I did something very dumb - Electrical help

[AKRISONER]

Hi Guys,

In one of my not so finest moments, I had just finished winterizing the boat, pulled the batteries out and realized...I forgot to put the motor back up so that I could move it into its parking spot for the winter. I am in a rush as daylight was fading today and I did something very stupid. 

I went to reconnect to the battery to put the motor up so that I could move the boat and of course in my haste and stupidity i put the damn wires on the wrong polarity...spark flash and woop dee doo I blew something...

Went to my breaker panel, its all nicely labeled but all of the fuses there were great. My boat literally has no power at all now. turn the ignition key and nothing happens, the console doesn't turn on, just straight dead. My guess??? is that there is a mainline fuse on the way to the breaker panel, however when i looked at the wires i couldnt see one.

Boat is a 98 skeeter, yamaha engine, so the wiring is nothing fancy, is it typical to have a fuse before the breaker panel? If so would i expect it to be at the console at the breaker panel, or is in the back (i tried to follow the line in the engine bay but it eventually went into some loom that i expect just heads up to the ignition and breaker panel at the front. Perhaps theres a fuse at the actual ignition?

Wouldnt be a huge issue but now my boat is dang sitting in the middle of the damn driveway and of course winter has decided to start way too early up north forcing me into winterizing way earlier than expected...what a crap show.

Any insight anyone can give is greatly appreciated.

Edited November 12, 2018 by AKRISONER

[lew]

Check under the motor cowling and you should find a fuse in there and that could be your issue..

 I think it'll be a green 30 amp.

Edited November 12, 2018 by lew

[AKRISONER]

4 minutes ago, lew said:

Check under the motor cowling and you should find a fuse in there and that could be your issue..

 I think it'll be a green 30 amp.

typically found up by the carb? or towards the back at the plugs and head?

[misfish]

I,ll bet its on the side of the head. A fuse cant be that hard to find under there.

[misfish]

29 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

Wouldnt be a huge issue but now my boat is dang sitting in the middle of the damn driveway and of course winter has decided to start way too early up north forcing me into winterizing way earlier than expected...

 

Why I picked a nice day to pack the toon away late Oct, and get the ice gear ready. Mother nature is a ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[OhioFisherman]

https://www.crowleymarine.com/yp/PG404134/electrical-2-s130tlrw-1998-130hp

Seems to me you have a 130 hp? 30 and 31 shows a fuse of some kind.

[lew]

I was re-reading your post and realized I somehow missed the part where you have no power at all in the boat. I was thinking you only lost power in the motor so my suggestion about the fuse under the cowling will now have no merit.

Sorry bout that.

[AKRISONER]

13 hours ago, misfish said:

 

Why I picked a nice day to pack the toon away late Oct, and get the ice gear ready. Mother nature is a ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

...except my buddy jake and i caught 50 walleye last saturday, and my pops and i caught another 20 between 15-24 inches on sunday morning in 2 1/2 hours...thats why im still out there lol

1 hour ago, lew said:

I was re-reading your post and realized I somehow missed the part where you have no power at all in the boat. I was thinking you only lost power in the motor so my suggestion about the fuse under the cowling will now have no merit.

Sorry bout that.

all good, i thought it was somewhat strange that the fuse in the motor would effect the console power? but maybe the console is inline after the motor? That way the starting power goes to the motor first???

12 hours ago, OhioFisherman said:

https://www.crowleymarine.com/yp/PG404134/electrical-2-s130tlrw-1998-130hp

Seems to me you have a 130 hp? 30 and 31 shows a fuse of some kind.

thats the exact motor...ill have to check those two inline fuses, seems like they are glass fuses rather than plug ins.

49 minutes ago, RossFisher said:

if it is a newer boat the fuses will be at the back by the battery, in a holder..inline with the wires. should be a few different ones there as well.

The fuse is your problem.

old boat 98 skeeter with a 98 yamaha

[OhioFisherman]

Akri, my motor was older too, even older that yours, an 86 35hp Merc, it had a glass fuse. One day while out fishing I went to start the gas motor and no deal, but it seems to me that it would crank like hell but just not start. It had been running fine all morning, we were in sheltered water, fishing docks in marinas, so I went inside one of the marinas and asked if they had a clue and the guy mentioned the under cowl fuse. I bought a tin of them and replaced the old one and all was good.

That doesn't help you much as your problem does seem to be different if you have no power to anything? Trying to power thru weeds with my trolling motor one day and heard and heard a noise from the foot pedal, smelt burnt wiring and lost power to the trolling motor, one of the spade connectors had burnt in half, also an easy fix because I could see the problem.

