fuse box 2800 scr

[jeff]

hey guys,,

has anyone changed their fuse box with a more reliable, sterdy, aftermarket one?
if you have, why did you need or want to? and what f/box did you go with?

Thanks,,

[mr3dman]

I definately want to replace my fuse block next year as well. I an going with the Blue Sea 12 place fuse block. It is a newer version of what is there now. I replaced all my guages this year and I did have to enlarge the holes but it turned out great. Maxum used a tarded size guage that you can't get new anymore. I also have a 98 2800.

[jeffmeans]

My 2001 2900 SCR had THE crappiest fuse boxes/blocks under the steering wheel (behind that cloth "panel" that covers the fuse area). The "slots" that held the blade-type fuses were lousy... the fuses would randomly not make contact, making me think they were blown. So I replaced them with Blue Sea's 12 position fuse block (two of them actually). Took about 5 hours on my back one afternoon... cutting, splicing, crimping and connecting wires in that cramped area near the helm station. But it was WORTH it! I haven't had ONE fuse go out/blow since I did this project three seasons ago. I had grandiose plans of labeling each fuse, but tracking them all down was nearly impossible... besides---none have blown or come loose since I did this project so it didn't matter.

[shrew]

Jeffmeans completed my write-up for me, so ^^^^^Ditto^^^^^ 2 x 12 Blue Seas. The Blue Seas fuse block uses ring terminals. You'll ned to make sure you get the correct sizes of ring terminals in a variety of guages. It's more ackward in regards to sitting on your back and doing the work. If you can find someone who is willing to help hand you things it makes things much easier. Otherwise, you will be up and down 1,000 times during the project.

[jeff]

thanks, i will check out the 2 x 12 Blue Seas

[pascavone]

if it works don't fix it.

your first fuse is the 80 amp fuseible link sitting on top of the starter hot lug. this protects the engine and boat harnesss. Never run the boat on BOTH batteries... that over 80amp!



this is how i found my used boat, new and old, new for $32 bucks.

the second row of fueses are the six canster type that are around your main battery switch, the caps pull off and you find the normal under the dash fuse.

the third for the curcuits under the dash, note the diagram in the manual shows the second block reversed.

so, why would you replace the blocks if not water damaged?

[jeff]

im looking to replace them because some lights and other small things were not working,, so i check the fuses and just from me pulling the fuses in and out to check them stuff started working here and there, so i beleve the boxes are just crapy ,, plus i hear the same stories from other people with my boat

[pascavone]

you can buy these u-type fuses that light up when they are working, its like a little LED right in the middle in Autozone.

I was to cheap to spend the $2 extra dollars, but I did replace all my fuses with the correct AMP color per the manual.

usually, the fuse is the last thing to go, sincer shorts are usally intermittent.

[shrew]

I replaced mine because the fuses, the fuse holders and the connectors were all showing signs of corrosion. I was hainvg a lot of 12 volt issues. Devices were not working properly, I'd have to seat and unseat fuses, and have a lot of mysterious issues with draw. Unfortunately, this did not actually solve my problem completely, but it did help. I'm actually finding that the grounding everywhere on my boat is showing heavy signs of oxidation. most ground wires I look at are completely black through all the wires in the cable and as far back as I can stri pteh sheathing. What I do notice is things like my indash volt meter bounces between 10V and 13volt when running. The more things I power down like the fridge and Radar the better my volt meter shows. The odd part is the more my volt meter dips, the higher my Temp. guage reads in correlation. I'm thinking about hiring a ABYC electrician to do some major work as a next step.

[pascavone]

most people think the alternater makes no load on the engine to spin it around at 3800 rpm, this is incorrect. Unlike the old genertors car prior to 1960 which only changed when tunring fast, an alternator will produce as soon as a electrial load is needed, reguardless of how fast the engine is turning it.

a short will spike the alternator to max amp and can bog the engine down, or throw a belt.

