Wiring electronics

[Bad Habit]

I'm doing a little re-wiring of my electronics. I am running my vhf, Depth raider, GPS, and an extra cigarette adaptor to a terminal block under the helm. Then a main wire (#10) from the terminal block to the Battery. The Vhf, Depth Raider and the GPS all have inline fuses. How big a fuse should I put in the wire from the block to the battery? Thanks for any input. Rick

[TrophySeeker]

10AWG = 30 Amp Max.

[Bad Habit]

Thanks Sponge,

Do you think 30 amps is enough? I forgot I also have a wash down pump connected to the terminal/bus bar.

[TrophySeeker]

Well, if you want to go with more current you will need bigger wires. How long of a run is this? I usually try to up-size to the next AWG on the boat. You should probably also run a separate ground wire to the new distribution/terminal box. If possible, try to run the new power feed away from other cables. Be prepared for a shock (surprise - not electrical shock) when you buy the wire. I'm guessing that a Black/Red pair of marine grade 8AWG will set you back $75 or more for 20'.

FWIW - I am in the process of doing this on my boat. I am adding a 6-circuit Blue Sea Fuse Block (PN: 5025) and Pyramid NS-2 Noise Suppressors for all of my electronics. I will be feeding this with 8AWG marine power and ground cables to the battery, with the power cable fused at 30A. I found the noise suppressors for about $1 each online.

http://bluesea.com/products/5025

http://www.qualitycaraudio.com/store/vi ... duct=17698

Good luck with your project.

[Hookedup]

The Blue Sea Fuse Blocks are great to work with I just put 3 of them in my boat with the 8AWG wire. Bad Habit your wash down pump probably uses 10amps and should have a 15amp breaker, I just finished working on my pump today.

[REELJERKS]

Just what I was looking for!!!

[Erbyjoe]

Are you guys running your riggers off of these also?

[TrophySeeker]

I have one of the Blue Sea boxes at the back of the boat near the batteries that I run my riggers from.

[Erbyjoe]

Jim,

What awg wire are you running to the fuse box from the batterys and then from the fuse box to the riggers?

[TrophySeeker]

Erin,

I think I have 8AWG or 6AWG from the battery switch to the fuse box, same for the ground. It is only a couple of feet. The box is on the starboard side, so the rear (starboard corner) and starboard riggers have the Cannon cable hooked directly to the fuse box. For the port side rigger (I have 3 total) I ran 8AWG to the Cannon cable. Probably overkill, but I only like to do things once.

[jimski2]

Your VHF radio sends out a 25 watt signal. 12 volts with 2+amps draw. Most radios recomend a 10 Gauge wire from the battery to the radio, otherwise your radio will put out a weak signal.

[Bad Habit]

I opted for 10 awg because I'm only going about 5 feet. What is the advantages of marine grade wire besides carosion resistance?

[TrophySeeker]

The marine grade wire's individual strands are tinned the entire length. This is really more important for saltwater applications, but highly recommended. Marine wire is also very flexible, as it has a much higher strand count than general purpose wire. With that said, I will admit that not all wiring on my boat is marine wire, but I do buy the softer wire for all applications. I have access to wire where I work, so the wire for the distribution box I am installing is 8AWG MTW.

If you are only running a few feet, 10AWG should be fine.

[Erbyjoe]

Thanks for the info guys I appreciate it

[L&M]

Bad Habit: All the above are excellent replies to what you are doing. The only problem you may encounter is with the depth raider and interference. It is recommended that the wiring from the D.R. to power source be run on a dedicated fused line directly to the battery and not to a multiple fuse block as you indicated. I have seen 1st hand that this holds true on several installations I have seen where there have been problems. Just a FYI is all.

[Bad Habit]

Thanks to all.

[TrophySeeker]

Just an FYI - Today was my shakedown trip, and the Pyramid Noise Suppressor fixed the problem I had last year with losing my Depth Raider display when trolling with my main motor. I put one of these on my FF as well, and it appears that it cleaned up some of the noise on it. The place where I found them for $1.74 appears to be OB, but I did find them here for $2.72.

http://www.allaudioexpo.com/i/pyramid_n ... essor.html

Hank - maybe these will help others who have had DR noise issues.

[jimski2]

http://www.allaudioexpo.com/i/pyramid_n ... essor.html