On my 2004 NANTUCKET [length unspecified but likely a 190 NANTUCKET] there is a new fuel tank level gauge and a new fuel tank level sender. I want to add new wiring to connect the two.
At the moment one conductor with green insulation is connected to a bar [probably means a welded metal tab on the fuel tank intended for attachment of a BONDING CONDUCTOR]. Another conductor with green insulation is connected to the fuel fill.
There are two conductors with pink insulation. One pink insulation conductor connects to the fuel tank level gauge. The second pink insulation conductor is connected (according to a schematic diagram) to “OPTI FUEL SPICE.”
Q1: where should the second pink insulation conductor be connected?
[Moderator's note: this thread has been moved to SMALL BOAT ELECTRICAL for discussion from another forum. The author of this post has been notified by a private message of this change.]
Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
Re: Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
Your narrative and description of the wiring is not sufficiently complete to allow an answer to your question to be formulated.
In general, description of wiring circuit is a narrative form is difficult, often misleading, and often incomplete. Further, use of non-standard terminology for circuit components complicates the narrative form of description.
There are several problems in your narrative.
First, I do not believe that the actual information in a schematic diagram conforms to your description that a wire is to be connected to "OPTI FUEL SPICE.” I suspect you have misspelled something.
Second, that a wire is connected to "a bar" has no meaning. You must indicate what the "bar" is connected to.
I will offer what advice I can.
In a Boston Whaler boat the electrical wiring will tend to follow a set coding of wire insulation colors. In the case of a wire whose insulation is PINK, the usual coding indicates a wire with PINK insulatoin is to be attached to a fuel tank level sender. There is a comprehensive list of wire color codes in the REFERENCE section article on that topic. See
Marine Wiring Color Codes
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... rCode.html
The typical FUEL TANK LEVEL SENDER will be a variable resistor. A resistor has no particular polarity in a DC circuit.
TYPICAL REMOTE ELECTRICAL TANK LEVEL GAUGE OR METER
The general arrangement for a remote gauge that indicates the fuel tank level by electrical circuits is as follows:
A source of 12-Volts (typically provided by the engine ignition key switch when the key is in the RUN or START position) will be connected to an electrical current meter, an Ammeter or more likely a MilliAmmeter. The rear face of the meter will have the terminal marked in a clear manner to indicate this is where the battery voltage is to be applied, such as a label that says I or perhaps ING for the ignition key switch which will be providing the 12-Volt power when the key is in the RUN or START position. In this way, the remote fuel tank level gauge is only operating when the engine is operating or the ignition key switch is turn to RUN from OFF without starting the engine. This conductor often has VIOLET insulation. Or a terminal might be marked B for battery. This may depend on the brand or manufacturer of the remote fuel tank level meter gauge.
Another terminal on the rear of the meter will be marked with an S (for sender). This terminal is connected to the resistive sender on the fuel tank that is to be monitored. This conductor may have PINK insulation when used with a Boston Whaler boat.
In order to complete the circuit from the fuel sender back to the gauge, a second conductor must be connected to the resistive fuel tank sender, and run back to the meter, and this may also be on a second conductor with PINK insulation. This is the negative-return conductor, and it will usually connect to a terminal marked G (for ground) on the rear face of the meter. This "G" terminal will also have a connection to the battery negative bus at the helm panel, usually made by a conductor with black insulation at the helm panel.
IMPORTANT
The reason a second conductor to return the current back to the remote meter gauge is to ISOLATE this current and to keep if from traveling on the fuel tank BONDING circuit. (See below.)
Another terminal on the rear face of the meter will typically be marked with a L (for lamp). This is the illumination circuit for the meter so it can be read in the dark. This circuit is controlled by a separate switch, often marked PANEL LIGHTS or something similar. In some instances this circuit may be from the NAVIGATION LIGHTING circuit, on the basis that if it is dark you will have illuminated the boat's navigation lamps. The gauge illumination circuit is typically run on wires with BLUE (or in some cases LT BLUE) insulation.
If the fuel tank is a made from metal, there will be a BONDING conductor that is connected to the the fuel tank. This connection is generally made to a metal tab that is welded to the fuel tank. The purpose of the BONDING conductor is to connect all the metal elements of the fuel system, especially the metal fuel inlet or filler fitting and the fuel tank. This is very important, as the flow of gasoline from the inlet fitting to the fuel tank is on a rubber hose. Due to the triboelectric effect, the flowing of fuel can accumulate an electrical charge. The BONDING conductor should NEVER be carrying any DC current involved in any other circuit. The bonding conductor is usually a 10-AWG wire with GREEN insulation, although in some instances the insulation color might be YELLOW. The current created by the fuel tank level sender circuit SHOULD NOT be running on the bonding conductor. It should run back to the remote meter gauge.
In some instances, the resistive fuel tank level sender may NOT have an isolated return connection. The return circuit has already been completed by connecting to the the metal fuel tank. This is not the best approach as it results in some current flowing on the bonding conductors of the fuel tank. If your particular fuel tank level sender has only one terminal, then the other half of the circuit is going to be on the metal tank itself and its bonding wire. To predict what sort of resistive fuel tank level sender is in your boat is impossible for me.