I think your amp gauge is telling you the truth, you are pulling a huge electical load, or short, and the load of the engine is causing the temp to rise.

A lot of mechinic like to shoot the messenger.... your gauges, or te fuses but i think you have a short.

the correct way to find it, is to run the boat next summer, pulling one fuse out each trip and go down the rows until you see the gauge react.

I will go on record and say its your 12v carbonmoxied dector which only as a life of 5 years.

[shrew]

My Carbon Monoxide dectector is a 9v with an internal battery and is typically disconnected and sitting contently in a drawer. LOL!!!!! I do agree that there is a draw, though it seems to be anything. I've found great results by turning the fridge completely off. I used to see the volt meter drop and raise with no rhyme or reason. Volt meter would drop and temps guage would shoot up. Volts raise back up and temp. guage drops. This stopped when I started turning the fridge off while running. The same occurs with anything. If I hit hte horn, the volt meter drops. Trim IN/OUT volt meter drops. Tab Up/down, volt meter drops. windshield wiper, volt meter drops. and so on and so on. whn I say drops, i mean down to 10V.

[pascavone]

since it happpen every time you activate something I'd start with the 80amp fuseible link on the top of the starters. this is what feeds your boat harness at the dash.

the gauge should never go below 12.7 volts, that what your 12 v battery is, any thing lower is a short.

the alternator rectifier bridge limits the max voltage to 14 to 16, and suppost to hold the amps down, but like sparking the battery cable, you can do some ark welding if your not careful.

If its fryed or melted like mine was, then its grounding out with every use. its way down low, so if its getting wet of splashed that a good ground out also.

any starter work is done by feel or laying on the engine with your head wedged in the well, plus you got to hold the light.....

[shrew]

Thanks PAscavone. And, Jeff. Sorry fo the hijack.

[pascavone]

my boat previous owner bought this one owner 2800, with a new engine and out drive (documented),had it surved in april 2010 for $800 bucks and sold it to me in October 2010.

I'm sure he took a loss, and I drove it home, never drove a boat before, nor tested this one, before waving goodbye.

Got 12 miles away and hit a sand bar....

first day, first sea tow.....

boat would not start again, towed to dock, by the same sea tow captain that had towed this same boat twise this summer for thrown belts......

I put the start on myself, upside down and backwards, but dropped the 80amp new fuseible link in the water...., got another, it was bad, got another.....

a week later, started back home again, got 4 miles from the dock, and the coasties flagged me down for a fire extinguse hunt....

got going again, and passed the same sea tow boat captain again.....

got home, then i had blidge pumps running, would not go off, batteries going dead, melted sea water pump housing, lose trim tab, toilet tank leak, carbon monxtide expired.

and my voltage gauge was doing what yours dose, pegging at 16 v.... the previous owner had a new gauge in the box for me....

so, it would sound bad expect, i got a boat $10k under market, with an new 740 garmin ($1800), and new engine and out drive... i called mercruser and they track the block number.

also, had a hurricane my first year of boating.......

point is, i see non mechincal inclinded boat owners, who primp and clean, with nice cd players and LED lights but don't thing to check fluids and hoses.

the real joke is the $800 boat survey, with pages and pages, pictures and pictures, but did not help the last guy....

[Fippe]

Originally Posted by shrew

Thanks PAscavone. And, Jeff. Sorry fo the hijack.

Hi, i searched the forum for problems like mine and found this thread,
I have the exact same problem you had earlier or maybe still have. Hopefully you have sorted yours out and can give me some advice on what you have changed to get rid of the problem. I'm planing to change my fuse block this winter and some cables.

[Bar Hopper]

When we bought "Bar Hopper" ('95 2400scr) her fuse block was a bit corroded. We tried scraping and cleaning etc. In the end, replacing the fuse block was the way to go. It was a simple job. Just needed to put in a 12 and a 6 block to accommodate all 17 connections. Everything works perfectly now. Don't have to worry about nav lights going out or the horn not working. Easy fix, and well worth the few bucks to make everything perfect.