Crownline boat electrical issues

I have a 2003 Crownline boat (4.3L Mercruiser) that has some sort of electrical problem.

Last Memorial Day, we wanted to take the boat out for a spin, but when we tried to start it... nothing. The battery was dead. So, I got a jump-pack from the marina, and then my power trim would work, but that was it. I had no power to the console, and nothing happened when I tried the ignition. I checked all of the fuses in the panel under the console, and they were all OK. The circuit breaker on the engine hadn't been tripped either. The ignition-kill switch isn't tripped, and I don't have a battery-off switch. It's like the power is not able to make it up from the back of the boat to the front. I replaced the battery, so the power trim now works, but no change on anything else.

We have used the boat several times this year without any issues, and had just used the boat without any problems (that we know of) just a week before.

Someone has suggested that there may be some in-line fuse between the back of the boat and the console. I guess I could start fishing around the wiring to see if I can find it, but I'm afraid of causing another problem. I'm also concerned that if there is a larger electrical problem that shorted something out and drained my battery in the first place, then replaceing the fuse is not a permement fix.

Does anybody have any ideas? Am I missing something obvious?

 

Tracing Electricity

JMY, you have the classic problem: Electricity is INVISIBLE!

You need a voltmeter, so you can start at the battery. You should be seeing about 12.5 volts or so.. Buy a low-cost meter from Radio Shack, etc.

Power trim is often connected separately from the console, so that's not a big surprise to me..

Get a long piece of wire (can be thin) and connect it to the battery minus (-) side. Connect that to your meter minus side. Tape it up so it can't fall off. Now start probing starting at the battery, following the power feed from the battery to the console.

Somewhere there is "not a circuit".

If you have 12 volts at the console, check the "ground" minus connection there. If it reads 12 volts, then the GROUND-MINUS connection is bad. Trace it back to the battery minus.

Guesses: Hmmm...

?? The positive wiring from battery to console is badly corroded somewhere and that leakage is what drained the original battery..

mmmm...

?? The minus connection is broken somewhere.


Let us know what you find...

 

Most of these types of problems are due to corroded connections. Connections on boats corrode rapidly. Go back, look at your fuse block, pull the fuses and look at the holder, is it nice and shiny and clean, or green? DO this for all fuses. disconnect all connections and check for corrosion. Clean everything up nice and shiny. You can also get stuff in a spray can that displaces any moisture. You can find this at Radio Shack if you can't get it from a marine supply.

Terry is right. some things are wired directly to the battery, for instance the bilge pump. These things will probably work, but every thing that has to go through panels or connection blocks may have a problem.

Oh yeah, you have to do this for both the positive wires and the negative wires.

 

Check your ground and feed connections at your service entrance on the panel. If your boat is small enough to not have a panel, then under the instrument panel will be a metal ground and hot bus, which things are jumped from, the connections coming into these buses, from the supply (battery) will likely be bad. A few touches with a multi meter will probably find your problem.