Bayliner 245SB electrical problem-gctid822712

[cbt716]

My Bayliner 2007 245 SB 5.0 TKS decide to lose power in the middle of the lake this weekend no power to the ignition or gauges. The other stuff blower, bilge, radio, still working fine.. after getting towed in and taking a look the 20 amp TKS fuse blew and after i replaced it blew again. After working on it seems the temp switch is shorting when it hits 130 degrees and blows the fuse. It stays open until it hits 130 so i tested by jumping the connector and the fuse didn't blow so I'm pretty sure bad temp switch. The only problem that I cant seem to figure out is the ignition switch and gauges. it seems they are not powered by the main buss and their circuit breakers are powered by leads separate from the other circuit breakers. I cant seem to find where the power to these comes from and I'm thinking they have a another fuse somewhere. The wiring diagram doesn't show these as separate from the power buss and also doesn't show the 50 amp DC breaker beside the battery switch and what it feeds but this tested fine so I have no idea where these power leads are coming from but they feed the circuit breakers showing port and starboard ignition. If i remove the existing connection and jumper the ignition circuit breaker to the main buss the boat starts and runs fine so I though I would see if anyone knows where these power leads are coming from.

[cbt716]

So after looking around I found this cable tracker I can get at Harbor Freight.. anyone try one of these on boat wiring? https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html

[cbt716]

So looking around I came across this from Harbor Freight ..has anyone used this to trace wires in a boat? https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html

[Don77]

I have used something similar with some success, but if the wires run close together or are twisted together it can be difficult to impossible to get the correct wire!

Don

[Ruffryder]

that won't help you much, you will need a multi meter continuity tester.

have you checked the 50 AMP red button breaker next to the slave solenoid yet?

RED/PUR wire comes from the secondary side of the 50AMP breaker then spliced to feed the slave solenoid & to the MAIN BARREL HARNESS to feed your hull power.

Check the main harness...look for any corrosion, any evidence of shorting out.

Is the ignition fuse blowing as soon as you throw one in? or blowing when turning the key to RUN position?

[cbt716]

The ones in the dash are tightly bundled together but after that and in the engine compartment they're not so tightly bundled and I could get a probe on the separate wires. I'm thinking if I send tone from the ignition switch wire i should be able to find it in the bundle in the engine compartment and trace it from there. The wires are not as tightly wrapped together there and i can access individual wires.

[Ruffryder]

"If I send tone" ... no need for that, they are all COLOR CODED so can be traced easily.

Hard to help when my questions are not being answered.

[cbt716]

The 20 amp mini fuse that's part of the TKS system blows when the Temp switch that's in the intake manifold hits 130 degrees where the temp switch closes and provides continuity. I've unplugged the connector to the temp switch and put a jumper on the connector to provide continuity and the fuse doesn't blow so it sounds like the temp switch is grounding out when it closes. The diode and TKS module are upstream from the temp sensor and the motor starts and runs fine with the temp switch bypassed. if i take the jumper off it just idles higher. I have a new temp switch on the way. The puzzling part is the way they have the Red/Purple wire to the ignition switch..it goes to the main push button circuit breaker panel that's below the dash. its connected to one of the 20 amp circuit beakers that's fed by a separate solid 12 or 14 gauge Red wire. All the other circuit breakers are connected to a buss strip from probably a 6 gauge Red wire from the battery switch. All the blower, lights, horn, etc..buttons work on the dash except the gauges which makes sense since they are fed by the purple wire from the ignition switch and I'm getting no power from the red wire on the circuit breaker that supplies the switch. I checked the 50 amp breaker and I'm getting power at both leads so it seems fine. I unplugged the red wire at the circuit breaker and connected a jumper to the main buss strip and the ignition switch worked fine and the boat cranked right over.. so I'm puzzled where the Red wire is coming from because it's not in the wiring diagram and that shows the circuit breaker to the Red/Pur wire being fed from the main buss. looking at the wiring diagram the Red/Pur wire from the engine harness shows Trailer/Trim power and all that is working fine including the kill switch.

[cbt716]

Sorry that previous reply was for Don77 but the wiring in the dash is all tightly bundled together with tie wraps it would be difficult tracing down one red wire without cutting all the tie wraps and there's lots of wiring in there and not much space.

[aluxury1]

check the ignition wire at the key switch..........

[cbt716]

I picked up the wire tracer from Harbor Freight for around $20 and it took me about 5 min to trace the wire from the ignition switch. It wasn't connected to the 20 amp circuit in the circuit breaker panel that i thought it was and it traced it back to a 15 amp mini fuse hidden behind the distributor and coil. Replaced that fuse and the 20 amp fuse for the TKS system and replaced the temp switch on the intake manifold and everything is working perfectly now and was out cruising the lake today. The wiring behind the dash was tightly bundled together and there was allot of wiring in there but this tool came in pretty handy to track down the wire routing without needing to cut allot of tie wraps.

[drewdrop$]

Good lord, I have a massive electrical issue on my 215 bayliner and never even thought to use my tone generator to trace wires!!!

Just one quick question... I assume you clamped red onto the cable you wanted to trace and black onto a ground connection.. correct?

[cbt716]

"drewdrop$" post=823676 wrote:
Good lord, I have a massive electrical issue on my 215 bayliner and never even thought to use my tone generator to trace wires!!!

Just one quick question... I assume you clamped red onto the cable you wanted to trace and black onto a ground connection.. correct?

Yes red to wire to trace and black to ground but from what i understand the transmitter sends a radio signal so the wire your tracing doesn't necessarily need to be grounded so you could probably find shorts or wherever it terminates. My fuse was blown but it still traced the wire to the fuse holder.