No real idea on your problem, but if you have no power to anything? I would start at the battery and check wires, connections and fuses in the circuit. A simple circuit tester should let you know where the power ends?

[Garnet]

All motors have a hydraulic release. Look on both sides usually a strait screw driver.

You turn it then pull motor and tighten screw.   

[Rizzo]

I know this is obvious...but after the big scary spark you did remember to hook up the battery properly right? And do you have a way to ensure that battery has power and you didn't fry it (if that is possible)

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, Rizzo said:

I know this is obvious...but after the big scary spark you did remember to hook up the battery properly right? And do you have a way to ensure that battery has power and you didn't fry it (if that is possible)

lol definitely didnt leave it hooked up, disconnected everything and left it that way until i can get back to it to try and fix the boat

 

2 hours ago, Garnet said:

All motors have a hydraulic release. Look on both sides usually a strait screw driver.

You turn it then pull motor and tighten screw.   

ill have to take a look, any specific spot the screw is typically located? just down on the actual hydraulic pump?

[Chris J]

AS the other posters mentioned your issue is more than likely the inline fuse under the cowl, I've done same thing as you before.  It will be encased in a rubber/plastic tube

As well as a manual release on your outboard tilt and trim, screwdriver slot on the side, turn counterclockwise till almost out and then lift by hand and utilize tilt bracket.

 

 

[Chris J]

Mine is a 97 Yamaha 150 so should be fairly similar hopefully.

[Garnet]

It will be on the side of trim/tilt rams. The 2 prongs.

[AKRISONER]

awesome, thanks for the input guys.

 

I also posted my predicament on the Bass Boat central forms and the consensus seems to be the fuses under the cowl on the right hand side (fuse 30 and 31) as Ohio pointed out are the issue. I will let everyone know how it goes this weekend.

[lew]

42 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

the consensus seems to be the fuses under the cowl on the right hand side (fuse 30 and 31)

Hmmmm, perhaps I was correct after all, I should have quit while I was ahead LOL

[OhioFisherman]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

awesome, thanks for the input guys.

 

I also posted my predicament on the Bass Boat central forms and the consensus seems to be the fuses under the cowl on the right hand side (fuse 30 and 31) as Ohio pointed out are the issue. I will let everyone know how it goes this weekend.

Well sadly I can't seem to find out what exactly the function is for either of those two fuses, but with one being a 20 amp and the other a 30 amp they seem to be intended stop power to something that draws a fair amount of power. A call to a Yamaha dealer might give you a better idea? Just guessing they have had the issue arise before?

[AKRISONER]

Praying that I can get the fuses from yamaha for the weekend i wish i could just assume they are standard size but knowing my luck id buy them from canadian tire, head up north and be SOL

[OhioFisherman]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

Praying that I can get the fuses from yamaha for the weekend i wish i could just assume they are standard size but knowing my luck id buy them from canadian tire, head up north and be SOL

Akri, I watched this video and was able to call the guy that made it. He also seems to think the problem is a fuse under the cowl. He said one is the power supply fuse and asked if your trim - tilt was working and I told him no.

He didn't have both fuses in stock to look at them, but he said it was like an inch and and eighth or a little longer. Any Yamaha dealers near you or on your way north you can call? He said the filament inside the fuse is a little different than a standard auto fuse, but for an emergency situation one of them might work.

 

[Fisherman]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

Praying that I can get the fuses from yamaha for the weekend i wish i could just assume they are standard size but knowing my luck id buy them from canadian tire, head up north and be SOL

If you're going up the 400, there's a Yamaha dealer at Innisfil Beach Rd, Dewalt Marine.

[AKRISONER]

just got word from my local yamaha dealer in Pointe Au Baril that I can get the fuses from Yamaha here in Toronto. Mark Payne from Payne Marine has been more than helpful to me. An absolutely top notch shop.

[Garnet]

Take a muliti meter with you.

If you are multi meter challenged like me just turn it on and keep touching leads together

on each click. When the needles move you can prove continuity. Now test your fuses.  

[angelcanon]

Follow battery cables into the engine there is 2 possible options 1 which everyone has touched on a fusible link (fuse) the other is a little button along the same style as would be on power bar, push till hear/click, these will have some resistance, leave all electrical components everything in off position except for 1 light or something small as a indicator.

[Old Ironmaker]

The hydraulic bypass screw is a rather large flat head. You can't miss it, around 3/4". You can manually tilt it up to move the boat at least.