Burned wires.

A worrisome finding on Revel. We'd returned to Swan Creek at the end of our short cruise. About 3 hours run time in summer's heat.


I decided to replace the Fuel Tank Gauge. Opened it up to discover something was perhaps amiss with the existing gauge as installed. While troubleshooting, I found that the starboard engine would not start.


Hmmmm?! Did I pull a wire off? Opened the engine's panel and found lots of melted insulation and burned wire. No smoky smell; no plasticy smell.


Don't know if the problem is there or perhaps somewhere else in the system.

Inside the blue plug?
Poor connections generate heat.

Several of the blue plugs are marred from the outside where they rested on at least one hot wire. Nothing internal to the plugs appears damaged or signs of heat. Adjacent bundles of wire also have damaged insulation. Only two adjacent wires show the possibility of a short caused by physical pressure; bare copper showing, maybe reduction in numbers of strands. I have not yet looked at the engine.

Most of the issue maybe just from chafe. I'd look at all of the connections and use a good cleaner like this:

03070 -- Contact Cleaner, 14 Wt Oz

Did the red wire get hot? Maybe a short somewhere in that wire or in the device it powers. What does the red wire do, something with the engine? Looks to be joined to a breaker or switch and a black wire. Maybe it had break in the insulation.

Boy, have you got a good eye, DHMeissner! You missed only two, maybe three spots. There are two on the battery cable - not the one, and neither are through its insulation. One of the blue plugs has a 3/4" length of insulation melted into it on the bottom where you cannot see it; I cannot find a matching wire missing that much insulation.

The two wires side by side with your circle closest to your arrow are burned to bare copper. They look as though they were pinched against the brown wire that is plugged into the ignition switch - the top of the three circles nearest your arrow. The two stray black wires wandering around do not appear original and power the hour meter; one of em has wire that matches the afore-mentioned missing 3/4" of insulation.

Sdowney, the red wire is one side of the engine kill button. I guess that it picks up power from the ammeter and the black wire goes on down to the fuel cut-off solenoid switch.

My volt-ohmmeter is suspect so tests are suspect as well. I'll be back down to the boat on Monday and try to troubleshoot.

So I came back down to the boat on Monday with a decent (working) VOM. Troubleshot. Tuesday, I re-wired and repaired the panel. I tested it by switching it with the port engine's panel; it worked fine. I tested the port engine's panel on starboard; nada!

I cried UNCLE and called the Marina to get his guru.

Today, I noticed that the shifter handle for the starboard engine was not aligned with the port's. I put the handle in alignment and HI-HO!, all was well! Who'd a' thought that about a 3/8 movement of a 10" long lever would activate the no-start-when-in-gear lockout switch?

DHeckrotte said:

So I came back down to the boat on Monday with a decent (working) VOM. Troubleshot. Tuesday, I re-wired and repaired the panel. I tested it by switching it with the port engine's panel; it worked fine. I tested the port engine's panel on starboard; nada!

I cried UNCLE and called the Marina to get his guru.

Today, I noticed that the shifter handle for the starboard engine was not aligned with the port's. I put the handle in alignment and HI-HO!, all was well! Who'd a' thought that about a 3/8 movement of a 10" long lever would activate the no-start-when-in-gear lockout switch?

Click to expand...

That heppened to me a few weeks ago. I went through my entire electrical system searching for a problem until I went and moved the shift lever forward to neutral.

Don't feel too bad. When I was a trawler newbie I was towed 15 miles to home because the engine wouldn't start. Guess why.

My father cut his vacation short and ran back to Anacortes from Victoria, BC on one engine because the starboard engine wouldn't start. Boy was he embarrassed when the mechanic he called noted the shifter wasn't exactly aligned in neutral and then started the engine. I'm glad it was him and not me!

My starboard engine shifter has been that way since the boat was new. Has to be perfectly centered or no bueno. I always start it first, so I can hear if the starter solenoids click when I turn the key on.

Isn't that the first thing to try? Like back in the day, just put your shifter in neutral and wiggle it back and forth before you turn the key and start the car?

Oh, Mike66, you're so cruel!

But right.

Troubleshoots and solves many start problems.

hmason said:

Don't feel too bad. When I was a trawler newbie I was towed 15 miles to home because the engine wouldn't start. Guess why.

Click to expand...

These are the times when I rejoice in the fact my boat is 40 years old, and everything is seat of the pants simple.