Green Fuel System Bonding Wire in Boston Whaler boats

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Author Topic:   Green Fuel System Bonding Wire in Boston Whaler boats

TURK427 posted 09-05-2005 08:53 PM ET (US)
What does the heavy gauge 6-AWG or 8-AWG GREEN wire connect to in a 1997 Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 21 Center Console? I assume that is the bonding wire.
What feeds the fused panel power? Is it COMMON terminal of the battery selector switch?
I replaced the two batteries in my 1997 Outrage 21 Center Console. When I was disconnecting the battery cables and associated wires that went to the PERKO "1-2-ALL-OFF" switch things seemed rather straightforward and I did not bother taking notes or drawing diagrams.
I went to install the two new batteries, EXACTLY the way I thought the other two were wired, and the result was less than pretty. One of the terminals on the new batteries and one of the (RED) wires going to the switch melted. I was able to disconnect the remaining wires before doing further damage.
I would have sworn I did it exactly the way it was before. Obviously not! My contention is the new PERKO was at fault, but then again I was testing it after the fact.There is a dead short in terminal #1 even when the switch is in the OFF position.
West marine was kind enough to supply me with two new batteries and a new switch with no questions asked after I told them exactly what happened. I had the batteries and the switch for only two days. Long enough to try my hand at almost setting my otherwise beautiful boat ablaze.
Please correct me if any of the following assumptions are wrong.
a-Battery #1 RED wire (POSITIVE) goes to Switch Post #1.
b-Battery #2 RED wire (POSITIVE) goes to switch Post #2
c-A jumper connects the (NEGATIVE) terminals of the two batteries.
d-The Red (POSITIVE) cable from the engine goes to terminal marked (COMMON) on the switch.
e-The Black (NEGATIVE) Cable from the engine goes to one of the two (NEGATIVE) terminals of the two batteries.
If any of the above assumptions are incorrect please let me know. I doubt it that West Marine will hand over two more Group 27 AGM batteries if I showed up there tomorrow with another battery that has self destructed.
Thanks guys.
TURK

acassidy posted 09-05-2005 09:51 PM ET (US)
Your setup sounds correct. It sounds like your original switch was grounded out some how (like a negative black wire was hooked up to it). Green is the bonding connection. I do not have a battery switch in front of me, but you will have 3 things going to the switch all positive: Battery 1 input, Battery 2 input and outboard + output. Not sure about the Common terminology but I assume that it is the + output to the outboard. You could just tester on the terminals to double check. Yeah, whatever you connect to the power switch should be connected to the Common (+), like your fuse panel. This way when you cut the switch off, everything thing in the boat is disconnected from the batteries.
Hope this helps.
Archie
jimh posted 09-06-2005 05:14 AM ET (US)
[Moved this article about small boat electrical problems to the SMALL BOAT ELECTRICAL area.]
TURK427 posted 09-06-2005 07:54 PM ET (US)
Archie,
Thanks. Jim moved my post the the proper area, unfortunately there is not as much traffic in here, otherwise others would have chimed in as well.
I am pretty confident the way it is laid out is correct, I just wanted to be sure. Thanks for your reponse..
TURK
rtk posted 09-06-2005 09:14 PM ET (US)
Turk, I have the same boat, and it is wired as you described, and as Archie confirmed as proper. The green wire is a bond on mine, and it is connected to the negative battery terminal.
A battery switch will not short the circuit unless you connect a negative ground source to it.
Before you connect the wires again, confirm that the positive and negative leads from the motor are actually connected properly to the motor. Negative usually is connected to the engine block, the positive lead will go to the starter solenoid.
Then confirm the jumper wire that connects the two batteries at the negative terminals are indeed connected to the two negative terminals.
That can be a bit of a tight console to work in, especially trying to move around two big group 27 batteries (I know from experience, I also have two of the same size batteries)
Sounds like you may have simply connected a ground to a positve terminal. Try it first without connecting the bonding wire to the negative post, you never know what someone else did with that wire : )
Sometimes red does not equal positive/black equals negative/green equals bond- that is why it is wise to confirm what the wire is actually attached to, and not assume that because it is a specific color it is a specific polarity.
Rich
DjPro posted 04-25-2006 12:22 PM ET (US)
I am doing the same thing this week to my outrage.
What is the green wire for?
Where does it go?
What is a bonding connection and what does it do?
oroseiwhaler posted 04-25-2006 01:49 PM ET (US)
Hi all,
the green thick wire is the grounding from the fuel tank.
The main negative wire to the console/cabin is black and has the same diameter as the green.
Both start from the negative connection block located near the battery trays.
The negative cables from the batterys should go there as well.
This is how it is factory installed on my '98 Outrage 23.
Best regards
Chris
jimh posted 04-25-2006 03:00 PM ET (US)
Search for "green wire bonding" and I am certain you will find prior discussions. The green wire is the bonding wire for the metallic portions of the fuel system. See my comments in other articles on this topic.
jimh posted 04-25-2006 07:37 PM ET (US)
As I mentioned above, the green wire bonding the fuel system has been the subject of many prior discussions. Here are a few pointers to those:
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011961.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010119.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003337.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010652.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005921.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/003389.html
jimh posted 04-25-2006 07:38 PM ET (US)
The power distribution panel is generally fed from the battery selector switch. It is prudent to have over-current protection, unless the battery is located quite close to the distribution panel.

