Yamaha wire bundle won’t go in rigging tube

[Chinookie]

The plastic end of the Yamaha wire bundle is quite large in size, and it will not fit in the entrance to either rigging tube. The inboard most tube has a wire bundle wrapped in black corrugated sheath going from the battery to the helm, and the outboard most tube has the hydraulic steering tubes, along with a few smaller wires. There isn’t a chance in hades of getting that Yamaha connector fitting in, even with foreplay. I also haven’t fed the shift and throttle cables in yet. These were all gutted out when I bought the boat.
Anyone run into this before? Do I have cut and splice the engine to helm wire bundle? I would hate to do that. Ticks me off Grady ran only two 3” tubes. They should have been 4”, or more of them.
I’m considering pulling the helm to battery wire bundle and seeing if I can get them back down through the outer tube, (which would free up the inboard tube) but that means disconnecting a lot of wires at either end. It’s 26 degrees here and that would not be fun. Ideas?

 

[SkunkBoat]

You already pulled the old ones out?

Don't the ends unscrew? you are talking about shift & throttle cable?

 

[seasick]

If the old cables came out, the new ones should fit. Did you pull line ( small rope) through the rigging tube?
Which end of the cables are you starting with?

 

[Chinookie]

You already pulled the old ones out?

Don't the ends unscrew? you are talking about shift & throttle cable?

Wire bundles and control cables were gone when I got the boat. At the moment I am talking about the wire bundle from the engine to the helm. I don’t see a way to reduce the diameter of the plastic connector unless I am missing something.

 

[Chinookie]

If the old cables came out, the new ones should fit. Did you pull line ( small rope) through the rigging tube?
Which end of the cables are you starting with?

Yes, I have rope in the tube. I corrected the word cable to wire bundle in the body of the post because I meant wire bundle. Both ends of the engine to helm wire bundle have the same diameter connector so it’s a problem at either end. At the moment I am fit checking at the stern end. If it won’t go in, it won’t come out if fed from the other side either.

The plans call for the helm to batterywire bundles to go in the outboard most tube. Maybe someone screwed up and that’s my problem.

 

[Ky Grady]

Disconnect the battery one running in the rigging tube, hook pull rope to it, pull it out. Pull new harness through tube, re-pull battery cable back and hook back up. Gives you an empty rigging tube for harness end to go through. Should be able to pull battery cable right back through. Doesn't really matter what's in which rigging tube, they both go to the back.

 

[glacierbaze]

That sort of what I was thinking, except maybe tie the battery bundle in behind the new plug, and pull both at the same time.
Cut a small hole in an old sock, run your pull cord through it, put the sock over the end of the bundle, soak it with lube and pull it through.

 

[seasick]

You should pull both at the same time but don't tie both cable ends at the same point. Tie the pull line to one end, put some tape on it to help smooth helps smooth out the end and then tie/tape the second cable end at a point about a foot below tape the first cable. That will make a smaller lump than tieing both ends together. Soak the assemble in a mixture of dish soap and water to make things slide more easily. Having a helper is a plus, one pulls and one pushes

 

[Hookup1]

You can use expandable braded plastic sleeve to make a pulling eye. Electrical supply company or Amazon. Tape connectors in place, slide the braid over, tape it again. Make as smooth as possible. I assume you pulled a rag thru there to see how snaggy the tube is. It's always a problem pulling stuff thru a rigging tube with other stuff wrapped around it. You may have to pull the shift and throttle cables out and possibly the steering.

Amazon.com

Another trick I used with conduit that has stuff in it is to run a new pulling rope on top of what is in it already. Attach a plastic supermarket bag to poly pulling rope and use a shop vac to suck it thru. This will lay the new rope on top.

Can't really"see" what you are working with. A photo of the rigging tube and cable your are trying to pull would help.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I think the main point is that you have to run the "fattest" thing first. Once the plugs of the cable are thru, the wire is not so fat. Other things will then pull thru easier.

When rigging my hardtop, I had to remove wires to run the ethernet cables(biggest ends), then put hte n2k and power cables back in..

 

[seasick]

I think the main point is that you have to run the "fattest" thing first. Once the plugs of the cable are thru, the wire is not so fat. Other things will then pull thru easier.

When rigging my hardtop, I had to remove wires to run the ethernet cables(biggest ends), then put hte n2k and power cables back in..

I don't think the OP is talking about or planning on having the rigging tubes empty and he is not talking about the motor rigging tubes but rather the PVC bilge tubes. It would be a ton of work to remove all the cables that are in the rigging tubes. I think (but not 100% sure) he just wants to pull the old throttle and shift cables and pull new ones.
If on the other hand he is having problems getting the cables into the motor rigging tubes then more that likely, he will have to pull out fuel lines and maybe battery cables.
In that case, it can be very helpful to document the engine grommet as to what cable was in what hole/indent. Getting all the cables in their correct order can be so frustrating.
Note that many service manuals and rigging manuals may have a diagram of what goes where.

 

[DennisG01]

The plastic end of the Yamaha wire bundle is quite large in size, and it will not fit in the entrance to either rigging tube. The inboard most tube has a wire bundle wrapped in black corrugated sheath going from the battery to the helm, and the outboard most tube has the hydraulic steering tubes, along with a few smaller wires. There isn’t a chance in hades of getting that Yamaha connector fitting in, even with foreplay. I also haven’t fed the shift and throttle cables in yet. These were all gutted out when I bought the boat.
Anyone run into this before? Do I have cut and splice the engine to helm wire bundle? I would hate to do that. Ticks me off Grady ran only two 3” tubes. They should have been 4”, or more of them.
I’m considering pulling the helm to battery wire bundle and seeing if I can get them back down through the outer tube, (which would free up the inboard tube) but that means disconnecting a lot of wires at either end. It’s 26 degrees here and that would not be fun. Ideas?

Run the Yamaha wire bundle from the other end, first?