Electrical gremlins/switch panel replacement Sailfish 272

[Jamato14]

Have had the new to me sailfish 272 for a little over a month now. Boats amazing and have been using it at least 3 times a week. Recently I’ve been having electrical gremlins show up. One day, livewell pump and raw water pump stopped working. It ended up being fixed when I took the switch panel off, pulled and plugged back in the connection behind the panel. Now my raw water pump stopped working again (no light on switch panel when switch is on and pump does nothing), tried the same basic troubleshooting with no luck. Today I got to my mooring and starboard trim/tilt stopped working.

First question would be, where do I start with the raw water pump? I’ve checked connections on either end and all look fine and have been confirmed plugged in.

Second question, any good upgrades to freshen up the switch panel/wiring behind it? Would this be a good crappy weather weekend project or much more in depth winter project and require basically rewiring?

I can usually figure most things out but electrical I’m still learning so trying to find the starting point and some steps to figure out what it is before blindly throwing parts at it to try and fix.

 

[DennisG01]

Did you check the fuse (or do you have a breaker?) for the pump? If that's good, I would at least start at where you had success before. Inspect the connections REAL well. You can also check for +V at these connections.

Sounds like you need to do the same thing the T&T - check at the motor.

You're right, it might be time for an overhaul of the wiring system - It can be done in a day, but if you haven't done this stuff much, it will likely take longer. And you'll need to be prepared with the proper colored wire, good connectors and a GOOD crimp tool. It's not "hard" and if you're handy, you can totally do it. But it is labor intensive. ALSO... take GREAT notes on where everything goes... label things really well... take lot's of pictures.

 

[hooked on Grady]

True, it may be time to think about rewiring or at least a new switch panel if existing wires seem okay. The type of problems you are describing, to me, always end up being corrosion driven. Poor connections inside the fuse holders, the switches themselves, connections, lower quality wire, all add up to become gremlins. Because basically the whole panel is shot just some circuits more so then others. If you do everything at once you can check it off the list and move on to the next issue thats coming.

 

[dogdoc]

the most useful tools to chase gremlins will be a multimeter, jumpers (alligator clips with good length of wire between) and a good size needle, i use a
20 ga hypodermic needle but a stout sewing needle works just as well to stab insulation on wire to establish contact for voltage, ground or continuity. eliminate variables as you go. poor grounds are often the issue on my boat

 

[seasick]

I suspect that the pump issue and the tilt issue are not directly related as far as common wiring goes.
Regarding the loads powered by the switch panel, the first step is to check that there is power getting to the commons on each switch or at least the switches that are having issues. Usually, there is one, maybe two 12 volt feeds to the panel. In other words if a feed is bad, many things won't work, not just one.
Get yourself a 12v test lamp, the tool with a ground wire and a pointed tip like an awl. Use that to test for voltage.
If a switch used to light up when turned on but doesn't now, that most often means that there is no juice to that switch. If the switch does light up and the device doesn't work ( like a pump) the first step is to test for voltage and ground at the pump.
Also note that the spade connectors tend to corrode a bit over time. A quick cleaning with wet/dry or fine emery paper does wonders. Also check for loose spade connectors. That should fit pretty snuggly. If loose, it is best to replace them. Although you can squeeze them to make a tighter connection, the metal usually has fatigues over time and will loosen up again especially if they heat up.

One piece of advice: Take lots of pictures of the back of the panel. If things start to pop off, you may have a difficult time figuring where they belong.

 

[Jamato14]

Spent some time today working through it all. Trim/tilt must have had an air bubble or has a small leak, but when I got to the boat it worked without touching anything. Will have to keep an eye on it and hopefully it lasts until I pull it to do a thorough check and maybe a rebuild of it if needed.

The raw water pump was as a few pointed out, the connections to the switch panel. They appear to be either factory (circa 2000), or were updated but are older. When I applied some pressure to the wire pushing it on the connector it worked, when I took my hand off the connection wasn’t tight so it stopped. Went to remove one of the “piggyback” wires and the female ends have corroded to the male ends and the connection ripped out. Unfortunately no one carries 10-12 gauge piggyback connectors in stock so had to order it. At least I now know the issue and can make them up at home with proper tools one night this week and bring them back complete. Will make me feel more comfortable having new wiring behind the panel after seeing a spark or two while troubleshooting.

 

[DennisG01]

You're getting there!

But don't fool yourself about the trim pump - air bubbles won't stop the motor from energizing, making noise and trying to the lift the engine... only electricity can do that

 

[Jamato14]

You're getting there!

