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35-2 Cabin Lighting Electrical Routing

Farlander

Member II
35-2 Cabin Lighting Wire Replacement

Hello Ericson aficionados! I hope someone out there has the wisdom or experience to help with this conundrum.

The other day the 'CABIN LIGHTING' fuse blew. I had all the cabin lights on, which is normally fine. The fuse holder was hot to the touch so I started replacing bad connections and checking wiring.

Upon inspection of the first fixture over the galley counter, I found bad wire butt splices, and there was no clean copper visible even after stripping back the feeder wire. The wire goes into the cabin ceiling and presumably runs through the deck (this is where it gets grey for me) and either on to the next fixture back to the fuse panel.

I tried tugging on either end of the wires that I THOUGHT were the same wire to see if it looked like I could pull new wire through, but there was no give at all. So the questions is:

Has anyone tried replacing the 'in deck' wiring that feeds the cabin lighting fixtures, and if so, how did you do it? Is it even possible? Naturally I want to avoid tearing apart the boat, or running ugly surface mounted wires if possible! Thanks in advance,

Joe
Hull 154 'Betty' formerly 'Virgo'

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Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
Joe,

The wires run between the underside of the deck and the headliner. They are probably secured by screwed on plastic tie wraps. So your issue is to gain access through the headliner. First try the zippers in the area, if available. Some times you can unzip and then stand on a small stool and reach back into the area where the wires run. Perhaps you can pull the wires after unscrewing or cutting some tie wraps.

On my boat, there is a terminal beneath the headliner near the mast where many of the light fixtures connect. Check around there.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
My guess is that the boat in question has the molded FRP headliner. The good news is that, unlike my later-version vinyl, it can look like new forever. The not-so-good news is that chasing wiring above it is really... challenging.
Our prior boat had a full FRP liner with the same access problems and I had to cut some access holes for new fastenings. I used a hole saw with a very short bit, and when the work was done pressed some round covers into the holes - painted to match the headliner color - and they looked enough like "factory" that no one noticed. (Or if they did it all looked 'planned' enough that no comments were made!)

Any hardware store will have those covers in many sizes, in plastic or metal.
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
Hello Ericson aficionados! I hope someone out there has the wisdom or experience to help with this conundrum.

The other day the 'CABIN LIGHTING' fuse blew. I had all the cabin lights on, which is normally fine. The fuse holder was hot to the touch so I started replacing bad connections and checking wiring.

Upon inspection of the first fixture over the galley counter, I found bad wire butt splices, and there was no clean copper visible even after stripping back the feeder wire. The wire goes into the cabin ceiling and presumably runs through the deck (this is where it gets grey for me) and either on to the next fixture back to the fuse panel.

I tried tugging on either end of the wires that I THOUGHT were the same wire to see if it looked like I could pull new wire through, but there was no give at all. So the questions is:

Has anyone tried replacing the 'in deck' wiring that feeds the cabin lighting fixtures, and if so, how did you do it? Is it even possible? Naturally I want to avoid tearing apart the boat, or running ugly surface mounted wires if possible! Thanks in advance,

Joe
Hull 154 'Betty' formerly 'Virgo'

View attachment 26588
View attachment 26589

The 70’s 32 & 35 were very similar in several ways so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ericson didn’t lay out the wiring the same way. Main panel was in back of the galley on the starboard side. The wiring ran to the galley light and forward to feed the strbd main salon then crossing over to port at the main brace area for the mast. On port side, it “T”d to run forward and aft to all port interior lights. (Running and mast lights were in this harness as well.)

The E 32 owners manual (not sure about the 35) has a plan view drawing with wire color codes. I think it’s available as a pdf file here on EYO. ...If you can’t find it, let me know and I’ll send you copy of it.

A while back I posted a drawing on how to back-feed the port side wiring when/if the harness fails under the mast.
(A problem for cabin stepped masts back then.)
-kerry
 

Farlander

Member II
Fuse Panel and Wiring Routing

Yes I have the FRP headliner, i.e. no headliner, the molded fiberglass ceiling is all one contiguous piece and appears to be formed to the bottom of the deck. The wiring passes through the deck core between the deck and the headliner/ceiling.

