| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Carrie Vib |
Posted - 13 Oct 2018 : 13:40:57
Hi - another newbie question.
We took our normam 23 out for the first time and noticed the main boat light on a small wooden pole in the boat was on she we ran the engine. We checked the black knob was turned to 0 and it was still on.
When we stopped the boat the light would turn off using the knob but it stayed on when engine was running. Is that a safety feature or a fault ?
Thanks |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cliveshep |
Posted - 15 Oct 2018 : 01:30:30
Percy Blandford gives good advice on marine ply hard and double chine boats Fred, the trouble was by the time I'd built my 2nd things were moving on and new-fangled plastic boats were being churned out in a week or less by a lady paper-hanger from Essex who called them Microplas.
Had to go and learn a whole new skill-set!
Did learn paying and serving from a shipwright while working on an old carvel trawler built by Lavis of Exmouth. Never managed to use the skill though!
Finally living the dream!
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| Tom Morgan |
Posted - 14 Oct 2018 : 14:01:03
Thanks from me too, Clive. Very clear advice which is going to help me a lot. |
| Fred |
Posted - 14 Oct 2018 : 13:42:47
Thanks for the polite reply, Clive. This forum is obviously now better behaved than it used to be!
Always interesting to read your detailed responses and I do agree that there's no better way to learn than having a go (at the problem, that is).!
Yep, Percy Blandford on the boats and Gilbert Davey on the radios - the only two teachers I ever really learned anything useful from! |
| cliveshep |
Posted - 14 Oct 2018 : 13:14:13
I'm not going to bite Fred, perhaps open the panel to access the electrics she might already have?
TBH it's difficult to tread around the fact that I'm responding to a lady who professes total ignorance about things and not know if that is the absolute truth or if as i suspect she is a go-getter and have-a-go girl who is accustomed to using tools. She has said her husband is not into DIY and indeed that much is plain because otherwise it would be him asking the questions.
So in order to help the most I have dotted "T"s and crossed "i"s remembering how I had to learn about boat-building 50 odd years ago - total ignorance and books by Percy Blandford from the library.
Finally living the dream!
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| Fred |
Posted - 14 Oct 2018 : 08:41:23
What do I do with the screwdriver? |
| cliveshep |
Posted - 14 Oct 2018 : 03:06:23
Sorry, my reply was garbled, my excuse a headache induced by a temperature of 34C and 85% humidity - doesn't make for clarity of thought.
The light is wired through a switch you say - so that switch ought to be breaking the circuit so the light goes out, step one is to look at the back of the switch and see if the 2 wires go to the 2 connections OR if it is one of those switches with more than two and one wire on the wrong one, i.e both wires on a common connection. The other thing is that the engine wiring loom should be the manufacturer's only, the engine has a couple of heavy wires that go to the battery, the starting and charging via the engine loom (bunch of wires with a key switch possible connected to the single/twin lever control) with charging going back down the heavy wires.
Normally on a boat all the boat wiring for lights, bilge pump, water pump, horn etc are on circuits from a fused switch panel, fed from the battery via heavy wires passing through a battery isolator switch. The outboard feed should also go to the isolator switch. The idea is turn off the isolator switch and NOTHING works although exception is made for solar panels and automatic devices like intruder alarms and automatic bilge pumps as they need to be connected 24/7.
I suggest you expend a little cash and get a few basic tool, a cheapo-wire stripper, crimper and screwdriver set would be a good start - like here on Ebay.
and a dirt-cheap analogue multi-meter:
The multi-meter will tell you if you have 12 volt or thereabouts DC in a circuit (use the 50 volt DC setting), or using the ohms setting (omega symbol) if a circuit is complete (continuity) or broken. Make sure if using the ohms setting you have first disconnected the battery or the meter will fry. A complete circuit and the meter will go all the way over. Adjust first by touching the 2 probes and turn so the needle is on the furthest point.
You can put both probes in your mouth on ohms - at 1.5 volts it will give a reading BUT you won't feel it. I mention this so you won't get scared of it.
Here I've modified a wiring diagram and added some notes for you, see, not so hard to understand is it?
Finally living the dream!
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| Carrie Vib |
Posted - 13 Oct 2018 : 15:52:33
Hi,
I don't know the answers to all of the questions but it has got an isolator switch and has 3 years on BSS left.
It starts by turning a switch so is electric start.
I am confused by you saying "If your engine is electric start then the battery would ordinarily charge back and the light would be on all the time"
Are you saying it should be on all the time if electric start of should not?
I don't know about electrics at all so wouldn't know what i should look for in seeing where it is connected. However there is only one switch for the spot light which when turned to the on turned it on when not running and off when turned off. However when it was running it stayed on even when i turned it off. i contacted the previous owner and they confirmed that is the only switch. They are really lovely people and he said that he has never noticed the light on when the engine was running. His daughter who used the boat hasn't either. So if it was incorrect wiring it would have been on when they used it. they said they used it loads and don't think they could have not just not noticed.
I guess we might need to pay to get it looked at but i am nervous about this as its not a huge issue and don't want a great big bill having just used our money to pay for the boat, insurance and mooring.
But i needed to check first if this is normal or not. So I gather not.
Thank you for your reply.
Other than this we are loving having a boat. My husband did sea sailing years ago but isn't at all gifted in the DIY department. I haven't any experience in a boat as you will all gather by my "small pole" instead of a mast! Hopefully i will learn the terminology soon. I am so pleased to have found this helpful friendly forum.
thank you.
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| cliveshep |
Posted - 13 Oct 2018 : 13:58:34
My "navigation light on the mast" is on when the engine is running is what you meant - sounds like either there is a switch somewhere that was left on or the lights are connected directly to the charging circuit - which would be a fault.
Can you trace the nav light wiring back to see what it connects to? If your engine is electric start then the battery would ordinarily charge back and the light would be on all the time, so I'm puzzled unless it is a pull start engine in which case the nav lights are wired in wrongly which is they are connected to the battery charging wire of the engine and not to the battery via a fuse panel and switch. In that case - how is your battery getting charged for
cabin lights?
Also for BSS any battery and associated electrics should be isolated by a battery isolator switch. Think someone needs to look at your circuits.
Finally living the dream!
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