i posted earlier about having my lights not working on my boat. well i pulled the lights switch from my console and tested it with a voltmeter. no voltage on any of the lines coming into the switch. so i can eliminate the lights (bulbs) themselves and the wires from the switch to the lights. now i think its between the batteries and the switch...

my question is this: does anyone know if there is any kind of fuse or electrical protection device (or other lines) between the battery and the light switch on my console? i'm not sure if there is anything on the lines between the battery and the switch, cause i'm thinking about just running new ones over the old ones, instead of pulling/testing the old ones.

i've already tested the fuses at the box, and they're all good.

It should be a fuse. Check and see if you have power to the fuse panel. Swith the fuse even though it looks good. Make sure you have power coming out of the fuse and trace the wire to the switch. If the fuse is OK and has power, there might be a break in the wire. If so, just run a new wire from your fuse panel to the switch. I would not suggest running a new wire from your battery. If you do make sure to put an inline fuse.

Connections corrode very easily. I have taken fuses out shined them up and fixed lots of problems.Grease on connections and on fuses keep them from oxidizing.

the problem turned out to be a loose ground wire which was underneath the light bracket in the front of the boat. it was loose and just hanging there, once held together by electrical tape.

check those ground wires, folks!

97.6% of all electrical problems on boats are caused by corrosion and/or loose connections. Harsh environment, lots of shock and vibration.

ABYC standard for connections is crimped, or crimped and soldered, but not just solder. Wire nuts, electrical tape are out of the question.

It helps to have a heavy-duty crimping tool.



......it's all about the tools.