on my '79 h33. I was sailing Saturday night in the Chesapeake with a lively breeze and the breakers kept tripping for the cabin lights and running lights. This has not happened in the slip. After tripping I would go below and turn the breaker back on and ten to fifteen minutes later it would occur again. Obviously it's something I would like repaired. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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R
R. Young
Maybe its not broke?
If the amp comsumption of all the on circuits is near the breaker capacity, then its doing what it is suppose to do. What is the breaker rating, and how much current are you drawing? Otherwise I would suspect the breaker - if you have a spare of the same rating, try switching over to it (or borrow it for a test). If the problem goes away, then get a new breaker. DO NOT replace with a larger breaker or you will risk a fire. Did you/previous owner add electrical consumers to an existing breaker circuit - this is very commonly done. If so, that could be the cause of the breaker (correctly) going off because it is no longer properly sized for the circuit & wire size. R. Young Hunter 37 - Destiny
If the amp comsumption of all the on circuits is near the breaker capacity, then its doing what it is suppose to do. What is the breaker rating, and how much current are you drawing? Otherwise I would suspect the breaker - if you have a spare of the same rating, try switching over to it (or borrow it for a test). If the problem goes away, then get a new breaker. DO NOT replace with a larger breaker or you will risk a fire. Did you/previous owner add electrical consumers to an existing breaker circuit - this is very commonly done. If so, that could be the cause of the breaker (correctly) going off because it is no longer properly sized for the circuit & wire size. R. Young Hunter 37 - Destiny
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Ed Allen
look for a loose or corroded connection
Some things are strange in elecricity. If a connection gets loose or corroded or a wire in damaged, and corroded- the loose joint will work for a while but then it gets hot as the current moves thur the circuts. the resistance in the circit goes up. we are heating parts using energy- more energey than the circut breaker can hold and the breaker trips. I would suspect it may be on the ground or black side. could be at the engine where the ground hooks in. this would account for the problem occuring on more than one circit. It seems that it would be a problem on the ground side because it effects more than one circit. you may discover it will only happen with a particular fixture acitvated. but the problem is something common to both circits. running lights and cabin lights. that sounds like a common ground problem. hope im some help;
Some things are strange in elecricity. If a connection gets loose or corroded or a wire in damaged, and corroded- the loose joint will work for a while but then it gets hot as the current moves thur the circuts. the resistance in the circit goes up. we are heating parts using energy- more energey than the circut breaker can hold and the breaker trips. I would suspect it may be on the ground or black side. could be at the engine where the ground hooks in. this would account for the problem occuring on more than one circit. It seems that it would be a problem on the ground side because it effects more than one circit. you may discover it will only happen with a particular fixture acitvated. but the problem is something common to both circits. running lights and cabin lights. that sounds like a common ground problem. hope im some help;
J
Jim Rushing
Can be the breaker
Sometimes when breakers get old the will trip at a lower setting. This is because the bi-metal spring loses its tension. Change out the breaker with another one of the same style and amperage. If it contiues to trip, then you have a circuit overload and a spare breaker for the future.
Sometimes when breakers get old the will trip at a lower setting. This is because the bi-metal spring loses its tension. Change out the breaker with another one of the same style and amperage. If it contiues to trip, then you have a circuit overload and a spare breaker for the future.
J
John
More than likely corrosion is at fault
Breakers trip because they get hot or because they get overloaded. Yes breakers do go bad which results in similar symptons in they trip immediatly or will trip as soon as they get hot. The most likely problem is a high resistance connection from the hot side to ground. Corrosion at a connection is the most likely reason for this problem. You should examine each connection for corrosion. Most boats built in 82 have copper wire that is not tinned. You need to check very carefully as this wire is prone to corrosion when exposed to salt water. For the running lights, I suggest you open each light and remove the bulb, check each wire and clean the contacts. Don't forget bulbs in the binacle or any where else that is drawing power from this circuit. The following makes some assumptions that you are comfortable working on DC circuits and that you will not come in contact with your AC circuits (my boat had a common pannel for the AC & DC before I seperated them). A safety suggestion is to disconnect your boat from all AC while you have the pannel open if you have a common pannel. A good Digital meter is under 70 bucks at Radio Shack or Home Depot and should be on your boat. Remove the wires on the breaker that connect to the running lights. Set the meter to the 10 amp current setting and put the black meter lead on the breaker tab and connect the red lead to the wire going to the lamps. With the bulbs out and the breaker on, you should read zero current. As you add each bulb you should see current equal to the rating on the bulb. A 10 watt bulb draws .88 amps. On my boat I have 10 watt bulbs fore and aft, a 3 watt bulb in the compas, a 1/2 watt pannel indicator lamp and three LEDs that are also in this circuit. Total draw is just over 2 amps. If you are drawing current with all the bulbs out, you have a path to ground through that set of wires. You should to trace out each wire and repair or replace the defective ones. Last year on my Hunter 34 I found corrosion in the stern lamp and a bare spot in the insulation where the wire comes through the deck. Another potential problem area is where the bow light wires come through the deck and enter the pulpit as well where they exit the pulpit and connect to the bow lamp. You can trouble shoot the interior lamp circuits in a similar manner. Good hunting for the problem. Calder's book on boat electrical systems is excellent. One word of caution, most hand held test meters have a 10 amp limit on the current measurement. Don't try to measure the current draw of a circuit that is kicking a 15 amp breaker.
Breakers trip because they get hot or because they get overloaded. Yes breakers do go bad which results in similar symptons in they trip immediatly or will trip as soon as they get hot. The most likely problem is a high resistance connection from the hot side to ground. Corrosion at a connection is the most likely reason for this problem. You should examine each connection for corrosion. Most boats built in 82 have copper wire that is not tinned. You need to check very carefully as this wire is prone to corrosion when exposed to salt water. For the running lights, I suggest you open each light and remove the bulb, check each wire and clean the contacts. Don't forget bulbs in the binacle or any where else that is drawing power from this circuit. The following makes some assumptions that you are comfortable working on DC circuits and that you will not come in contact with your AC circuits (my boat had a common pannel for the AC & DC before I seperated them). A safety suggestion is to disconnect your boat from all AC while you have the pannel open if you have a common pannel. A good Digital meter is under 70 bucks at Radio Shack or Home Depot and should be on your boat. Remove the wires on the breaker that connect to the running lights. Set the meter to the 10 amp current setting and put the black meter lead on the breaker tab and connect the red lead to the wire going to the lamps. With the bulbs out and the breaker on, you should read zero current. As you add each bulb you should see current equal to the rating on the bulb. A 10 watt bulb draws .88 amps. On my boat I have 10 watt bulbs fore and aft, a 3 watt bulb in the compas, a 1/2 watt pannel indicator lamp and three LEDs that are also in this circuit. Total draw is just over 2 amps. If you are drawing current with all the bulbs out, you have a path to ground through that set of wires. You should to trace out each wire and repair or replace the defective ones. Last year on my Hunter 34 I found corrosion in the stern lamp and a bare spot in the insulation where the wire comes through the deck. Another potential problem area is where the bow light wires come through the deck and enter the pulpit as well where they exit the pulpit and connect to the bow lamp. You can trouble shoot the interior lamp circuits in a similar manner. Good hunting for the problem. Calder's book on boat electrical systems is excellent. One word of caution, most hand held test meters have a 10 amp limit on the current measurement. Don't try to measure the current draw of a circuit that is kicking a 15 amp breaker.
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