Electrical Problem

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soccs11
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Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:58 am

Electrical Problem

#1 Post by soccs11 » Sat Sep 03, 2022 8:02 am

Hello all. I recently installed my Garmin Fish Finder that my kids gave me last Christmas. I had some issues with the electrical connection. The easiest way for me to get power to this fish finder was to purchase a cigarette connector and plug it right into the dashboard. I wasn't too thrilled as to how it looked with all that excess wire all over the dash. By the way; it was working just fine using it that way. So I thought why not connect it to the same cigarette lighter wires below the console to hide all that excess wire. I was going to piggyback the wires from the fish finder to the wires for the cigarette lighter and keep the lighter port functional. Then I thought that I would never use the cigarette lighter port on the dash; so I disconnected the lighter port from below and just used those wires for the fish finder. It was all working perfectly well. I used it a few days ago and when I left the boat, I took the fish finder with me. I capped the electric plug for the fish finder with the waterproof cap that it comes with. Yesterday I was taking my kids out on the boat and the outboard motor would not start. Everything else electrical was working, but no engine start. I checked the battery and it was fully charged. I went under the console and found that the large bundle of wires had a charred mark at the wire connector and one wire, a black one, had melted. I called Sun Tracker and they said to take it to an authorized dealer to get it fixed under warranty. I dropped it off this morning and told the service manager what I had do with the electric for the fish finder. He told me that it could have something to do with the situation that I am having. Any thoughts on this? I don't think this service company wants to put it through warranty. I am very confused as to how he thinks that one thing had anything to do with the other. Attached is a picture of the burnt connector. Please give me your thoughts. Thanks.
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Rick McC.
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Re: Electrical Problem

#2 Post by Rick McC. » Tue Sep 13, 2022 6:43 pm

Perhaps the Garmin draws more current than the plug is rated for; which is probably set by the gauge of the wires going to the plug.
Rick

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steve1313
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Re: Electrical Problem

#3 Post by steve1313 » Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:23 am

It's hard to say if the fish finder is in any way connected to the charred connector and wires, but I'd be willing to bet that since the dealer knows you messed with the wiring, they'll probably deny it as a warranty claim.

Without knowing what wire is burned and where it goes, it's hard to guess the cause. Regardless, while the dealer has it, I'd have him go ahead and properly wire the circuitry for the fish finder.
Steve
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Steiner
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Location: Lyman, SC

Re: Electrical Problem

#4 Post by Steiner » Thu Sep 15, 2022 5:57 am

Might just be a coincidence. To me, the black wire looks bigger than the rest in the harness and like there's a couple circuit wires and supply wires with it which would make it a main ground. The burn mark looks like it's right where the main ground wire pins meet in the plug. Maybe the pin or socket was pushed back or not stripped or crimped properly so there was a bad connection. Since it's a main ground, all the current from the individual circuits flow through it and a bad connection would cause it to heat up and eventually burn. You couldn't really tie that to an individual circuit since all of them are contributing to the load which is why you wouldn't pop an individual fuse. Was the Garmin plugged in when it happened?
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soccs11
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Re: Electrical Problem

#5 Post by soccs11 » Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:54 am

The Garmin was not plugged in when this happened. I used the Garmin for a whole day before this happened and the boat ran just fine.
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This attached pic shows the cigarette lighter port where I plugged the Garmin into. It ran just fine being plugged into this port. I didn't like the way all the wires looked on the helm, so I just sent the Garmin wires below the helm and plugged them into the same wires for the cigarette lighter port underneath. Once again, the Garmin and the boat ran just fine. It was several days later that I went to use the boat without the Garmin and found the wire problem below.

Steiner
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Re: Electrical Problem

#6 Post by Steiner » Sat Sep 17, 2022 2:41 pm

Like I said, might just be a coincidence that it happened when the Garmin went in.
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