Well, I have tried to use a narrative to describe the circuit, which is not a good manner. I will draw the circuit in an ASCII-TEXT diagram below:
[IGNITION KEY SWITCH TERMINAL "ACC"]-----violet wire------[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "I"]
[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "S"]-----pink wire------[FUEL SENDER CONNECTION AT FUEL TANK]
[SECOND FUEL SENDER CONNECTION AT FUEL TANK] ------second pink wire-----[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "G"]
[BATTERY NEGATIVE BUS at HELM] --------black wire-------[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "G"]
In general, description of wiring circuit is a narrative form is difficult, often misleading, and often incomplete. Further, use of non-standard terminology for circuit components complicates the narrative form of description.
There are several problems in your narrative.
First, I do not believe that the actual information in a schematic diagram conforms to your description that a wire is to be connected to "OPTI FUEL SPICE.” I suspect you have misspelled something.
Second, that a wire is connected to "a bar" has no meaning. You must indicate what the "bar" is connected to.
I will offer what advice I can.
In a Boston Whaler boat the electrical wiring will tend to follow a set coding of wire insulation colors. In the case of a wire whose insulation is PINK, the usual coding indicates a wire with PINK insulatoin is to be attached to a fuel tank level sender. There is a comprehensive list of wire color codes in the REFERENCE section article on that topic. See
Marine Wiring Color Codes
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... rCode.html
The typical FUEL TANK LEVEL SENDER will be a variable resistor. A resistor has no particular polarity in a DC circuit.
TYPICAL REMOTE ELECTRICAL TANK LEVEL GAUGE OR METER
The general arrangement for a remote gauge that indicates the fuel tank level by electrical circuits is as follows:
A source of 12-Volts (typically provided by the engine ignition key switch when the key is in the RUN or START position) will be connected to an electrical current meter, an Ammeter or more likely a MilliAmmeter. The rear face of the meter will have the terminal marked in a clear manner to indicate this is where the battery voltage is to be applied, such as a label that says I or perhaps ING for the ignition key switch which will be providing the 12-Volt power when the key is in the RUN or START position. In this way, the remote fuel tank level gauge is only operating when the engine is operating or the ignition key switch is turn to RUN from OFF without starting the engine. This conductor often has VIOLET insulation. Or a terminal might be marked B for battery. This may depend on the brand or manufacturer of the remote fuel tank level meter gauge.
Another terminal on the rear of the meter will be marked with an S (for sender). This terminal is connected to the resistive sender on the fuel tank that is to be monitored. This conductor may have PINK insulation when used with a Boston Whaler boat.
In order to complete the circuit from the fuel sender back to the gauge, a second conductor must be connected to the resistive fuel tank sender, and run back to the meter, and this may also be on a second conductor with PINK insulation. This is the negative-return conductor, and it will usually connect to a terminal marked G (for ground) on the rear face of the meter. This "G" terminal will also have a connection to the battery negative bus at the helm panel, usually made by a conductor with black insulation at the helm panel.
IMPORTANT
The reason a second conductor to return the current back to the remote meter gauge is to ISOLATE this current and to keep if from traveling on the fuel tank BONDING circuit. (See below.)
Another terminal on the rear face of the meter will typically be marked with a L (for lamp). This is the illumination circuit for the meter so it can be read in the dark. This circuit is controlled by a separate switch, often marked PANEL LIGHTS or something similar. In some instances this circuit may be from the NAVIGATION LIGHTING circuit, on the basis that if it is dark you will have illuminated the boat's navigation lamps. The gauge illumination circuit is typically run on wires with BLUE (or in some cases LT BLUE) insulation.
If the fuel tank is a made from metal, there will be a BONDING conductor that is connected to the the fuel tank. This connection is generally made to a metal tab that is welded to the fuel tank. The purpose of the BONDING conductor is to connect all the metal elements of the fuel system, especially the metal fuel inlet or filler fitting and the fuel tank. This is very important, as the flow of gasoline from the inlet fitting to the fuel tank is on a rubber hose. Due to the triboelectric effect, the flowing of fuel can accumulate an electrical charge. The BONDING conductor should NEVER be carrying any DC current involved in any other circuit. The bonding conductor is usually a 10-AWG wire with GREEN insulation, although in some instances the insulation color might be YELLOW. The current created by the fuel tank level sender circuit SHOULD NOT be running on the bonding conductor. It should run back to the remote meter gauge.
In some instances, the resistive fuel tank level sender may NOT have an isolated return connection. The return circuit has already been completed by connecting to the the metal fuel tank. This is not the best approach as it results in some current flowing on the bonding conductors of the fuel tank. If your particular fuel tank level sender has only one terminal, then the other half of the circuit is going to be on the metal tank itself and its bonding wire. To predict what sort of resistive fuel tank level sender is in your boat is impossible for me.
