CONTINUOUSWAVE

Q1: on a 2009 220 OUTRAGE center console, how can the trim piece that covers the threaded fasteners that hold in place the toe kick panel be removed in order to access electrical wiring without causing harm to the trim piece so it could be reinstalled?

Q2: if the trim piece were to be damaged and not reusable, can a new trim piece be purchased?

BACKSTORY
On my 2009 Outrage 220 I added new electronics to the console, including a Fusion amplifier for entertainment loudspeakers.

Q3: where is the wiring harness that [will provide] the power (for the FUSION device and its) memory power?

I have not been able to locate it.

This wiring should be somewhere under the helm, but it would seem that Whaler made it nearly impossible to access the wiring. It appears the only way to access all wiring is to remove the console aft toe kick panel. The toe kick panel appers to be held in by screws but there’s a trim piece covering those screws. The trim peice seems to be bonded in place by a two-part weld to the console.

Jcomeau0 wrote:Q3: where is the wiring harness that [will provide] the power (for the FUSION device and its) memory power?

Perhaps the hard-to-find wiring would not be installed if the option was not specified for a particular boat build.

I can see the wires coming from the main breaker panel. They go into a connector and then disappear into a harness that I just can’t follow to its end due to poor access to the under side of the helm. That is the reason for wanting to remove the aft toe kick panel.

UPDATE
[Instead of trying to remove the trim piece, I cut an access panel in the console under the helm but inside the center console. There I found hidden the circuit for powering the entertainment amplifier. The circuit was terminated in a receptacle connector; I will order a matching plug connector.]

[Moderator’s note: the original narrative of the steps taken has been re-written to be more sequential and shorter.]

Thanks for the follow-up article describing your solution of the problem. For Boston Whaler to have built a boat in which such an unusual modification was needed to utilize an existing electrical power distribution circuit seems extremely odd.

In the general plan used by Boston Whaler for wiring, almost all electrical cables are pre-made before actual installation into the hull. In particular the wiring in a center console will almost always be installed before the center console in will be mounted onto the hull. This method allows much better access for the installer to assemble the wiring into the console, compared to trying to accomplish that same work when the console is mounted in place on the hull. For this reason, wiring is broken into assemblies and the wiring assemblies or harnesses are fitted with multiple pole connectors which will mate together when the console is put into the hull.

Having been involved in installation of various electronic devices for many decades, deducing the manufacturer, type, and exact part number to purchase mating connectors by visual examination of an existing connector can be a very tricky process. Good luck on that next step.