Electrical Help

[TheTwister]

Was installing a new stereo on the boat and evidently things were not as turned off as I thought they were and there was a spark---and then everything attached to the battery stopped working. I don't know too much about electronics simple stuff(or so I thought) like installing stereos are about my upper range. Checked all the fuses, and thats about the extent of my knowledge , any advice?

 

[Schoonerman]

Was installing a new stereo on the boat and evidently things were not as turned off as I thought they were and there was a spark---and then everything attached to the battery stopped working. I don't know too much about electronics simple stuff(or so I thought) like installing stereos are about my upper range. Checked all the fuses, and thats about the extent of my knowledge , any advice?

Check to see if there's a main d/c breaker or fuse block. Sounds like you tripped (popped) it.

What kind of boat?

 

[Rick 34018]

Twister, we need more info. What exactly were you doing when it sparked?

Rick

Was installing a new stereo on the boat and evidently things were not as turned off as I thought they were and there was a spark---and then everything attached to the battery stopped working. I don't know too much about electronics simple stuff(or so I thought) like installing stereos are about my upper range. Checked all the fuses, and thats about the extent of my knowledge , any advice?

 

[hard aground]

Check and see if you have a fuse right beside your battery. Sounds like you do, and its blown.

 

[El Mariachi]

What's the amperage on the battery breaker---or in the circuit that is now out? I'm thinking the smallest fuse or breaker you have would be a 15, which takes a lot to trip. Did you see some sparks, or was it like the Fourth of July? And do you have the red(hot) wire fused with an in-line fuse of it's own? Like a 3 amp or 5 amp?

Oh yeah, pics of the fire trucks near your dock gate would be cool too..........

 

[TheTwister]

I have checked all the fuses, including the one by the battery. It was just a small spark, in fact I thought nothing off it- flipped the switch that was inadvertently turned on(we were doing some other stuff as well and there was a mix up), and kept on working- I wasn't until later that I even knew there was a problem, so its even possible that it wasn't the spark-but I would doubt it.

 

[Rail Meat]

You need to trace where the juice stops.

Get one of those 15 dollar volt meters from the hard ware store. Turn the dial to the nearest thing to "12V DC" Rub the metal of the red and black leads together and the needle should move to show you that you have completed a circuit.

Try putting th red lead on the postive pattery terminal and the black one on the negative battery terminal. That should get the needle to jump.

Then put the red lead on the positive post of the main battery switch, and the black on the negative ground. That should get the needle to jump if juice is getting from the battery to the switch.

Turn on the main battery switch and then put the red lead on the red wire to the circuit breaker panel and the black lead on the black wire coming from the circuit breaker panel. The needle should move.

If those all work, then the problem is from the panel to the appliances and you have to check each of those in turn.

My guess is that your switch is fried, or that there is fuse that you have not found, pretty far up stream towards the batteries.

Good luck.

 

[DaveK]

A little spark can be a good thing. Kinda like... Ok, it's working and hooked up. Jump a car from one batt to another and you'll get a little larger spark that's usually a good as long as you can trust the person attaching the other end.

But one time I got no spark at all and that was a bad thing. I was 15 years old, my clutch expired on my Fiat 128 (it was given to me), while removing transmission I placed a socket extension on top of battery. It exploded that battery. Thank god my head was under the fender.

Your case sounds a bit more sublime. Do the above and you should be fine.

 

[TheTwister]

Thanks rail meat- good advice. We will double check everything tomorrow- Due to my inexperience with electricity I had thought maybe I was missing something obvious. Like a secret button saying"press here for electricity"( I wish)

 

[El Mariachi]

Thanks rail meat- good advice. We will double check everything tomorrow- Due to my inexperience with electricity I had thought maybe I was missing something obvious. Like a secret button saying"press here for electricity"( I wish)

The phuked thing about electricity is that you can't see it. Kinda like a nun's snatch.........

 

[U20guy2]

The phuked thing about electricity is that you can't see it. Kinda like a nun's snatch.........

:lol: Well you see there should be a big dial looking switch some place.. HA -ha shoot man I hate electrical gremlins. Good luck

 

[ScowVegas]

Kinda Like this

 

[Barkley]

Rule #1 of 1 - do not replace any fuses until you have sorted out the problem. If you do, you're likely to have a second spark and to need another fuse.

Railmeat's post is a good one. Find out which fuse or breaker is tripped, but do not fix/replace it. You got the spark after installing a stereo? Sounds like continuity isn't your issue, rather a lack of a load. Use the ohm meter portion of the multimeter and test for a load on either side of the stereo leads.

 

[hard aground]

I don't know too much about electronics simple stuff(or so I thought) Checked all the fuses, and thats about the extent of my knowledge , any advice?

Find someone that does have some electrical experience on boats. This could save you a couple days. Hang out and help, ask questions, but don't be a pain in the ass.

 

[dyslexic dog]

The phuked thing about electricity is that you can't see it. Kinda like a nun's snatch.........

You can see electricity, Put the 2 wires together and when you see the smoke, thats the electricity.

 

[El Mariachi]

You can see electricity, Put the 2 wires together and when you see the smoke, thats the electricity.

So following your logic, if I were to throw an electric fan and two nuns into a hot tub...............?

 

[Tigger12]

The phuked thing about electricity is that you can't see it. Kinda like a nun's snatch.........

Are you comparing wet cells and dry cells again?

 

[deckersr]

Thanks rail meat- good advice. We will double check everything tomorrow- Due to my inexperience with electricity I had thought maybe I was missing something obvious. Like a secret button saying"press here for electricity"( I wish)

Normally I wouldn't mention this because it is in that 'too obvious' category, but since you have raised your inexperience a couple of times it might be worthwhile to mention.

For circtuit breakers, when they trip, they are in a 'tripped free' position which is neither ON nor OFF. Depending on the breaker it may not be obvious it is in this position. The way to reset the breaker is to switch it to the OFF position and then back to the ON position. Since you say you have lost power everywhere I would check the DC Main which may be a breaker on the same panel as the battery switch. There may also be a DC Main on the breaker panel.

Second, you didn't mention HOW you checked your fuses. If you checked the voltage between each side of the fuse to DC-, ok. If you removed them and checked them with an ohm meter that's ok too. But, if you only visually inspected to verify that the fuse element was intact, then you may have missed it.

 

[sails call]

The phuked thing about electricity is that you can't see it. Kinda like a nun's snatch.........

When you can't see it, taste it, feel it, or touch it. It does get confusing. Last winter I had the opportunity to talk to my son's first grade class about what my job is. It was quite humerous as I sell uniterruptible power systems and generator control gear. For the first 5 mins, all I got was blank looks. I then proceeded to have all the kids drag their feet around on the carpet and then touch something or each other. They were never able to grasp what I do; however, everyone learned what static electricty was.

One of my son's friends told me later that I gave one of the better presentations. I guess bankers and nurses aren't as cool as zapping your buddies.