Electrical schematics for Grady Freedom 235?

billbass

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According to my contact at Grady white, they don’t publish any kind of schematics for their boats. This makes troubleshooting quite difficult. Can anyone point me to any source for schematics for their boats? I’m trying to trace out a spreader light problem and it would be a lot easier if I had schematics that showed what switches and breakers and splices are standard as well as wire colors and wire color spice points. (the wire colors that start on the light switch on the console aren’t even the same colors as the wires that connect to the spreader lights.) Got any guidance for me?
 

Halfhitch

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You can usually figure out that color change conundrum by using the continuity setting on your multimeter.
 

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What year is your 235? If you go to Grady Whites website you can put your model and year in and download an owners manual. https://www.gradywhite.com/explore/grady-owners/owners-manuals/. The manual should have a wiring diagram and list of wire colors used. Its listed for my boat which is a 14'. The majority of wiring on my boat is also labeled which also makes this easier.
 
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billbass

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It’s a 2021. I have the printed Grady white manual and I’ve also downloaded the one from the website, but they are amazingly devoid of schematics. I’ve already talked to a customer service man at GW and he gave me a simplistic schematic, but it doesn’t show much significant at all. He tells me that ‘boats are so simple there are just two wires to everything and it’s easy to figure out everything’, but this is not accurate. The underside of the switch panel is very congested with a great number of wires to make everything compact. Nicely, each switch has its own breaker. The wiring is nicely done, but congested due to the closely spaced switches. Unfortunately, conductors start out at the switches on the switch panel as one color, but wind up at the light fixture as something else.
 

billbass

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What year is your 235? If you go to Grady Whites website you can put your model and year in and download an owners manual. https://www.gradywhite.com/explore/grady-owners/owners-manuals/. The manual should have a wiring diagram and list of wire colors used. Its listed for my boat which is a 14'. The majority of wiring on my boat is also labeled which also makes this easier.
You can usually figure out that color change conundrum by using the continuity setting on your multimeter.
Only about 1% of the wires are labeled to btw. Mainly, only the major 3/8” power feeds are labeled. See pics attached.

I may have to resort to identifying things by an ohms/continuity test. Electronics is my field. Schematics would make troubleshooting soooo much easier.
Did GW provide schematics in the past???
 

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Halfhitch

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Bill.... here is a couple of photos I took of electrical schematics of my 228. The wire colors will be the same for your model for most of the standard systems like pumps, fuel tank sensors and such but the routing will no doubt be different. I am sure these same type of diagrams are available for your boat but I can't say, I know how to find them.

See next post.
 
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Halfhitch

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Bill, The pictures on my laptop are clear and legible. For some reason they are un readable when I put them here. I will try a different method....these are better.
 

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billbass

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Bill.... here is a couple of photos I took of electrical schematics of my 228. The wire colors will be the same for your model for most of the standard systems like pumps, fuel tank sensors and such but the routing will no doubt be different. I am sure these same type of diagrams are available for your boat but I can't say, I know how to find them.
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Thank you. Those are fantastic, and as I would suspect would be available from really white from my boat, but as I said, I contacted Grady white says ‘they don’t make them available’. He said they don’t even have schematics. I find that difficult to believe that they would manufacture such a boat and not have schematics for the workers to go by. We build sometimes one industrial control system for a customer, and I can’t dream of giving a customer a system without a schematic. We wouldn’t build one without a schematic. Thank you so very much for your diagrams!!
 

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If you can get a owners manual you can get the what crappy schematics they have. I'd try GW again and see if they retain these. It likely never changed so any year close will work.
 

Halfhitch

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Bill, the photos you captured for your reply are the bad ones. The next ones came through clearer. I deleted the fuzzy ones.

I agree with you that there is no way your line of boats ever got to production without complete schematics of all systems. Can't you just imagine Grady telling the Coast Guard that they need to give their seal of approval without seeing the wiring schematics? You just happened to get the wrong guy on the horn. Call again till you get someone helpful. It will probably be a woman.
 
