connectors and practice first on spare wire.
Finally,, just take your time and have fun.
My first reaction to your question is that if you are asking if the job is over your head, it may very well be
Now if the wires are in good shape other than the chewed sections, you may e able to undo one end and slip a piece of heat shrink tubing over it and shrink it. To do so, you may need to cut off the end terminal connector and after heat shrink, reinstall a new terminal.
If the chewed spots are small, you may be able to cut the bare spots and reattach using butt crimp connectors.
Wrapping the bare spots with tape will not hold up.
Be aware that there may be dozens of color combinations and it won't be practical to rewire using the original colors ( which tell you what the device is in most cases) Make sure you tag and label everything and take a ton of pictures.
Finally, if you are going to crimp on new connectors, use good quality heat shrink connectors and a good quality crimper. That toll might cost $50 but is a necessity. Buy extra connectors and practice first on spare wire.
Finally,, just take your time and have fun.
In addition, no, there are no original wiring harnesses available. You would be making your own as go. There are, however, color codes in the owner's manuals (download from Grady's site). You will (likely) also be dealing with the "previous owner" variable...
The standard colors charts may help identify what the wire connects to, You will be hard pressed to find the same color schemes though. I am not aware of any vendors for multi color coded marine wire. Thats not a show stopper but labelling is important. As Dennis said, if a previous owner rewired, he or she probably didn't use the standard color codes.
If you are going to cut and replace or recrimp, do one wire at a time!
Regarding you hour meter; There are different types of meters, some just use the ignition voltage to start the meter running and some use a signal from the motor itself. The type of meter will dictate how to troubleshoot it. So if you can get the model number of the meter, you can probably get help in troubleshooting.
If you are going to cut and replace or recrimp, do one wire at a time!
Regarding you hour meter; There are different types of meters, some just use the ignition voltage to start the meter running and some use a signal from the motor itself. The type of meter will dictate how to troubleshoot it. So if you can get the model number of the meter, you can probably get help in troubleshooting.
Lt.Mike
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2013
- Messages
- 879
- Reaction score
- 165
- Points
- 43
- Age
- 64
- Location
- Farmingdale NJ
- Model
- Overnighter
Pay attention to wire gauge size. If in doubt go larger in diameter.
Covering wire connections with liquid electrical tape with shrink tube or with shrink tube that has sealant will save you issues and from having to redo it down the road. A salt environment is tough on electrics in a boat.
Covering wire connections with liquid electrical tape with shrink tube or with shrink tube that has sealant will save you issues and from having to redo it down the road. A salt environment is tough on electrics in a boat.
I was thinking about wire colors and remembered a few funny things. I am not color blind. I call myself color deaf! It sounds corny but folks can be tone deaf but hey are not deaf at all. I can see colors but I have a hard time telling what the color actually is. Put them side by side and I can tell when they are different but don't ask me to describe the differences. It kills me when my wife says that a paint sample has too much orange oryellowwhen we are looking at off white paints
Many years ago, I did some telephone system installations with a good friend who is totally color blind. In those days, business systems used multi conductor cables that started at 25 pair and went way up from there. You had to separate and connect each wire. As he installed wires, he would ask me to find a specific color combination. Those violets were killers! So it took us a bit longer to connect things but eventually we got things running. So now some 5 decades later when trouble shooting boat wiring, I think of those days, how we ever survived and how I could use another set of eyes to tell me if that wire under helm is black with a red stripe or black with a brown stripe or even black with an orange stripe. These old boat wires all look the same at times.
Many years ago, I did some telephone system installations with a good friend who is totally color blind. In those days, business systems used multi conductor cables that started at 25 pair and went way up from there. You had to separate and connect each wire. As he installed wires, he would ask me to find a specific color combination. Those violets were killers! So it took us a bit longer to connect things but eventually we got things running. So now some 5 decades later when trouble shooting boat wiring, I think of those days, how we ever survived and how I could use another set of eyes to tell me if that wire under helm is black with a red stripe or black with a brown stripe or even black with an orange stripe. These old boat wires all look the same at times.
These wires are all white. I guess I used the term spaghetti. Will try this, thanks!
blindmullet
Well-Known Member
Get on genuinedealz and start adding to the cart. These boats are wired like trash from Grady and you wouldn't want one of their looms. The lack of heat shrink connectors, wire isn't tinned and how they ran spade connectors from the bilge to the panel is low rent. The primary ground on my boat was spliced with a large butt connector right as is was coming up through the deck.
I am going to disagree a tad, just because I am bored staying at home. Grady hasn't and probably still doesn't use tinned wire. There are a lot of really old hulls out there with original wiring. Tinned is not automatically better than non-tinned. The quality of the insulation and the conductor makes a big difference. Cheap wire, tinned or not is still cheap wire.