The fuse panel is located starboard aft behind the galley icebox, with rear access from the cockpit locker.

Starting from the fuse for the cabin lights, I traced the red wire to the deck-headliner seam. A single black and red to run together and disappear right into the deck core, no looming visible. They appear to only serve the first light fixture over the galley counter, since there are no other wires entering or exiting that fixture. However, I don't know how much tape, zip ties, other wires, or looming is impeding my ability to pull the wires through and run new wire.

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Thanks for all the input, the hole saw idea is a last resort but definitely useful. I already broke off the tail of the red wire inside the headliner just by pulling on it, so I'm basically at the point of no return at this point. New wires or bust. I'll check the docs for the E32 wiring diagram, I'm sure that will be helpful. Any other advice or experience appreciated.

Sunny Regards,
 

frick

Member III
use a wire snake

On my E29, with a fiberglass headliner, I used a flat wire snake to pull wires between the deck an headliner.
Ericson rain the wires down the starboard side of the boat near the deck hull joint, around the bed birth and down the port side.

Rick
 

Kevin A Wright

Member III
And just since nobody mentioned it, if you are going to all the trouble to pull new wires through your headliner, pay the extra $ and get proper marine tinned wire. You or the next owner will be glad you did in about 20 years. A lot of these production boats didn't do that back in the 70's and 80's and the corrosion creeps in.

Kevin Wright
E35 Hydro Therapy
 

Farlander

Member II
Progress Continues

I successfully rewired the starboard galley and salon light fixtures. I ran the new feeder wires through the headliner and into the eye level cupboard beside the companionway. From there it was easy enough to fish the wires down behind the fuse panel bulkhead.

I noticed the shared negative wire for the cabin and running lights circuits was pretty burned so I looked for other places to replace wire that was accessible.

I pulled out the port side wires and decided to backfeed the port side lights with a new feeder. Tonight I got my fish tape permanently jammed in the headliner over the bulkhead forward of the nav desk. It looks like I will have to cut the ceiling and/or abandon the 1/8" Klein fish tape in place. The main problem with the fish tape stuck in there, besides losing a $100 tool, is I can't pull new wires through since its blocking the only hole.

Moral support appreciated as I am quickly turning what was an attempt at owning a starter sailboat into a full on restoration of a classic 49 year old Ericson yacht.

New sails arrive Friday.

Pics soon.
 

Gary Holford

Member II
As far as moral support goes you are on the path to sailboat enlightenment Grasshopper. A two day wiring job x boat time can equal eight days. Simple procedures can easily test the boundaries of engineering and sanity. Welcome to the cult.
 

ChrisS

Member III
Go sailing!

Working on these boats is like refinishing the GGB: it never ends.

Don't get mired in projects unless the boat can't be sailed. Sure, make a list and prioritize the work, but as long as the rig is sound and the boat can sail, try to spend as much time sailing as working on the boat.

Save the heavy lifting for when the wind dies in October.
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Farlander,
Before you cut the headliner, would it be possible to put drops of oil on the fish tape as close to where it's stuck as you can reach, raising the tape so the oil goes to where its stuck. I'm thinking that if you can lubricate the tape, it may become unstuck with a good pull.
Good luck!
Frank
 

Farlander

Member II
Tale of the Fish Tape

I heard on reddit about cutting the fish tape then putting the end in your drill to try and spin it loose. That sounded good in theory. Today I struggled some more, gave up, cut the fish, put it in the drill, spun it both ways, and on the second spin it snapped off at the head and mostly came out. Fishing new wires with the broken fish head still in the way was going to be a challenge, so I cut two 2" (trade size 2") holes in the liner on either side of the bulkhead. I'll eventually plug these with standard 2" electrical knock out blanks, painted to match.

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