Electrical questions

[BrendellaJet]

Trying to wire my boat. I've seen the cahrts posted on here and they are pretty helpful but I am missing 2 key items to complete my understanding of the way the system operates.
Im making my own harness. No fuse block, I figure the old harness only had one fuse, why should the new harness be any different?
Question: I dont remember where the fuse went.
Question: I have a 30 amp breaker, where does it go?
Thanks for any insight.

[FuelInMyVeins82]

I didnt run any fuses or breakers. Theory being i would rather burn up a wire than pop a fuse or breaker at high speeds and have the motor shut off. Also if you run the right size wire you shouldnt have a problem.

[BrendellaJet]

I would put that fuse on the secondary side of your power line. If nothing ever goes wrong then a fuse is not needed. But if you short something damage to components or fire is the result. Or a component failure can also cause melted wires and a FIRE... I would fuse your ignition, fuel pump, gauges, bilge pumps and MSD. If some of those are not used just omit. Pain in the rear I know, but it's a much better way to go.
I dont know what you mean by "secondary side of your power line" Can you clarify?
Running the MSD & gauges. What size fuses for those components?

[BrendellaJet]

I didnt run any fuses or breakers. Theory being i would rather burn up a wire than pop a fuse or breaker at high speeds and have the motor shut off. Also if you run the right size wire you shouldnt have a problem.
My boat fly's straight on shutdown, so i'd like to run the fuse so I can fix the problem and continue the weekend...

[Jetaholic]

The breaker goes in line with the wire that feeds the + side of the battery to terminal #2 on the terminal block.
The terminal block in the schematic is positioned as you're standing behind the boat looking at the back of the engine (ground is on the leftmost terminal).
http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29889&stc=1&d=1177968472

[FuelInMyVeins82]

My boat fly's straight on shutdown, so i'd like to run the fuse so I can fix the problem and continue the weekend...
No worries just the way we did mine. I'm sure there are other and possibly better ways to do it. As long as it runs problem free thats all that counts. :D

[SmokinLowriderSS]

I didnt run any fuses or breakers. Theory being i would rather burn up a wire than pop a fuse or breaker at high speeds and have the motor shut off. Also if you run the right size wire you shouldnt have a problem.
I guess I won't mention the unfused system which my dad put in years earlier, that set a wire on fire the entire length from my dash to the engine, which ruined a harness (minimum 6 wires) and almost set Lowrider on fire from the L/H gunwale.
Hot, shorted 12VDC wire CAN set fibreglass on fire.
Spend $20 and fuze it right.
Or at least spend $5 and half-ass it by fuzing the entire feed circuit line off of the battery.
Wire size has very little to do with burning up wires and a LOT to do with accessories opperating properly.

[BrendellaJet]

Jetaholic, thanks for the chart, that was helpful.
Now for the wires:
Im running mostly 14 gauge for the electronics(gauges & senders). Ill run 2 gauge minimum for the battery cables(ground to block) and from battery to solenoid & solenoid to starter.
For the wire with the breaker on it, what size should it be? Are there any other sections of the harness other than those already mentioned that should not be 14 gauge?
Thanks for any help & insight.

[BrendellaJet]

Thanks DB, youda man!:D

[spectra75]

Here is a question for all you electrical gurus. I'm concerned about static electricty while refueling. My spectra has fiberglass fuel tanks. I've run a ground wire from the fuel fill, to the solid fuel pick up line, then to the jet pump transom ring bolt. The idea is the fuel nozzle comes in contact with the fuel fill which is grounded to water (ground). I'm thinking the fuel moving through the nozzle causes static electricty and this way everything is grounded. Am I too concerned?:idea:

[Jetaholic]

I see you're way of thinking but I think you're confusing your boat's ground with actual "earth ground".
A cold water pipe used as a ground only works on houses because your water pipes are in the actual earth ground. It has nothing to do with grounding to water. In a boat, ground is simply the negative side of the battery, which is usually connected to the engine block, making the block itself a master ground.
Honestly I don't think liquid friction (i.e. gasoline moving through a metal fuel fill) can cause static electricity. Airplanes have to be grounded to an earth ground while fueling because they are metal and they move through the air, which does cause static electricity.
In order for your idea to work, you would have to make a grounding cable that you would clamp to the fuel fills on one end, and then to an earth ground at the pump. However, I don't know of any gas stations that have an earth ground connection for this purpose.

[DelawareDave]

Here is a question for all you electrical gurus. I'm concerned about static electricty while refueling. My spectra has fiberglass fuel tanks. I've run a ground wire from the fuel fill, to the solid fuel pick up line, then to the jet pump transom ring bolt. The idea is the fuel nozzle comes in contact with the fuel fill which is grounded to water (ground). I'm thinking the fuel moving through the nozzle causes static electricty and this way everything is grounded. Am I too concerned?:idea:
Fuel running thru the pump hose/nozzle does create static electricity. Make sure the nozzle is touching your fuel fill. The nozzle has a built-in ground. Otherwise, no sense making more of an issue than it really is.

[boats&bars]

Buy a harness from cp performance done deal

[BrendellaJet]

Cool idea thanks, while your buying his get me one too:D
Seriously, for that price I got all my materials and 10 colrs of wire in hundred foot rolls.

[AZLAW]

At least by a new terminal block from cp performance it will help a lot and plus it looks really nice and clean. I replaced all my wiring this winter with the cp performance wiring harness and the 20ft wire it took me around 4 hours to put it in, everything is color coated and has heat shrinked terminals.