Same thing goes for crimp connectors. There are high quality ones and cheap ones. Note that is you buy a high quality fitting and crimp with a 10 dollar crimper, you will end up with a low quality connection
Heat shrink connectors add some strength and some sealing but to get a good seal, you need adhesive lined shrink connectors ( and should I add, quality ones).
I spent 3 years fixing electrical gremlins on a 25 foot non Grady cuddy cabin boat, Now that boat had awful wiring quality. Nothing near to the wiring on my 20 year old Grady.
blindmullet
Well-Known Member
I'll disagree back a tad
I agree that there are some inferior products out there that check boxes that they have X,Y,Z, but it's just eye wash. A lot of what is found on eBay seems to fall into this category. Quality tinned wire is absolutely better than non tinned. I had to run several new home runs each winter growing up on my fathers commercial boat. We always used a quality tinned duplex wire from the supply house. You still get "creep" under heavy use. I could imagine what a non-tinned wire would have looked like in that same time span. Keeping the salt out of the joint is very important and there are spade connectors from Grady below deck that don't address this. It's just low rent production garbage.
Using non-tinned wire in a marine application is like running aluminum wire in homes around the water. I made a living in college fixing those issues.
Using non-tinned wire in a marine application is like running aluminum wire in homes around the water. I made a living in college fixing those issues.
Isn't creep caused by tension on the conductors? If so then what does tinning add? In you example of wiring on a commercial vessel, what type of cables are you referring to, low voltage or higher voltages, AC or DC and what sort of loads.
My understanding on the issues with AL conductors in residential wiring was that the expansion/contraction rates were different than the appliances (receptacles e.g) and that lead to loose connections and subsequent overheating.
I guess I don't understand the issues all that well
Years ago at my yacht club, a long section of overhead service was replaced with aluminum cables to 'save' cost. That service was 230 (?) 3 phase and had many issues with connectivity over the years. All the problems occured at splices and usually a splice between AL and CU cables. Penetrol helped a lot but Sandy took care of a lot of the AL cable.
Last edited:
blindmullet
Well-Known Member
We had to run feeds for deck lights mainly. I would assume the salt air/heat of the old halogen lights created a poor environment. Usually 6"-8" from the fixture would be discolored. Tinned wire slows the oxidation of the copper.
Yep, aluminum wire was to save money for sure. Many coastal homes/condos in Florida were built during copper shortages of the 70's. We made a lot of money replacing panels, cleaning lugs and adding ground rods.
Got it. You ate referring to corrosion creep not cable creep.. If in your example, the wire was also much stiffer where it was discolored, the issue may have been overheating but I suspect that you cut back the insulation and saw corrosion.
Doc Stressor
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2009
- Messages
- 1,186
- Reaction score
- 295
- Points
- 83
- Location
- Homosassa, FL
- Model
- Seafarer
I have to agree that the wiring on those older Gradys is beyond crap. Since the older hulls were pretty wet, saltwater would get splashed and aerosolized everywhere. Since the connectors were simply crimped, green corrosion would creep way into the non-tinned wiring under the insulation.
I used to tear everything out, except for the engine wiring harness, and replace it every 3 years. By the time I had my '86 Seafarer I learned about tined wire, supports, and heat shrink connectors. I only kept the boat for one more year after rewiring, so I don't know how long my handiwork held up.
Surprisingly, the wiring on my 2008 Seafarer is still the original stuff even though it is not tined and most of the connectors other than in the bilge are not heat shrink. It's a much drier hull. But after 12 years of good luck, I've been telling myself that the first time any connection fails I'm going to rewire the everything.
I used to tear everything out, except for the engine wiring harness, and replace it every 3 years. By the time I had my '86 Seafarer I learned about tined wire, supports, and heat shrink connectors. I only kept the boat for one more year after rewiring, so I don't know how long my handiwork held up.
Surprisingly, the wiring on my 2008 Seafarer is still the original stuff even though it is not tined and most of the connectors other than in the bilge are not heat shrink. It's a much drier hull. But after 12 years of good luck, I've been telling myself that the first time any connection fails I'm going to rewire the everything.
Fishtales
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2005
- Messages
- 8,031
- Reaction score
- 1,286
- Points
- 113
GW doesn't use tinned wire and in general does some of the worst wiring I've seen on a higher end boat. Most boats are total rats nests under the dash with a few tiewraps and tape used. I think they are stuck in the 1990s with their methods and practices, living a bit too high off their reputation and generally try to fit 5lbs of features into a 3lb box which causes them to have make compromises.
I have to make a correction. I was able to find 16 ga marine tinned wire in various colors with various tracer colors, I found it on Amazon in 25,50 or 100 foot lengths. If you go the the seller's site, Sherco Auto, you can find different gauges