Lights on the mast not working. Change the bulbs, right? Well not so in this case. Found running light and anchor light both work from external power source. Undo the black tape around the mast base connections. Found two small wires grounded on the mast? Two larger wires feeding the anchor light from the fuse bank. No wires for the mid mast running light. On the panel there is a switch for the running lights. Both rear white and front navigation lights work. There is no wire to the bulkhead for the mid mast light. So here is my question: Should I be running a ground and a hot wire from the same fuse as the front and rear navigation lights or is there another source where this might need to be pigtailed from?
Wiring Hunter 25.5
- Thread starter twodzusfittings
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not sure if this will help,but will give you some ideas
on my 1981 hunter 22 there is a Ancor marine grade 16 awg 4 wire. the three wires on seperate fuses feed the masthead light the anchor light and spreader lights,and all sharing the same ground..
wiring was a complete mess on my boat,the pile in the one picture was all nonessential.
the pic of mast step shows my mast wire without the connector the large wire on left connects the mast to one of my keel bolts(lightning ground i suppose).
so far i have cabin lights , running lights and mast lights.still have to order a radio and float swithes for my bilge pumps.
on my 1981 hunter 22 there is a Ancor marine grade 16 awg 4 wire. the three wires on seperate fuses feed the masthead light the anchor light and spreader lights,and all sharing the same ground..
wiring was a complete mess on my boat,the pile in the one picture was all nonessential.
the pic of mast step shows my mast wire without the connector the large wire on left connects the mast to one of my keel bolts(lightning ground i suppose).
so far i have cabin lights , running lights and mast lights.still have to order a radio and float swithes for my bilge pumps.
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After further review of the situation, I have found out the following: From the bulkhead through the roof adjacent to the mast base are two wires. One red, one black. There is a separate connector for the UHF antenna wire. The mast acts as a ground as the mast has a heavy ground cable that goes to the keel bolt and somewhere also is connected to the fuse panel. The red wire is the anchor light which has it's own fused switch. The black wire is also hot and supplies power to the mast running light. This line is supposed to be connected to the fuse/switch labeled running lights. Unfortunately only the navigation and the stern white light is hooked to that switch. I need to trace the black line back as far as possible to the fuse /switch box. I believe its is lying somewhere in the pile of spaghetti wires behind the fuse panel. As the line is lost, I need to add a jumper to the black line when the correct black line is found. I think I know which one as there seems to have been some previous taping of a red and black together.
The ground wires off the mast enter into the four pronged plug as negatives and are in line with the negatives for the anchor and mast running light.
I think somewhere in it's history the hot black wire dropped into the abyss of the cavity behind the fuse box. Well I have the entire winter to figure it out.
The ground wires off the mast enter into the four pronged plug as negatives and are in line with the negatives for the anchor and mast running light.
I think somewhere in it's history the hot black wire dropped into the abyss of the cavity behind the fuse box. Well I have the entire winter to figure it out.
I or should I really say WE figured it out. The red and the black both being hot would have been correct. The black ended up being traced and found to be hooked to the ground bar, by mistake. Once hooked up to the fuse (hot side) and in addition a ground lead from the battery to the keel bolt, all lights now work as they should. Next task is to make them all LED.
I was not sure how your wiring is hooked up on the mast. Here are some basics.
First, this is a DC System working off the battery. The red wire should reflect positive or sometimes the hot wire coming off the positive side of the battery. The black wire is of course the negative or the common ground wire coming off the negative terminal of the battery. I would never recommend the black being used for a positive or hot wire.
Why? Once a customer of mine had wiring installed by a dealer who did not know what they are doing. That dealer did not last long. When she hooked up the wires to the battery, battery blew up and of course the contents of the battery as well. Luckily, she was not hurt. Otherwise she would have sued the installer and dealer for injuries.
I do know of one case where a used boat was bought privately and whoever did the wiring caused the boat to burn up. The seller ended up giving the money back following a court decision. If you ever buy a used boat and wiring is not your point of expertise, then hire someone who is from a safety stand point to make sure everything is in order.
Whenever I looked to correct wiring on the mast, my first instinct was to see what lights and wires there were. There are different lights . One light has two light bulbs with a divider to act as both a steaming light and/or anchor light. Then of course there are the seperate individual lights one specifically for steaming and another one on top with one light bulb for anchoring only. In either case, you should have a three wire configuration with two for the positive or hot leads and one single for ground which is black. (Appx. 10 years ago or so, yellow was substitued for black as the grounding color code for DC because shore power black which is an AC current is a black wire.
Safety issue)
The hot wires are then led back to a panel and I highly suggest that a fuse is on every hot or positive wire. The black wire or common ground on DC of course should go to the negative terminal of the battery.
NEVER USE THE GROUNDING ON A KEEL AT ALL AS YOU ARE INVITING QUITE A FEW ISSUES. SAFETY ISSUE.
You probably know this information but believe sir, I have seen quite a bunch of poor work over the years.
crazy dave condon
First, this is a DC System working off the battery. The red wire should reflect positive or sometimes the hot wire coming off the positive side of the battery. The black wire is of course the negative or the common ground wire coming off the negative terminal of the battery. I would never recommend the black being used for a positive or hot wire.
Why? Once a customer of mine had wiring installed by a dealer who did not know what they are doing. That dealer did not last long. When she hooked up the wires to the battery, battery blew up and of course the contents of the battery as well. Luckily, she was not hurt. Otherwise she would have sued the installer and dealer for injuries.
I do know of one case where a used boat was bought privately and whoever did the wiring caused the boat to burn up. The seller ended up giving the money back following a court decision. If you ever buy a used boat and wiring is not your point of expertise, then hire someone who is from a safety stand point to make sure everything is in order.
Whenever I looked to correct wiring on the mast, my first instinct was to see what lights and wires there were. There are different lights . One light has two light bulbs with a divider to act as both a steaming light and/or anchor light. Then of course there are the seperate individual lights one specifically for steaming and another one on top with one light bulb for anchoring only. In either case, you should have a three wire configuration with two for the positive or hot leads and one single for ground which is black. (Appx. 10 years ago or so, yellow was substitued for black as the grounding color code for DC because shore power black which is an AC current is a black wire.
Safety issue)
The hot wires are then led back to a panel and I highly suggest that a fuse is on every hot or positive wire. The black wire or common ground on DC of course should go to the negative terminal of the battery.
NEVER USE THE GROUNDING ON A KEEL AT ALL AS YOU ARE INVITING QUITE A FEW ISSUES. SAFETY ISSUE.
You probably know this information but believe sir, I have seen quite a bunch of poor work over the years.
crazy dave condon
Very Interesting Dave. I completely understand the case of all wires being under the DC standards, meaning Red or Blue or White for positive and a black for negatives, how ever there is no evidence of a second hot wire for the separate lights on the mast. The Black and Red are taped every foot until they dissapeer into the bulkhead and again can be seen adjacent to the mast protruding through the fiberglass top. If indeed there was a third wire, it is no longer there. This is certainly something which will be corrected in a few years when the boat is dry docked for bottom paint, cabinetry and other repairs. In the meantime the black is duly noted along the line with reminders that this line is hot until changed.
Why the emphasis on not using the keel to help ground. I am not following. Clarification would be most beneficial, please?
Why the emphasis on not using the keel to help ground. I am not following. Clarification would be most beneficial, please?
I am nto an electrician but do wonder if electrolysis could occur. In addition some small boats have shore power and it could be confusing. Keep the DC grounded to the battery and use of the keel should be for deflection of static electricity from the mast from weahter conditions during a storm.
crazy dave
crazy dave
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