Wiring and Water don't mix

[Double Eagle]

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Warning!!! Check out the hose that all of my cables and wiring go threw from the motor to the boat. Bad news is that from the factory they didn't make it to the motor in one piece and as a result there has been water holding in this hose for who knows how long. Caused wiring to corrode and swell up. I just got done replacing ten wires in this tube. If you have this on your boat check and make sure there is no water in the tubing!! My tubing now has a slit the whole length and will never hold water again.

 

[richie rich]

DE, how old is your boat? It looks fairly new.....just a few years of moisture (fresh water moisture) ruined your wiring? sounds excessive for that new a boat....

 

[Double Eagle]

My boat is a 1997 and is stored inside my barn when not in use. I fish Lake Erie, so we are talking fresh water and 13 years. So the question is how long has it been holding water, hard to say. my point is it should of never happened in the first place. To me that hose should have drain holes so it could drain, It will never hold water again. I just wanted to warn others of the potential problem!!

 

[Curmudgeon]

In a perfect world the rigging tube is secured at both ends and will not get any water inside it. The design is to hide and protect ... :wink:

 

[freddy063]

I be worried of how the water got in there, do you always leave your motor up.

 

[Double Eagle]

To me it is quite easy as to how the water got in. As you look at the picture you can see that the one piece tubing was short of reaching the motor by about one foot so they took a piece of tubing slit it and put it over the wires and cables. It left places for water to enter the one piece tubing by either waves or even by washing the boat. Even when the motor is in the down position there is a belie in the tubing to hold any water that might get in. Had the proper length of tubing at the factory been installed this problem probably would of never happened. I would like to call it to others attention so it doesn't happen to them. This repair could of been quite costly had it took someone a while to find the bad wires, or worse yet replaced the computer!! If you could of seen some of these wires there wasn't even any strands of wire left in the insulation. How long has this been going on how long did the wires last?? I would say it started from the fist day it hit the water in 1997 and progressed to the wires that stopped my oil from transferring to the motor and I started dogging the problem. I was the lucky one to finally find what happened.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

What perplexes me is how the inside wire, coated in a vinyl plastic generally inert to water, freshwater at that, also lost its protective insulation. They were running bare exposed wire through the rigging tube? This makes no sense at all. Did you have chaffing of the wires against the control cables?

 

[richie rich]

SMG...that does sound strange..especialy in fresh water......but DE has proof in the pudding , so to speak....its not a good situation anyway you look at it....just have to watch for it....thanks for pointing it out DE.

 

[freddy063]

I'm having a hard time believing they installed the tube that way coming from Grady-White’s factory. The rigging tube is $2 something a foot, 4 feet is like 10 bucks I can’t see them not using one piece. Did they install your motor at the factory or at your local boat dealer?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

That tube was complete some time ago and it broke, you should have fix this before you have problems, your boat did not come like that from Grady. Also, when you tilt the motor up, you should turn your wheel to port so you don't crumble the tube.

 

[seasick]

Its not just the water. That tube seems a bit long and it is stressed each time the motor tilts up. I would bet that once in a while it rests on the bracket and not along side it. I also wonder if the rigging tube clears the bracket when the motor is tilted down or if it is under stress as the motor is steered.

 

[Double Eagle]

Hey Boy's think and say what you want what you see is how my boat came from Grady to the Dealer and is how I bought it in 1997!!! How was I to know at that time that there would be a problem down the road. I do remember seeing it and not exactly liking how it was done. I'm just pointing out what happened to me and hope others catch it before it is a problem for them. The only way you can check would be to take the hose loose at the motor and lift it up so as any water can run out if there is any. If there is you better check it out further. The cord with four wires that went to the oil tank and oil pump has extra wire and cam be pulled back to the motor cut and spliced. The one with six wires in it will have to have a piece spliced in. Good Luck and hope no one else has the same problem!! If so you now know what to do!!

 

[seasick]

I would probably remove the tubing. That way, water can't settle in it. No mater how you try to seal the existing tube, water will get in.

 

[Double Eagle]

The problem as far as I am concerned has been solved. I cut the tube from one end to the other on the very bottom when I was inspecting wires. After wiring was repaired I wire tied the whole length of wires and cables about every six inches. Then I put the tubing back on with the slit on the bottom and wire tied it also. I don't see any way it will hold water now. I can also feel better knowing my wiring is in good shape now. There was no way you were going to remove the tube with out cutting it off!!

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

every boat that has that loom and no drain holes has water in it!!


better check!

 

[freddy063]

Changing tubes is about an hour job per motor, if they are done right, water cannot get in them, unless you boat sinks. I replaced mine a few years ago.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

On a brakemen boat, the motor gets washed all the time

check the engine clamp, that is where i see the water get into the most

3 1/8" drain holes solves all problems

 

[Double Eagle]

Thanks for your input, I was beginning to think some of them were thing I was crazy!!! Nothing like a wire that has no strands left inside!!