electric problems

[jez and suze]

hello all,
i think i may be having afew electrical difficulties.
lately i have noticed that if i dont turn off the battery i sometimes find that my sounder has turned itself on. (eagle seacharter 640c)
and on sunday i found that all the switches had alot of corrosion on them and also noticed some rusty water had dripped from the wiring under the console.
does anyone know much about electronics? if so does this sound like an earthing problem or do you tend to find this sort of corrosion happening in most boat electrics..............jez

[finga]

The self turning on bit is a worry.
That could stuff your transducer real quick.

The rusty water and corrosion is definitely something to have a gander into. The last thing you want to happen is the electrics (especially the bilge and nav. lights etc) not working when you want them to.
The corrosion happens regularly and a huge pain for most boaties.

[frank100]

Jez & Suze.
Mate I'd be definitely woried about the rusty water, is your console water tight or near enough to water tight. Try and find out where the water is coming from, and then what is rusting. Your wirring should be all in tinned copper wire, straight copper will go green / black and corrode quickly (more so in salt water).
The issue with the switches will also be related to water ingress and if the connections are "tinned" and if they are marine type ie sealed against water ingress.
Not sure about the sounder turing itself on, is the boat / electrics normally under cover ? if not it may simply be that eveything is too wet. This will include the sounder, I'm not sure but I believe the " on/off" switch on most turns the sounder on/off electronically (not directly like a light switch) if this is the case wth yours it maybe that enough water is getting in (condesate) to 'electronically short the on off button.

Frank

[oldboot]

water dripping, coroded:o ... NA aaa

is water getting in or is it condensation.... either way its a problem.

some electronics with soft switches can turn on with power fluctuations..... also a posible that there is damp inside the sounder..... either way not good..

Is it an earthing problem...... i recon it will be simpler than that.

Look for the simplest cause first..... that will probly be it.......

I recon you have water getting where it shouldnt.... that simple.

I'm not over confident about the suposed " marineness" of a lot of the switches and stuff that are used & sold..... a lot of it looks far to much like automotive product with a rubber boot on it to me.

We realy need to treat swithes and stuff as if it wasnt waterproof..... if you get me.

Any way looks like you have work to do.

cheers

[Melec]

Yeah How Do , Firstly When The Boat Is Not On The Water Turn Battery Isolater Off . Leaveing It On With A Bit Of Moisture Around Will Cause Lots Of Problems . Turn Battery Off And Spray Wd40 Over The Back Of The Switches And A Little On The Electronics Plugs ,also Keep Dry . Things Will Last A Lot Longer .

[NAGG]

hello all,
i think i may be having afew electrical difficulties.
lately i have noticed that if i dont turn off the battery i sometimes find that my sounder has turned itself on. (eagle seacharter 640c)
and on sunday i found that all the switches had alot of corrosion on them and also noticed some rusty water had dripped from the wiring under the console.
does anyone know much about electronics? if so does this sound like an earthing problem or do you tend to find this sort of corrosion happening in most boat electrics..............jez

Guys ... I've had 2 Lowrance X136s replaced under warranty over the last 12 months ...... The first sign is turning itself on .... alarms & flashing screens
Eagle is the same manufacturer
Nagg

[jez and suze]

HMMMM......thanks for the replies.......my boat is a center console so it is always fairly wet....looking at the swithches they really dont seem fit for water sports! open backs on them and they are all covered in corrosion......hopefully its justa case of replacing them...........jez

[moater]

'Drip' loops in your wiring is a good thing ie water can't run down wires into switches etc as the loop/bend in the wire is a dead-end...as long as it doesn't drip onto another piece of equipment.Also various sealing products such as liquid electric tape and so on.Helps for sure to have things water-tight to start with.

[oldboot]

Id be inclined to have a good look at available switches and think about installing a housing to contain behind the switches.

jaycar do some realy nice ABS IP rated boxes in various sizes.

if you pull your switch panel and mount it all up with the switch bodise inside a nice sealed box and a gland sealing the wire penetration.

problay quite a bit of work.... but you gota keep the water off some how.

cheers

[NAGG]

HMMMM......thanks for the replies.......my boat is a center console so it is always fairly wet....looking at the swithches they really dont seem fit for water sports! open backs on them and they are all covered in corrosion......hopefully its justa case of replacing them...........jez

Ah the fun of owning a CC
I got use to replacing the switch board every couple of years ( $50 a pop for the rubber booted type) ......no big deal::)
Radios were every 3 years ..... :'( pain in the butt

Nagg

Nagg

[2rods]

Mate go down to super cheap or some other auto place and get some "SOFTSEAL" I have used it for years...spray the back of your switches and never corrode again....it leaves a thin film over all the exposed areas....

It is also good for other things...inside lights and the like....$17 should see you right.