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DennisG01

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I've never seen a Grady manual with a "true" wiring diagram. However you may see something like what Half listed above, depending on the model year. Short of that, I'm sure there's at least a list of the various accessories/ciurcuits and the wire coloring (probably even the gauge and location) used for each circuit.

It's posssible that a particular accessory may not have the standardized color coding wires coming from their fixture... but the boat-side of the wiring would still be standardized. For example, a bow light may not have the grey (standardized) wiring coming from the fixture as the bow light manufacturer may/may not use that... but if you trace the leads back a foot or two to their end, it should transition to the standardized color coding.

It really is pretty simply once you dive in. Use the color coding table from your manual and you should easily be able to figure it out, especially if you have experience like you mentioned.
 
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Fishtales

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From the diagram it looks so neat and pretty. Open up the dash and decks and you scratch your head.
 

billbass

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I've never seen a Grady manual with a "true" wiring diagram. However you may see something like what Half listed above, depending on the model year. Short of that, I'm sure there's at least a list of the various accessories/ciurcuits and the wire coloring (probably even the gauge and location) used for each circuit.

It's posssible that a particular accessory may not have the standardized color coding wires coming from their fixture... but the boat-side of the wiring would still be standardized. For example, a bow light may not have the grey (standardized) wiring coming from the fixture as the bow light manufacturer may/may not use that... but if you trace the leads back a foot or two to their end, it should transition to the standardized color coding.

It really is pretty simply once you dive in. Use the color coding table from your manual and you should easily be able to figure it out, especially if you have experience like you mentioned.
Unfortunately the official Owner's Manual for the GW 2021, 235 has NO circuit diagrams whatsoever. That's what is irritating. I had a 22' Sea Hunt boat worth 1/3 the price of the GW and their Manual came with whole boat schematics.
 

billbass

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Thank everyone for all the help and advice. It's quite a blessing to have some experienced GW owners out there to help each other out. After spending several hours today I have determined that the problem is a failed control panel mounted breaker. These are made by “Mechanical Products Co.” and carry a part number 1680-219-050. These are 5amp breakers. I'll be ordering them tonight and a couple spares. These are the ones that make the little nipples below your switches. If it trips there's a little button that moves up into that nipple so you can then press it in to reset it. See attached pics. One of my pics shows two of the rubber nipples removed and sitting on the flat space by the switch panel.

I stand corrected about the wire tagging. At least at the device end of the wiring I saw today did have printed tag information showing that one conductor was for the nav light and the other was for the spreader light. They shared a common black ground. I didn't see any tagging at the console end though.
 

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billbass

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You can usually figure out that color change conundrum by using the continuity setting on your multimeter.
After I dug deeply into the cluster of wires going into the breakers and the switches I did find the same colors that go back to the spreader light and nav light. They are so tightly clustered I couldn't see what was what for several hours. Thank you.
 
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DennisG01

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Unfortunately the official Owner's Manual for the GW 2021, 235 has NO circuit diagrams whatsoever. That's what is irritating.
Ummm... yes... that's what I said :)

I've had a couple Sea Rays - they have fantastic schematics. It's always surprised me that GW doesn't.
 
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Fishtales

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They would be custom as each boat wiring is run differently (lol)....
 

billbass

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Custom features for a boat should/could have customized schematics, but GW should be able to provide the standard schematics, which show everything that is standard. Extra features would be in addition to the standard switches, wiring, relays, etc. but would probably utilize some of the unused “accessory” switches to operate whatever those extra features might be. My plan is to contact Grady White, and see if I can’t find someone else who can answer this question about the availability of at least standard schematics.
 

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Custom features for a boat should/could have customized schematics, but GW should be able to provide the standard schematics, which show everything that is standard. Extra features would be in addition to the standard switches, wiring, relays, etc. but would probably utilize some of the unused “accessory” switches to operate whatever those extra features might be. My plan is to contact Grady White, and see if I can’t find someone else who can answer this question about the availability of at least standard schematics.
Hello, I want to check to see if you were able to obtain a schematic of the wiring and/or plumbing schematic for your 235? I have also been searching for something like this, but have come to dead ends when contacting GW. Thanks.