Electrical Gremlins

[islandcabin731]

trying to get power from main 3 way switch to control panel,from batteries. When I first moved on,to fixing it. Some lights would come on for a short time. like,starboard running light and cabin lights ,galley light was only light that stayed on and was controllable,all others (1 time ) they would go on out with no switches touched? Main control panel ,lot of wires rotted to ignition switch,and the rest aren't any better. I have 3 red (lge) wires from my control switch ,If someone out there knows where and these main switch wires are routed. Engine is froze ,(coming out later this month) and does ignition switch have to be in -line for power to all accessories to work . 3 strong batteries,system set up for two. I have them in series Dazed and Confused.

 

[Loren Beach]

According to your site bio, your Ericson was built in 1076. This is the oldest one I have heard of and perhaps that's why the wiring is in such bad shape. :0

Seriously, I have known of several boaters (various brands) with boats from the 60's and 70's that decided to just pulled all of the old rotting wire out and run new tinned wiring. They also put in new panels. There are companies that make new panel fronts from your drawing that you can even send to them on the 'net.
(Sometimes the internet is actually useful...)

When your boat was built, small fuse panels were the norm, and electrical circuits were minimal. Nowadays you would want more circuit breakers and more dedicated circuits.

While you can diagram the old wiring routing for historical interest, you will likely be installing all new wire.
I betcha that some of the other E-27 owners here can comment on routing -- things to emulate and perhaps stuff to avoid.

There are several threads here and blog entries about panel upgrades.
Here is just one:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?9822-E38-200-Electrical-Panel-Replacement

Sidebar: an acquaintance of mine replaced the whole panel on his Ben. First 26 with an expanded one. DC and AC.
Lots more breakers and control over circuits. He said that the minimal stuff from the builder just bothered him too much. That finished panel was beautiful, more convenient, and safer.

Best of luck to you. Do post up some "before" pix.

Regards,
Loren

ps: another thread: (with it's own links to follow)
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?10343-110-Volt-Circuit-Breaker-box

And this one:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...panel-housekeeping&highlight=electrical+panel

 

[markvone]

Dear Dazed,

The only way to figure it out is to trace each wire to its source. The 3 big red wires on the back of the control switch should go to 1) battery #1, 2) battery #2 and 3) to the DC panel. The terminals are marked on the back and it matters that the terminal marked "common", "both", (1+2) or the terminal NOT marked with #1 or #2 goes to the DC panel. The terminals marked 1 and 2 go to batteries designated as 1 and 2 by you, does not matter which is which. The switch will select battery #1, Battery #2 or BOTH to supply power to the DC panel. You mentioned three batteries and "series". You should have two batteeries in Parallel on position 1 or 2 and a single battery on the other position. The switch connects battery positions 1 and 2 in Parallel when on BOTH. Parallel doubles the capacity, series doubles the voltage which is bad if the batteries are already typical 12 volts. If you really do have 2 batteries in series at one of the battery positions and they are not 6v golf cart batteries, you are putting 24v dc into the system with the 3 way switch on that battery position and on BOTH.


If the above is the setup, the issue(s) is with the connections from all the lights, etc to the dc panel (normally where they connect) or to wherever they actually connect to get their 12v dc, like the engine panel or maybe direct to a battery - not normal for most circuits.


The big, but very useful job is now to trace each wire from the load back to it's source of power. It should be a breaker in the dc panel but could be anywhere. Check for marginal, corroded connections. Bad breakers. Check that each circuit at the DC panel is firmly connected to the bus bar or breaker. Trace the ground wires and check their connections for each load as well. They probably connect to a common ground at the dc panel. Make sketch or diagram for reference later. You will soon understand where it all runs and why it works or doesn't. You can label it all as you go if you are ambitious. Once you've done this once for each circuit you probably won't have to do it again unless you find something you need to correct which you probably will.

It shouldn't be too big a job on an E27. As Loren suggests, a complete re-do is something to consider if the existing wiring is a total wreck and/or you just need a bunch more circuits.

Good Luck and let us know what you find.

Mark

 

[Christian Williams]

All our boats need attention to the wiring. The basic experience is here, in two parts:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...-1-A-Novice%92s-Guide-to-Panel-Reorganization