Adding GPS to Standard Horizons GX-1600

[mlibkind]

I decide to attach a dedicated GPS to my Standard Horizons GX-1600 VHF. This would eliminate needing to turn on the chartplotter when at anchor to use the VHF. Without a GPS signal the VHF gives off an alarm.

I followed the wiring diagram that came with the VHF. When I turned on the VHF it took a couple of minutes to get the position, but there it was. Great. But when I keyed the mic to do a radio check the fuse between the power and the GPS blew. This happened repeatedly. And each time it happened the VHF turned off and would not turn on until the fuse was replaced. But this makes no sense because the fuse is between the positive power and the GPS, not in line with the VHF.

When I removed all the new wiring the VHF worked fine.

I have attached the installation drawing from the VHF user's manual.

In my wiring the battery is replaced by the DC leads that provide power to the VHF (not shown in the image). I tapped into the positive side and installed a fuse as shown connecting the other end to the red wire of the GPS. By the way, since I’m partially color blind I had someone check the wires for me.

I then tapped into the negative side and connected this to the black wire of the GPS and the Green wire of the VHF.

I also attached the brown wire of the GPS to the blue wire of the VHF.

It worked as it should until I keyed the mic and that blew the fuse.

For the life of me I can’t see why keying the mic caused the fuse to blow and why when the fuse is blown the VHF will not turn on since the power to the VHF does not go through the fuse.

The only thing I can see is that the drawing does something odd. The black wire from the battery is shown to the GPS and there is another black wire from the GPS to the VHF. If I were making the drawing I would show the black wires connected as opposed to both going to the GPS. Could the drawing be wrong?

I called the mfg and they had no idea what was wrong. Maybe I will call them again and ask about the separate black wires. Maybe there is a mistake.

Any ideas?

Marcus

[David M]

I would call customer support at Standard Horizon. No sense in going with peoples guesses.

(800)767-2450 between 8AM – 5PM PST

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by mlibkind

I followed the wiring diagram that came with the VHF. When I turned on the VHF it took a couple of minutes to get the position, but there it was. Great. But when I keyed the mic to do a radio check the fuse between the power and the GPS blew. This happened repeatedly. And each time it happened the VHF turned off and would not turn on until the fuse was replaced. But this makes no sense because the fuse is between the positive power and the GPS, not in line with the VHF.

When I removed all the new wiring the VHF worked fine.

Although the fuse is supposed to be in-line with the GPS and not the VHF ... this has all the symptoms of the fuse having been accidentally wired in the wrong place ... I'm sure you're more careful than that, but I know I'm dumb enough to make that kind of mistake, so that would be the first thing I'd check ... then I'd do as David suggests and call SH again.

[smac999]

the fuse must be in the wrong place

[mlibkind]

Originally Posted by smac999

the fuse must be in the wrong place

No, it is in the correct place. Or more correctly, it is in the place shown on the diagram.

I spoke with a knowledgeable guy at Standard Horizon. He said that the problem was that I probably did not have a true ground for the power. Since I don't know where the power is actually coming from, I chose to rewire the system from a 12 volt panel that had a spare breaker.

All seemed to work. I could even do a radio check without a problem. But when I did a second radio check the fuse blew.

I will call Standard Horizon on Monday and talk with the same guy. Hopefully he will suggest what to try next.

Marcus

[tek-noid]

After you have the issue and you replace the fuse, the VHF powers up, correct? And, *without transmitting*, you remove the fuse and presumably the radio powers off. If true, then the only explanation that makes sense to me is that the Radio is powered from the Load side of the fuse and not the battery side.

[Brian.D]

My GPS72 is connected directly to the battery buss bar. It is NOT fused. The radio (GX1600) is also connected to the battery buss bar. It IS fused. The data in/out and ground are all connected via a terminal bar. The point is the power for the radio and the power for the gps are on different wires, but using the same source.

[Brian.D]

Here is a close up of the drawing so you can see the colors used. Your GPS colors might differ from the ones used on the GPS72.

[mlibkind]

My system works now. Apparently the problem had something to do with the power leads. The system work after I rewired using a source that I was sure came directly from the battery.