Well, I have tried to use a narrative to describe the circuit, which is not a good manner. I will draw the circuit in an ASCII-TEXT diagram below:
[IGNITION KEY SWITCH TERMINAL "ACC"]-----violet wire------[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "I"]
[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "S"]-----pink wire------[FUEL SENDER CONNECTION AT FUEL TANK]
[SECOND FUEL SENDER CONNECTION AT FUEL TANK] ------second pink wire-----[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "G"]
[BATTERY NEGATIVE BUS at HELM] --------black wire-------[FUEL GAUGE TERMINAL "G"]
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shark hair
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2024 8:19 pm
Re: Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
Thanks for the response the bar I was referring to is the ground bar didn't mean to leave that off. My only concern is not knowing what the Opti fuel splice (Not misspelled) which is taken directly from the attached whaler PDF schematic. Thanks again for your response.
- Attachments
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wiring.pdf- (71.28 KiB) Downloaded 19 times
Re: Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
Thanks for clearing up the misspelling in your initial post: SPICE —> SPLICE.shark hair wrote:My only concern is not knowing what the Opti fuel splice (Not misspelled) which is taken directly from the attached whaler PDF schematic.
Thanks for providing the electrical wiring diagram for a Boston Whaler 190 NANTUCKET boat. A schematic diagram is the best way to illustrate and inform about an electrical circuit. Refer to the diagram below for wire identification numbers, wire insulation color, and wire gauge. For example, the conductor identified as "200A-14-PNK" means an AWG-14 wire with PINK insulation is identified as wire number 200A.
- Fig. 1. Detail of the circuit for the fuel tank level sender from the OEM wiring diagram.
- fuelSenderWiring.png (8.89 KiB) Viewed 425 times
The notation (in the lower right of the schematic diagram) “OPTI FUEL SPLICE” probably refers to a spliced connection to some portion of a wire harness associated with a particular Mercury Marine OptiMax outboard engine. Exactly what circuit is going to be spliced into is unknown to me.
The circuit at the fuel tank level sender for this wire (number 200) is the HOT side, not the BATTERY NEGATIVE side. Why the outboard propulsion engine would connect directly to fuel tank level sender is a good question. Perhaps the engine has Mercury Smartcraft instrumentation, and the Smartcraft system will be monitoring the tank level. But let's just ignore than for the purpose of installing a different fuel gauge, as you want to do.
If you plan to install a new, dedicated fuel tank level gauge, the new gauge should be the ONLY device connected to the fuel tank level sender. (See below for more explanation for this.) On that basis you should disconnect the PINK wire that is identified as number 200, and leave the PINK wire that is identified as number 200A connected to the sender. Insulate the disconnected wire number 200 so it does not short to ground. Pink wire 200A runs to the helm console. This circuit should be connected to the S or SENDER terminal of the new fuel tank level gauge.
Wires 201 and 700, both 14-AWG with GREEN insulation, should be left in place as originally connected.
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shark hair
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2024 8:19 pm
Re: Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
That makes sense. I appreciate your taking the time to respond.
Re: Fuel Tank Level Sender Wiring
I improved the illustration in Figure 1 to show all of the circuits that were attached to the fuel tank level sender.
Regarding my comment above that you should have ONLY the new remote fuel tank level gauge connected to the fuel tank sender unit, I want to explain the reason for this. The amount of current that will flow in the circuit is determined by the resistance of the fuel tank sender unit and the voltage provided from the fuel tank level remote gauge. If there is another electrical element connected to the resistive sender in the fuel tank level sender, this connection will affect the amount of current that will flow in the circuit. As a result the calibration of the remote meter gauge will be affected, and the level indicated by the gauge will not be correct.
Because the sort of electrical circuit that might be connected if you maintain the PINK wire number 200 which is described as being connected to the OPTI FUEL SPLICE is unknown to me, I cannot offer any opinion about what sort of effect this connection will have. So on that basis I suggest you disconnect it.
Also note that in the original boat wiring Boston Whaler has provided a "butt connector" for you to make a connection to the fuel tank level sender from the electric remote fuel tank level gauge. The best way to implement that connection would be to make use of this pre-installed connector.
Regarding my comment above that you should have ONLY the new remote fuel tank level gauge connected to the fuel tank sender unit, I want to explain the reason for this. The amount of current that will flow in the circuit is determined by the resistance of the fuel tank sender unit and the voltage provided from the fuel tank level remote gauge. If there is another electrical element connected to the resistive sender in the fuel tank level sender, this connection will affect the amount of current that will flow in the circuit. As a result the calibration of the remote meter gauge will be affected, and the level indicated by the gauge will not be correct.
Because the sort of electrical circuit that might be connected if you maintain the PINK wire number 200 which is described as being connected to the OPTI FUEL SPLICE is unknown to me, I cannot offer any opinion about what sort of effect this connection will have. So on that basis I suggest you disconnect it.
Also note that in the original boat wiring Boston Whaler has provided a "butt connector" for you to make a connection to the fuel tank level sender from the electric remote fuel tank level gauge. The best way to implement that connection would be to make use of this pre-installed connector.