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Author	Topic: Green Fuel System Bonding Wire in Boston Whaler boats
TURK427	posted 09-05-2005 08:53 PM ET (US) What does the heavy gauge 6-AWG or 8-AWG GREEN wire connect to in a 1997 Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 21 Center Console? I assume that is the bonding wire. What feeds the fused panel power? Is it COMMON terminal of the battery selector switch? I replaced the two batteries in my 1997 Outrage 21 Center Console. When I was disconnecting the battery cables and associated wires that went to the PERKO "1-2-ALL-OFF" switch things seemed rather straightforward and I did not bother taking notes or drawing diagrams. I went to install the two new batteries, EXACTLY the way I thought the other two were wired, and the result was less than pretty. One of the terminals on the new batteries and one of the (RED) wires going to the switch melted. I was able to disconnect the remaining wires before doing further damage. I would have sworn I did it exactly the way it was before. Obviously not! My contention is the new PERKO was at fault, but then again I was testing it after the fact.There is a dead short in terminal #1 even when the switch is in the OFF position. West marine was kind enough to supply me with two new batteries and a new switch with no questions asked after I told them exactly what happened. I had the batteries and the switch for only two days. Long enough to try my hand at almost setting my otherwise beautiful boat ablaze. Please correct me if any of the following assumptions are wrong. a-Battery #1 RED wire (POSITIVE) goes to Switch Post #1. b-Battery #2 RED wire (POSITIVE) goes to switch Post #2 c-A jumper connects the (NEGATIVE) terminals of the two batteries. d-The Red (POSITIVE) cable from the engine goes to terminal marked (COMMON) on the switch. e-The Black (NEGATIVE) Cable from the engine goes to one of the two (NEGATIVE) terminals of the two batteries. If any of the above assumptions are incorrect please let me know. I doubt it that West Marine will hand over two more Group 27 AGM batteries if I showed up there tomorrow with another battery that has self destructed. Thanks guys. TURK
acassidy	posted 09-05-2005 09:51 PM ET (US) Your setup sounds correct. It sounds like your original switch was grounded out some how (like a negative black wire was hooked up to it). Green is the bonding connection. I do not have a battery switch in front of me, but you will have 3 things going to the switch all positive: Battery 1 input, Battery 2 input and outboard + output. Not sure about the Common terminology but I assume that it is the + output to the outboard. You could just tester on the terminals to double check. Yeah, whatever you connect to the power switch should be connected to the Common (+), like your fuse panel. This way when you cut the switch off, everything thing in the boat is disconnected from the batteries. Hope this helps. Archie
jimh	posted 09-06-2005 05:14 AM ET (US) [Moved this article about small boat electrical problems to the SMALL BOAT ELECTRICAL area.]
TURK427	posted 09-06-2005 07:54 PM ET (US) Archie, Thanks. Jim moved my post the the proper area, unfortunately there is not as much traffic in here, otherwise others would have chimed in as well. I am pretty confident the way it is laid out is correct, I just wanted to be sure. Thanks for your reponse.. TURK
rtk	posted 09-06-2005 09:14 PM ET (US) Turk, I have the same boat, and it is wired as you described, and as Archie confirmed as proper. The green wire is a bond on mine, and it is connected to the negative battery terminal. A battery switch will not short the circuit unless you connect a negative ground source to it. Before you connect the wires again, confirm that the positive and negative leads from the motor are actually connected properly to the motor. Negative usually is connected to the engine block, the positive lead will go to the starter solenoid. Then confirm the jumper wire that connects the two batteries at the negative terminals are indeed connected to the two negative terminals. That can be a bit of a tight console to work in, especially trying to move around two big group 27 batteries (I know from experience, I also have two of the same size batteries) Sounds like you may have simply connected a ground to a positve terminal. Try it first without connecting the bonding wire to the negative post, you never know what someone else did with that wire : ) Sometimes red does not equal positive/black equals negative/green equals bond- that is why it is wise to confirm what the wire is actually attached to, and not assume that because it is a specific color it is a specific polarity. Rich
DjPro	posted 04-25-2006 12:22 PM ET (US) I am doing the same thing this week to my outrage. What is the green wire for? Where does it go? What is a bonding connection and what does it do?
oroseiwhaler	posted 04-25-2006 01:49 PM ET (US) Hi all, the green thick wire is the grounding from the fuel tank. The main negative wire to the console/cabin is black and has the same diameter as the green. Both start from the negative connection block located near the battery trays. The negative cables from the batterys should go there as well. This is how it is factory installed on my '98 Outrage 23. Best regards Chris
jimh	posted 04-25-2006 03:00 PM ET (US) Search for "green wire bonding" and I am certain you will find prior discussions. The green wire is the bonding wire for the metallic portions of the fuel system. See my comments in other articles on this topic.
jimh	posted 04-25-2006 07:37 PM ET (US) As I mentioned above, the green wire bonding the fuel system has been the subject of many prior discussions. Here are a few pointers to those: http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011961.html http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010119.html http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003337.html http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010652.html http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005921.html http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/003389.html
jimh	posted 04-25-2006 07:38 PM ET (US) The power distribution panel is generally fed from the battery selector switch. It is prudent to have over-current protection, unless the battery is located quite close to the distribution panel.