Ocean 40+2 Upper Helm Wiring MESSSSSSSSS

[PNM]

I have a '79 Ocean 40+2 Trawler with two 220 HP Range 4 Perkins. So far so good

Over the years previous owners have made a mess of upper helm start, stop, and instrument related wiring.

Ocean installed Engine 1 & 2 Main Switches and an upper helm buss switch on the power distribution panel inside, at the lower helm.

I have two toggle switches, that power the instruments for each engine, and two each start and kill switches on the upper helm.

Because of jumpers added over the years, power comes to the start and kill switches from both the upper helm buss bar and directly from the battery (achieved by connections at the power input terminals on each starter solenoid) and from the Engine Main switches. To boot, some of the jumpers are different on each side

Alas, I want a simple installation where the power to the kill switches comes from the battery and the power to the start switches and the instrument and "low oil pressure buzzer" toggle switches comes via the Engine Main switches at the lower helm.

It seems to me, the upper helm buss should power everything at the upper helm except these engine and instrument related functions.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I especially want to know if I am OFF TRACK.

Is there a standard recommended approach to wiring the engine related functions at the upper helm?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Comodave]

With a boat of that age the wiring is almost assured to be a mess. Maybe have a certified marine electrician come out and draw you a schematic. Then if you are able to do the wiring have at it. Designing a wiring setup over the internet isn’t a good idea IMO. Maybe just rip it all out and start over. Then you know you have tinned wire, good heat shrink connectors and a schematic you can depend on. Good luck.