But don't fool yourself about the trim pump - air bubbles won't stop the motor from energizing, making noise and trying to the lift the engine... only electricity can do that

Yes great point! Once I was able to use the trim/tilt I moved onto the other issues (since the boat isn’t going anywhere until that’s fixed) but am keeping in mind I need to get back there once I get the panel back together. I was just happy to not have to leave one engine down for a week in the saltwater.

 

[DennisG01]

True!

Just an FYI, on the stbd side of the bracket, there is a hole (about an inch in diameter, give or take). If it's still legible, there's a small picture of an outboard embossed there with an arrow. Inside that hole is a slot for a large screwdriver. Unscrew that till it stops and you will be able to manually lift the engine. Then rescrew it again till it stops and it will hold the engine up. This is the manual bypass for tilt motor.

 

[Jamato14]

True!

Just an FYI, on the stbd side of the bracket, there is a hole (about an inch in diameter, give or take). If it's still legible, there's a small picture of an outboard embossed there with an arrow. Inside that hole is a slot for a large screwdriver. Unscrew that till it stops and you will be able to manually lift the engine. Then rescrew it again till it stops and it will hold the engine up. This is the manual bypass for tilt motor.

Good point! I was aware of this and luckily the previous owner kept everything in good shape so it’s legible, but since I wasn’t sure if I’d need to pull the boat and the river I’m in is one of the worst on the east coast for current I’d really want the second motor for docking to pull it. If I couldn’t get it raised I was driving it to the dock then doing exactly what you mentioned when at the dock to raise it to put on the trailer and pull it.

Separate question back on the piggy backed wires behind the switch panel. Each one I pulled off (I stopped at 2), the female end broke off in the male end. Do you know if this is by design I.e. they are “crimped” or “pressed” on hard enough to not pop off, or is this just 20 year old wiring in a salt environment corroded and I should be able to pull off each of the small orange wires individually? (See orange “jumper” wires in picture, the are the same ones in the previous picture I posted but each time I take one off the female end breaks off in the male end).

 

[DennisG01]

You should be able to pull them off. Just old wiring.

 

[Jamato14]

You should be able to pull them off. Just old wiring.

Awesome, thanks! That’s what I thought

 

[grady248]

Jamato14 - I'm redoing my switch panel on a 1999, I'd say at least 80% broke. Going with New Wire Marine.

 

[PointedRose]

Get yourself a copy of this

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E: Calder, Nigel: 9780071790338: Amazon.com: Books

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E [Calder, Nigel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E

www.amazon.com

You’re on the right track

 

[hooked on Grady]

Pointed rose is right, Having kissed the hard ground a few times once SAFELY back on land I just looked through that book and it would be money well spent for anyone how travels near or far from land!!

 

[Jamato14]

Get yourself a copy of this

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E: Calder, Nigel: 9780071790338: Amazon.com: Books

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E [Calder, Nigel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E

www.amazon.com

You’re on the right track

Thanks added to cart today!

 

[Jamato14]

Jamato14 - I'm redoing my switch panel on a 1999, I'd say at least 80% broke. Going with New Wire Marine.

Any idea where to find the piggyback/multi stack connector in marine grade for 10/12 AWG wire? Even new wire marine only has 14-16, stock wire I’m replacing is 10/12 AWG (yellow connectors), Grady hasn’t returned 3 messages on it (I get transferred to someone’s voicemail and no one has returned the calls since Monday) and no marine store, electrical supplier or Grady dealer has been able to show me anything but 16/14 AWG connectors. Hoping someone has a source or part number since my boats sitting until I find the connectors (single male, single female, with a spot to crimp on the female side, everyone has double male single female connectors).

 

[ttles714]

That is a common electrical terminal ... available readily ... Amazon, E bay ... any vendor that sells wiring connectors

 

[ttles714]

keep something in mind for accessories or components that are high amp draw...... A poor of loose connection can give a good voltage reading. But not supply enough amperage. sometimes the "telltale" is that the voltage reading will be slightly below normal and tested voltage at the battery terminals. Ex voltage at battery 12.4 >>> voltage at component 11.9 ... indicative of a connection but a poor connection

 

[Jamato14]

keep something in mind for accessories or components that are high amp draw...... A poor of loose connection can give a good voltage reading. But not supply enough amperage. sometimes the "telltale" is that the voltage reading will be slightly below normal and tested voltage at the battery terminals. Ex voltage at battery 12.4 >>> voltage at component 11.9 ... indicative of a connection but a poor connection

Sorry for the delay haven’t had time to log in here in a while. I thought it was common but no where had the connector in anything larger than 14-16 AWG. I was able to find some online and got what I needed. Fixed it Friday afternoon and used the boat all weekend with no issues.

Thanks all for the help, greatly appreciate it!