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breaker problem

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mike1960

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i have a 1972 360 electronic ignition it has just started kicking the breaker on the engine i never had this problem before i replaced both batterys thinking it was a dead short it ran fine for a while then it happened again any thoughts would be helpful. thanks mike1960
 
It's either of two things: A weak breaker (it happens) or a short hiding somewhere. I'd think it's the latter.

Jeff
 
The Chrysler marine engine wiring diagram that I have doesn't even show that circuit breaker but it's certainly there on my marine 360s, although mine have never tripped. Does the breaker trip as you are starting the engine or while the engine is running? I'd guess it was the latter. That breaker protects only the dc wiring that is in the engine space. In other words, all the other stuff on the boat (navigation lights, etc.) is protected by fuses or breakers further down the line. That means you only have to look for a possible intermittent short on and around the engine itself. You can eliminate the oil pressure and temp wires since they have no connection to the breaker. You might look for a primary ignition wire that has the insulation chafed from rubbing or heat. The wiring harness from the alternator on my 360s is routed right next to the choke and has shown signs of wear, so that might be a place to look if yours is anything like that.

One other comment that won't make your life any easier. That breaker is probably almost 40 years old and it was never built to last that long. Once those old breakers trip once or twice for any reason (you did have a battery problem) they tend to trip very easily after that. They have a bi-metal spring and latch inside that were never meant to be tripped and reset over and over. If you are pretty sure that your engine dc wiring is in good shape, you can take the breaker out of the circuit by jumping the contacts. I know this isn't politically correct but it will get your engine running and keep it running long enough to find out if something else really is drawing excessive current.

Bill
 
hey thanks for all the advice i replaced both batterys had the alternator rebuilt replaced the breaker every thing seemed fine went out on an hour run it was fine came back that same night got back to the slip and it just quit poped the new breaker again.im not sure where to turn next .thanks again mike1960
 
Hey mike1960, I live right in Swansea Ma down the river (Taunton) from you. I too have the same problem happening on my port side 318. I think i left the boat sitting on the mooring for to long and the inverter ran the 3 batteries down. When I used it after two weeks, the engine breaker poped and the volt meter went down to around 11.5. I checked batts and alternator with my multimeter and batts showed low 12.6 when running. had the alternator rebuilt cause it showed the same as helm volt meter, 11.5. put rebiult alt. back in and still 11.5. Just by chance I pushed the 25A breaker and the engine went down in rpms, hooked up volt meter and it showed 14.2 @ alternator !!! I then ran out for a 1 hr run to charge the batts. showing 14v on the volt meter @ helm. Coming back I put on the Nav lights and it went down to around 12v and poped the same breaker again. I then disconnected the third battery that I have dedicated to the inverter (which was unhooked all day) and it ran @ around 13.5 all the way home and didn't pop the breaker. I'm goin' to try takin' all batts out and charge them, then re-install and see if all is well if not I must have a draw somewhere, which is another ball of wax. Sorry so long winded, but I think these on line forums help alot, besides I can't complain to the wife, she has no idea what the heck i'm talkin' about !!
 
Trojanman said:
Hey mike1960, I live right in Swansea Ma down the river (Taunton) from you. I too have the same problem happening on my port side 318. I think i left the boat sitting on the mooring for to long and the inverter ran the 3 batteries down. When I used it after two weeks, the engine breaker poped and the volt meter went down to around 11.5. I checked batts and alternator with my multimeter and batts showed low 12.6 when running. had the alternator rebuilt cause it showed the same as helm volt meter, 11.5. put rebiult alt. back in and still 11.5. Just by chance I pushed the 25A breaker and the engine went down in rpms, hooked up volt meter and it showed 14.2 @ alternator !!! I then ran out for a 1 hr run to charge the batts. showing 14v on the volt meter @ helm. Coming back I put on the Nav lights and it went down to around 12v and poped the same breaker again. I then disconnected the third battery that I have dedicated to the inverter (which was unhooked all day) and it ran @ around 13.5 all the way home and didn't pop the breaker. I'm goin' to try takin' all batts out and charge them, then re-install and see if all is well if not I must have a draw somewhere, which is another ball of wax. Sorry so long winded, but I think these on line forums help alot, besides I can't complain to the wife, she has no idea what the heck i'm talkin' about !!
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But I would still check everything with a multmeter too make sure you're getting 14volts out of the alternator and batts when running. I think mine are popping the breaker because all the batts are not fully charged, you might also want to take the battery cables off and set your multimeter to ohms and connect to the cables to see if there is draw somewhere. Ohms should be at least 100, if you're showing 0 there's definately a draw thats running your batteries down and tripping that breaker. ?????
 
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