Electrical woes: negative/ground problem? Help!

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by Bigjim

Here is the wire and connector I removed.

You stated that you replaced both the AC and DC panels and a bunch of wires, So how did you miss the abomination in the pics?
You got black,red,green held together by a wire nut,
What could possibly go wrong?
You simply must eyeball each and every wire and connection on
your boat. Also when checking the function of bilge pumps
It’s a good idea to visualize with your own eyeballs flow out the side
and lift the cabin sole to SEE and HEAR THEM working.
Cheers
Neil

[Bigjim]

Originally Posted by Time2Go

Some boats have a terminal strip at the base of the mast to facilitate
Unstepping the mast. Sometimes these might even be in the bilge.
I’d check to see if you have this set up and it’s condition.
Might be severe corrosion on a terminal strip.
Cheers
Neil

Yes, that's describes exactly how my boat is set up. What could go wrong putting an open electrical bus in a bilge.

I will be cleaning up the corrosion today and report if anything has changed.

[Bigjim]

Originally Posted by Time2Go

You stated that you replaced both the AC and DC panels and a bunch of wires, So how did you miss the abomination in the pics?
You got black,red,green held together by a wire nut,
What could possibly go wrong?
You simply must eyeball each and every wire and connection on
your boat. Also when checking the function of bilge pumps
It’s a good idea to visualize with your own eyeballs flow out the side
and lift the cabin sole to SEE and HEAR THEM working.
Cheers
Neil

With all the snark, you probably missed my description where I said the switches in the panel were wired with tinned marine stranded wire. The Connection in the picture was three feet away OUTSIDE the panels and hidden in a bundle of wires. It was NOT in the bilge where the pumps were either. I replaced all the old pumps 3 years ago and used new wires in the bilge and heat shrink waterproof connectors.

My new panels were all wired properly with heat shrink waterproof connectors using tinned marine stranded wires. Every job I have done was done properly, using proper wiring and connectors. The boat is 40+ years old and there will be plenty of other systems and wiring that will need to be replaced.

Over the coming years, I will attempt to rewire as much as I can. But I'm not pulling the boat out of the water and sticking her in the cradle until that's done. I'm working on the boat as I go and enjoying the boat as much as I can in the meantime.

I was seeking advice, not snark. I get plenty of that elsewhere.

[Bigjim]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Why? Aren't there two wires to each component?

It's not always needed to have a power and negative to every system. To save extra wiring you can sprinkle ground buses around the boat and simply run power from the electrical panels to the device. Negative is negative. As long as the ground buses can handle the voltage there is no need to run a negative all the way back to the panel or battery bank for every item.

[Bigjim]

Originally Posted by wiekeith

There has to be a clue there, doesn't there? Could simply be the vibration of the pump if there's a suspect negative wire 'cluster' in close proximity.

The bilge pump issue was solved. The ground wire for the pump indicator lights was not connected to ground. I pulled the bad wires and replaced them. The bilge pump works fine now.