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I've been working on my Montauk, and I have noticed my lights are not functioning as they should.

I've got a two position switch, however in either position both the red/green navigation light and stern light are lit. I believe the wiring is correct as they appear to be connected to separate terminals. Shouldn't it work that position 1 is stern light only for anchoring and position 2 is all lights for running?

[img]http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h237/cuda7185/switch.jpg[/img]

Could the switch itself be bad? If so should I replace it or is it possible to dismantle and clean/repair. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

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It should be 3 position....
1. Off
2. Anchor Light On
3. All Running lights On

http://www.whalercentral.com/photogal...hoto_id=85

I would say the switch is Not wired correctly....

I would suggest you identify which wire is going to the Anchor light and which wire is for the Bow light....

The wire colors tell me whoever wired this boat did not have the correct color wires and didn't take the time to purchase the correct color wires...
Black is usually used for ground.
Red is usually used for positive or hot....

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Before you tear everything apart...

If switches sit un cycled for a while, either toggle type or pull type, oxydation can occur on the contacts. This can produce either an intermittant connection or seem like a complete circuit failure. Most swiches have a 'wiping" type contact.

Simply cycle the switch 10-20 times and bingo...problems usually go away...Mcguiver. At the beginning of every summer when I wake up my Ericson 30, my toggle switches are tempermental intil I cycle them a few times.

Magic Huh? $5 bucks says your switch is just fine!

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The switch does sound fine.
It just lights everything up in both ON positions... This tells us the switch is not wired properly...

Also see this article on a similar switch but with one more terminal.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=51

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Ok so I disconnected each of the "blue wires" one at a time to see what still worked. When I removed the one marked "head" both lights would still come on in both positions. When I disconnected the one with no marks and pulled the switch, nothing lit at all.

I am starting to believe something isn't wired properly.

Brian

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There are only 3 terminals....

One is battery so you can forget about that one.....

You need to find out which terminal is ON when you pull the switch to the first position... This is the terminal that you would connect the Anchor light wire to...

After that, the rest is easy... You would connect the bow light wire to the other terminal...

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Thanks, that does make sense.

My confusion is that with the "red wire" connected to the battery terminal, one "blue wire" connected to the unmarked terminal and the other wire marked "head" disconnected, both the nav light bulb and the stern light are lit.

It seems that both are connected through one wire.

Brian

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That's what is sounds like...

You need to trace the wires and separate them....
Some people just don't care about proper wiring and then splice them altogether so the all the lights works on one terminal....

So, trace the wires and find out where they go, what color they are, etc....
This is a great time to learn about the wiring on your boat.
It may come in handy someday on the high seas...........

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Ok thanks, I will start tracing them and post back when I find where they go.

Brian

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Yikes...

The two wires attached to the nav light switch are spliced into different colored ones. The "head" marked terminal becomes green and the unmarked terminal becomes a white wire. They run to the back into this:

[img]http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h237/cuda7185/block.jpg[/img]

The green was disconnected and cut, but not capped. This explains why leaving the wire in the "head" terminal did nothing, it is not connected to anything on this end.

The white wire (from the unmarked terminal on the nav switch) connects to this block, and the two red and black wires on the left connect to the stern light.

This is where I'm at right now,
Brian

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The small red and black wires on the right go into the hull. When i disconnected the red/hot wire, the bow nav light stopped working.

Should the red wire on the right (bow light) be connected to the green wire that goes to the "head" terminal on the nav light switch?

I am thinking that would give control of the power to the bow light to the "head" terminal on the nav light switch, and control of power to the stern light to the unmarked terminal.

Brian

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Whatever it takes, now is the time to do it.

When you pull the switch to number 1 position, only the anchor light should be on. That means only terminal 1 should be hot.

When you pull the switch to number 2 position, then both the anchor and bow light should be on... That means that both terminal 1 and terminal 2 would be hot....

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Success!

It looks like the switch itself was hooked up properly, but the bow light's hot wire from the block to the console broke at some point.

Instead of a correct repair, the bow light tapped into the wire that went to the stern light's terminal on the nav light switch. Kind of a workaround, like you suggested Joe.

I attached a new terminal to the broken wire and hooked it up to the block with the bow lights hot wire, and everything works as it should. This separated the bow light and stern light to have their own wires to different terminals on the switch as they should.

Now my nav lights work like they should, and I know it is hooked up properly. Thanks for the help.

Brian

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Good discussion here because I will be installing all my furniture and electrics shortly. All I have right now are the wires to the stern and bow light on a block by the stern light and both are fine.
I will need to completely wire everything under the CC and have the original switches and a fuse block all in good working condition.
What color wires should I have on hand to stay in keeping with the factory wire codes and make it easier when I get to this mess?
I do know to buy tinned wire but would like to have the right colors and lengths to get this all done according to specs. My harness from the motor is fine and I plan to have the battery under the CC.
Very similar to your boat Mustang, I had a rats nest of mostly black and red wires under the CC that went to every gadget that was ever installed, there were many, and I just ripped them all out because most were brittle. It will be great to have the correct colors to re-do it right.

Gary

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I will second that question as rat's nest is a good term for what the underside of my console looks like.

I am also thinking, one day when my marine electronic knowledge is a little stronger, that moving the batteries under the console and a complete rewire will be a good thing to do.

Brian