Check Your Starter Wiring

This tale may help you to avoid an engine fire on your Ericson.

While cruising Lake Huron on our 1981 E38 this past summer we had a fire in the engine compartment. Fortunately, the fire was contained to the engine wiring harness and relatively little damage was done. What I think happened was that the starter solenoid wire mount failed allowing the wire clip to twist and touch the starter wire which is right next to it. This shorted the solenoid wire and it became red hot melting the insulation of the other wires in the harness and igniting the harness plug. What caused it to fail? Either old age or it could be that the ignition switch stuck keeping the starter engaged and overheating the starter motor causing the solenoid mount to fail. The starter solenoid melted rendering the starter inoperable. The starter was blackened from overheating.

How could this have been avoided? I have to engine wiring diagrams. One diagram shows the solenoid wire fused and one does not. There was no fuse on our boat. Had there been, the short between the starter solenoid wire and the starter power wire would have blown the fuse and the fire would not have happened.

I suggest including an inspection of the starter wire mounts as a spring maintenance item. Neither the starter wire nor the solenoid wire should be able to rotate. I also suggest installing a fuse in the solenoid wire, probably 10 amp.

As a side note, I reported the incident to our insurance (Boat US), rewired the engine, replaced the starter and we were on our way in three days to finish our cruise. Subsequently, Boat US informed me that unless a new factory wire harness was installed by an approved mechanic, Boat US would not be required to reimburse us should another fire occur. Boat US paid for the removal and replacement of my "temporary" wiring at a considerable cost to themselves.

Tom
S/V Mistress E38 1981

Fuse size

tdtrimmer said:

I also suggest installing a fuse in the solenoid wire, probably 10 amp.

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The Universal owner's manual shows a twenty amp fuse, so ten amps may be too small.

thanks for that warning/suggestion, Tom. That fuse is on ours (1988), although I'm not sure if it came from the factory like that or was an add on (I want to say it's a 20 amp, but haven't seen it in almost a year- so don't quote me). We have a friend and crewmember who is a contractor doing wiring/electrical work on Navy aircraft-- he's always after me about putting a new wiring harness on the boat. He said it was undersized/underdesigned to begin with and isn't getting better with age.
After your story, I'll put it higher on the "to do" list!
Chris

Thanks for the input. A 20 amp. fuse makes sense although the solenoid wire is only a 14 gage wire at best. Interestingly, the new factory wire harness had no provision for a fuse.
Tom

Has anyone considered hiring a marine electrician...

Have any of you considered hiring a marine electrician to spend an hour or two going over all the electronics/wiring on your boat to ensure that everything looks o.k.? Having bought our boat in the spring, in good shape and with a good survey, I still wonder after reading Nigel Calder's Electrical and Mechanical manual, if that wouldn't be a good preventive step to take. While I can poke about and spot the obvious, I don't know enough to really check this stuff.

Any thoughts?

Frank.

Easily increase solenoid wire size

tdtrimmer said:

A 20 amp. fuse makes sense although the solenoid wire is only a 14 gage wire at best. Interestingly, the new factory wire harness had no provision for a fuse.

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A few years ago I posted an article in "Owner's Projects" titled "Universal Diesel Engine Mods" that suggested some wiring changes that increased the solenoid wire size to #10 from #16. The purpose was to eliminate a starting problem, and was coupled with a change in the alternator wiring that made the existing #10 wire available. This second change increased alternator output to the battery.

I included step by step instructions on how to do it. All of the changes were either at the engine or the engine panel, so no new wires were added to the harness.

Very similar changes were written up in the Catalina owner's tech journal shortly after I wrote this.

Heres a scary one on another E38, mine! This summer past in the process of replacing the fuel tank I was also installing new battery boxes and going through the wiring in that area. The main battery cables were not in good condition so I decided to replace them. When I reached under the starter, feeling for the main positive cable connection, the cable literally fell off in my hand! Thats a hot cable people, thick as a finger. I consider myself to be very lucky that it didn't break off and ground itself on the block or elsewhere. The resulting fire and possible exploding battery bank would not have been pretty. After than I went over the wiring harness pulling on everything to check it. Freaked me out pretty good. RT

Scared straight!

Ok, Rob. I'm grabbing a six-pack and heading to the boat this instant. I've had the boat 4 months, and I have no idea what shape the wiring harness is in. For all I know, it's 28 years old (if so, it looks pretty good from a casual eyeballing). Time to inspect the connections, I think.

rwthomas1 said:

I consider myself to be very lucky that it didn't break off and ground itself on the block or elsewhere. RT

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I had that happen a few years back, in a similar situation to Tom. A loose connection at the ignition panel shorted, causing the solenoid wire to melt into the starter cable at the engine, the starter cable then melted, shorting to the engine block - the engine started cranking which was what alerted me to the fire in the cabin. Luckily the battery shut off switch next to the companionway (an otherwise daft arrangement) was clear of the smoke.

The fix - all rewired panel, replacing the original junk with a proper gauge, and properly done connections. I wired the ignition circuit, along with the bilge blowers, to a circuit breaker, which I think was 15A, might have been 20A.

Frank - Nigel Calder's book is first rate, and although I found it daunting at first, by taking the time I figured out that sailboat electrical systems are not all that complex. From what I have seen, a lot of 'professionals' do not hold to his standards. With the possible exception of an AC wiring set up, there is little an electrician will do on a sailboat that is beyond what you can figure out for yourself. By crawling about looking at the wire, and connections, you will get a good feel for the overall condition; and if you pay close attention to the circuit breakers, fuses, bus bars, and organisation of running the wires, you will see how competently the installation was done.

Ericson did not install a very high grade of wire (at least not in 1972), which will lead to electrical components failing sooner or later, and is why I rewired my whole boat; but most of your concerns will stem from jury rigs done by previous owners or cowboys on installations of high current equipment added to the original boat.

Electrical projects

Tom Metzger's modifications can still be found if you click on "Owners & Projects," at the top of this page. I've been meaning to do that.....after the holidays

In doing this wiring work on boats, a useful tool is a wire tracker. It cost ~$35-40 and it allows you to track the old, disconnected wires so you can see where they lead & remove them. It connects to one end of your wire (house battery disconnected) with an alligator clip, then a small (screwdriver sized) probe gives an audible when the probe is pointed at that same wire anywhere on the boat.

Keith

Color code

I have never used a wire tracker, but have gotten along without one on the boat because the wires are color coded. This is at least true for the eighties vintage boats.

If you are looking for the solenoid control wire you look for a yellow/red wire and that's the one you want. Easy as that.

I have attached the color codes in pdf format. Page one is the industry standard color code, and page two is the color codes for the 32, 34, and 35III.

Thanks, Tom. This looks very helpful--do you (or someone else?) know if this also applies to a 1984 Ericson 30+?
Thanks,
Frank.

Frank Langer said:

Thanks, Tom. This looks very helpful--do you (or someone else?) know if this also applies to a 1984 Ericson 30+?

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I would certainly expect so. The E-35III wiring diagram is dated 1982 which isn't much after the 30+. Look in the owner's manual, or the surest test is to look at your boat. Probably not easy in BC.

BTW, if anyone has the wiring diagram for the eighties vintage E-34 I would be happy to pay for copying, postage, and a six-pack (12 pack if it is full size ).