Pontoon wiring

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zwigstrom
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 5:03 pm

Pontoon wiring

#1 Post by zwigstrom » Fri Oct 16, 2020 12:00 pm

I am redoing my pontoon and I have taken out all of the wiring. My brother in law is a lineman and says he can help me. The dude I got to quote the job quoted almost 3k. I have ordered all the parts and it was around 1300. Any suggestions?

Bamaman
Posts: 3679
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 1:44 pm
Location: NW Alabama--Tennessee River

Re: Pontoon wiring

#2 Post by Bamaman » Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:52 pm

Nice thing about a pontoon boat is that you can make the electrical system as simple or as complicated as you want.

My old Starcraft had a tachometer and that's all. And it was hooked directly to the engine. Only electrics were the running lights.

My Bennington has modular electrical circuits--a bunch of wires plugging into another bunch of wires. I have 2 gauges with shorts. My problem is where to start chasing down what I assume is a ground problem.

I still like to keep things simple. But there again, I like the electronic GPS speedometer too.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

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bansil
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Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 4:10 pm
Location: Watâ'gi lake...Beautiful Waters

Re: Pontoon wiring

#3 Post by bansil » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:26 pm

Pretty much what has been said....a "lineman" is used to 120/240 etc.
12v gets killed by resistance, clean and dry is your friends, look at amp/V/wire size and go for it, 12ga stranded will do 99% of your none engine start/charge. Cheaper to buy in bulk, yes you can go 14,16,18 20 gage etc....

Good luck and post pics :smoke

I personally would not ground to alum hull, I run separate power/ground for anything in a boat,bus, or trailer because of different materials
Check out "Dudes" site www.whereisdude.com

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curtiscapk
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:31 am
Location: OP KS\Hillsdale Lake

Re: Pontoon wiring

#4 Post by curtiscapk » Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:28 am

Craig and Paula
"THE FLOATER" rebuild Spring 2013
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15328
94 Party Barge 24' 115 merc
Turning Point hustler 14 x 13 prop
22mph gps 3 people
12 F150
Overland Park Ks
Hillsdale Lake, KS

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TWB
Posts: 658
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:40 am
Location: Navarre, FL

Re: Pontoon wiring

#5 Post by TWB » Tue Oct 20, 2020 5:51 am

curtiscapk wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:28 am
I did it the easy way!!!!!!!

https://www.pontoonstuff.com/collection ... ng-harness


I did too. It took much less time and made all the difference!

:2cents
Paul & Michele
2003 Landau DX 24' Cruise "Loretta Jane"
2003 Mercury 75hp
My Rebuild: http://pontoonforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26135

"Don't waste brain cells over something you can do nothing about." --My Wife

Motor7
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:27 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Pontoon wiring

#6 Post by Motor7 » Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:14 am

$3K to wire a pontoon? Holeey crap. Do not mess with the engine harness unless it's damaged & mark those wires and plugs on it as you unplug them. The rest of the boat is simple, usually 6 or less circuits and I am sure your friend can handle that. I replaced all wiring on my boat(except engine harness) and it took less than a day to run it all and hook it up to a new fused breaker box and new gauges.
1987 28' Sun Tracker Party Hut pontoon

MattGent
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:27 am
Location: South FLA

Re: Pontoon wiring

#7 Post by MattGent » Thu Jan 21, 2021 10:05 am

My toon has zero wires besides the engine harness, but I’ve wired a few others.

Pacific Yacht Systems has some great info on YouTube. You’ll want marine tinned stranded wire and shrink crimp connectors per ABYC standards. That stuff adds up fast buying retail. Keeping organized and labeled will pay off long term.

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