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Marine gauges won't light up

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Georgiaboy67

Advanced Contributor
I have a 1997 sprint 277 fs boat with a 97 evinrude 115. Yesterday, after finally having time and money to fool with spaghetti junction under the console, i finally got all my gauges to work properly. My boat looks to have ypur standard wiring color code.. The gauges don't light up like I need them to at night.. I do know that typically the dark blue wire is for gauge lighting. But when I followed that dark blue wire I don't see it run to the rocker switches. Which is how they used to turn on. (Via rocker switch panel.) i see it run from the back of the boat, to the front with the running lights. Then I see an orange wire, with a blue stripe on it, followed it, and it goes from the fuse panel, to this fat 8 prong connector from what looks to be a wiring harness. How can Iwire them to make them run on a rocker switch to get the gauges to ligjt up only when I flip the switch on?
 
They work, but not through the way they used to be wired. The switch was bad, the copper on the front light was completely black instead of bronze, the front light itself was bad, and the back was completely disconnected, now I have two seperate push/pull switches that are both fused to make them work. I did see the dark blue wire running to the front of the boat. But that's as far as I've gotten. Plus I replaced 2 5 amp fuses, and one 20 amp fuse on the fuse panel underneath,
 
Wiring is too important it must be right. There should be two wires to the navigation light up in the bow and to the anchor light at the stern. Does your fuse panel have a grounding bar also or is it separate. The guages should all be grounded together. Do you have a master battery switch and do the accys all work? Just take your time and if the accys use the same wire from the battery as the ignition switch you really should pull another wire and isolate the ignition from the house systems. Allways fuse any wires you add to the battery at the battery as well with a inline fuse. Draw up a wiring diagram and make sure everything is going where it needs to. You can never add too many fuses. A wire fire will make for a miserable and dangerous outing like I say take your time and go through every wire.
 
I can see the one wire to the front light, to the back idk where it is or what it looks like nor can I find it.minus the old front running light wires that are loose, the rest of the random hanging wires are all under the dash. the only switch that worked on the boat wS the power switch and the bilge pump, I took apart the fuse panel to look behind it but I don't understand how these things are connected to the fuses. I'd pull one out but I don't wanna mess nothing else up. None of the gauges have worked in a decade and I found the simple culprit yesterday. Now they all work. But there's so many connectors and loose wires I have no clue where to start.and because some stuff works I don't want to yank it all out at once like I really want to do and start over. My knowledge is extremely slim when it comes to electricity. (Obviously) The fuse panel has its own bus bar. I don't even know where the gauges are grounded at, I don't see the connection on the bus bar.
 
I see the one wire that hooks up to the rocker switch for the navigation lights, and I see the old front running light wires, but nothing in the back. Literally just the wires for the plug pole base on the stern
 
I'm not far from having a mechanic do it. Yes I want to learn because I hate having to pay $200-$400 for someone else to do it, but if I'm not confident enough that I can do it that $400 ain't bad if it means I don't do anything wrong that could cost me my boat and/or my life. If I'm reading this diagram correctly is it telling me I should run a + wire from where the blue wire connects to each of the gauges for lighting, to the navigation switch?
 
yes are you using the rocker switch? Is it a two way switch? Up should be navigation lights and down for anchor light only. To do both with one switch if it has six terminals you need a jumper wire, I will try and find the diagram the newer three wire switches are jumpered internally.
 
I will be using the rocker switch. The new ones are on the way, all of my rocker switches had just the 3 terminals on them. And at one point everything had worked on the boat. I don't understand anything besides the 3 terminals. Like idk how to wire or why you would need a switch that has like 6 terminals on one switch.. The 3 are basic to me, one +, one the accessory, and one the ground.. Simple to me. Lol how many terminals for the rocker switch should I have for the gauge lighting?
 
For just dash lights you only need two terminals on/off only if your switching ground do you need to connect ground to any switch. The grounds need to be direct from the grounding bar to each appliance and then all hots need to be fused. Do you have a master power switch directly from the battery to the fuse panel?
 
I think I will just use a seperate switch for the lighting, There's been different switches that were moved around.. The boat only had 5 switches when my uncle passed it to me,(he rednecked the hell out of it) which is why I'm having so many issues with this, he's one of those(do it to get by) me I want it to last.. Lol. And I have a master power switch that powers all of the rocker switches. That is it. There was an on/off switch for the gauge lighting and nav lights, they all were turned on at once, an on/off switch for the bilge pump, a mom/off for the horn, and the on/off/on switch for the livewell and aerator. Which those haven't worked in years either. 4 out of those 5 switches, including the master power switch, only had 3 terminals per rocker switch. The horn only had 2.
 
When Irun this + wire from the gauge to the new switch, should I fuse it? I know you said you can never have too many fuses! But Ithought if the gauges are already fused ( I think) should I just fise it again to be safe? Or just simply run that wire from the blue terminal on the gauge to the switch and leave it at that? I feel like I should fuse it to avoid fire.
 
Sounds like you have a handle on it you should be able to get everything working and safe. Like I said take your time now and get to know it good. Is the master power switch fused at the battery would be the most important you dont want that wire lighting up. You can get a waterproof inline fuse holder at any auto part store for a 40amp fuse is normally sufficient.
 
Yes wire the switch from the fuse panel to the lights. Depending on how many circuits your running you can always install a larger fuse panel.
 
Yes the master switch is fused. Along with everything else. Even the ones that don't work are fused.. Could I also have a 3 terminal switch for the gauge lights? Like run a wire from the lights to the switch, then run a + wire to the switch from the fuse panel, and then the ground wire to the bus bar? Or better yet take just a 2 terminal switch for the gauges, run the+ wire to the switch from the fuse panel, and do one of those quick splices, and run a + wire from that splice, to the gauge. And then just ground it out. I'm trying to minimize the soaghetti junction, I'm pretty good at making things more conplicated then they could be. I always like to take the easiest yet safest way out.
 
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