Is this proper wiring?

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by dmksails

I'm tracing out the power wiring on my boat as there is a lot of old cable no longer used that I'm trying to remove.

Anyway, in the engine compartment I came across a bus that is providing power and ground to the instruments in my pedestal. This is located up high - basically on the underside of the cockpit floor. What concerns me is that there is nothing to protect a short if something was to get pressed against the bus bar.

Am I being paranoid here, or is there a better way to handle using a bus bar in a space like this?

I think you might be getting a bit paranoid perhaps -- what exactly is going to "press against the bus bar" on the roof of the engine compartment? It's not like this is at the bottom of a cockpit locker.

My only concern is this wiring's location. Do you consider the instruments that are being powered to be "critical", and if so would they possibly get damaged if the engine were to overheat? That wouldn't be fun, but it would be worse to have lost the engine and the instruments as well...

Agree that it would be nicer and clearer if there were negative and positive bus bars, but the quality of the work around there does make it look like someone knew what they were doing.

[Boatyarddog]

[QUOTE=a64pilot;2992759]All I would do is take an acid brush and brush on silicone grease to prevent corrosion.
Be careful with flammable covers, especially in the engine compt, that’s my opinion, budt I think in that case the cure is worse than the disease.
I personally use terminal blocks a lot, especially on things I feel that I will be removing and replacing one day, like pumps for instance.
If you have a nice terminal block on a transducer for instance it makes replacement a lot easier, but you can always add it when you replace one.[/QUOTE


Silicone grease will protect the metal from corrosion, but not from physical placement of wire against the terminal.

True Buss bars have a common strip for attachment of wires that are of a single polarity.
Terminal strips do not, thus people separate these commonly into two terminal strips with a single wire of -or + polarity, and jumper leads or strips to convert them.
This all adds more contact points and surface area for corrosion to get to.

The idea of the buss is to eliminate the added contact surface area with a continuous strip with terminals attached, as well eliminate the confusion of pos. and neg. connections.
SV Cloud Duster

[Cpt Pat]

There a cover strip kits made specifically for this situation. See https://www.alliedelec.com/view/sear...blocks%20cover

[smac999]

Isn’t there plastic beteeen each screw? Even if you stuck a metal object across it can’t touch. It would be really oldly shaped and very lucky to get in beteeen.

Blue sea also makes terminal covers.

[moseriw]

I simply agree with this: Blocks have to be in a housing. Cables in a tube.

But it is not always easy. I used 2" Wastewater tubes and 230V housings.
But one has to rewire everything to complete this task.


And this is a project for months...