Rewire 12V How To

[TrentePieds]

Quite so :-) I was hoping that Poche would make that deduction all by hisself :-)!

Peter's pic is the only way to go if you gotta get into it seriously - as most of us must sooner or later. Golden rule is ALWAYS have terminal block twixt breaker and each wire in a cable, and between each wire in a cable and the device it serves.

Cables made up by running wires through a PEX pipe ensconced in the joiner-work are an abomination. If you have them, you really do need to label each wire and make a decent wiring diagram.

I loathe little dangly things hanging off the ends of my wires which is why I invented the shrink wire coding. Others may have invented it before me :-)

Cheers

TP

[Chili Palmer]

Originally Posted by biker6977

I got one of these to label my wiring- I love it!
https://www.imagesupply.com/products...ant=1013483975

If you're going to be doing any substantial wiring I would HIGHLY recommend a label maker like this as it's designed to print onto shrink wrap. I used to assemble motor control centers and control panels for the mining and lumber industries and you can't do the job without one - there's no way I would rewire a boat without a label maker.

EDIT: Here's a decently priced one that indicates it can do shrink tubing.

https://www.imagesupply.com/collecti...be-printer-kit

[sailormed]

Anybody has personal experience with "Rite an Wrap" labels? The advantage is that you can apply them on existing cabling without undoing terminal ends.
I want to be sure they stay in place over the years.

[Reefmagnet]

The 3m Rhino industrial label maker has heat shrink labels (and can print cable and panel specific formats). Bit pricey but they can be found second hand. I also have found the nylon zipties with label tag very good for labellling, too.

Now, to go aginst the grain, neat and tightly bundled wiring is great for aircraft and show cars but generally a terrible idea on a boat. Just try and solve an electrical issue, or even add a new accessory, quickly when all your wires are tied in tight bundles. Use slotted cable ducting instead to make things look neat and leave the wiring loose inside.

Whatever you do, make a circuit schematic and include notes on the physical location of all terminations and junctions and future trouble shooting will be a breeze. If you label terminal blocks and junctions with identification codes, this makes it even easier!

[Nicholson58]

I use a 75 foo lamp cord with alligator clips each end to jump power anywhere or check continuity

[pilott]

I went through the same process last year
I highly recommend the DYMO Rhino 4200 Label maker to print heat-shrink tube labels. Label maker is about US$75 on Amazon. "off brand" label cartridges are ok & MUCH cheaper.
I also second the recommendation of a back board- it makes organizing the wiring much easier, and allows you to do much of the set-up in your home workshop.

[Nicholson58]

PVC bus ducts worked well for us. I also pulle out over 300 feet of wire the PO left in place.

[sy_gilana]

I would look up and learn "Ladder Diagram" to plan your new installation.


It is much better than schematic.

[pilott]

Re: back board. I used 1/2" HDPE board (generic term for Starboard)
solid, non-conductive.
In USA, Sams Club sells 20"x 15" cutting boards in the commercial catering section for about $8.50 - excellent quality HDPE at a great price /sq ft!

[sy_gilana]

Oh, try to install qelectrotech software (linux too) it will help gather your thoughts and plan.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by sy_gilana

I would look up and learn "Ladder Diagram" to plan your new installation.


It is much better than schematic.

If you plan to deploy a PLC as the heart of your electrical system, that is probably a great idea otherwise a wiring schematic will more than suffice.

[jhulmer]

Go to Mainesail's website https://marinehowto.com/ for a lot of good free and correct information. He is very generous with his professional knowledge. Donate if you feel like it so he will keep doing it!
I completely rewired during my refit.

[pilott]

+1 on MainSail for useful information.
The crimpers he sells are great, as well

[mcon12000]

When I began tidying up the wiring on my boat it quickly evolved into a full re-wire.

I just completed my ABYC electrical certification course and take the exam next week (it’s a remote course now thanks to covid). So I can’t offer you advice as an official ABYC Technician “Yet” but I can say there’s no way you will get this correct without some help. You can do 98% of the work but pay someone for guidance or to provide you a roadmap. A professionals birds eye view of your system will save you weeks of work and give you peace of mind.

[Ike]

I wrote the following link primarily for small power boats but most of the steps are applicable to any boat.
Wiring your boat: https://newboatbuilders.com/pages/electricity13.html