Hi,
Refrigeration guy was installing new reefer on my 1985 C36. He noticed when I turned multiple cabin lights on the other lights would dim. He said it wasn't a battery problem, it was because I probably had the original "ground block" on the boat, and I should upgrade to a bigger ground block that could handle the additional 12v devices I had running.
I always thought the engine itself was my "ground block", but I realized I've never actually known where the big ground wire leading from my battery compartment down into the hold went. Where does it go? Is there a big "ground block" for the 12v system buried under the floorboards somewhere that all grounding wires are connected to?
Anyone know?
Robert Newton
At Last #369
Robert, he's wrong.
The ground block IS your engine.
There is a ground wire from the main electrical panel that should go back to your battery bank negative which goes back to your engine.
The reason most Catalina lights dim when more than one is turned on is because of two things: possible poor connections in the blue crimps used for the wiring, and small wiring. Many have up-sized the wiring from 14 gauge to 12 gauge and have replaced the poor inexpensive crimps with real butt connections.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Believe you will find the main ground goes to the engine block. I think you will find in the electrical panel that there is a block in there where all your grounds go to and perhaps that is corroded and not allowing for current to pass easily and perhaps it is as simple as any of the grounds being loose!
Also you may want to think LED! AS Stu stated all the lights are on the same string as well so when you increase the load it will dim. I have not found that issue since switching to LED's
Gary Bain
S/V "Gone With The Wind"
Catalina 36', Hull #: 1056, Year: 1990, Engine: M-35
Standard Rig
Moored: Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Home: Auburn, Maine
Robert,
Another problem you might be having is the daisy chain of the positive leads behind the electrical panel in Most MkI boats. You might want to consider upgrading to a breaker panel instead of the fuse/switch panel you have now. It would make a huge difference for all your electricals.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Thanks so much, Gary, Stu, and Tom. I 'thought' the grounding was to the engine block, but stray comments like that get me thinking.
Yep, Tom, the daisy-chain connection system on these old Catalinas is really inefficient. One of my priorities is to upgrade to a breaker panel. Alas the new reefer and bottom job have depleted my resources.
also glad to know the lights dimming is common with my old electrical panel and those 27 yr old crimp connections.
Robert
Robert,
You don't have to spend $$$$ to upgrade your panel. I bought a piece of smoked plexiglass, a bunch of breakers, and built my own to fit in the existing teak frame. Moved the battery switch to it's own smaller panel just below, and made room for as many breakers as I needed. I wrote it up for Mainsheet a number of years ago, so it's on the Tech Notes CD. I just checked, and there are two other write-ups, in addition to mine, about upgrading the electrical panel. I did mine for a LOT less than a custom panel from one of the major suppliers. Hope this helps.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
julandra.shutterfly.com your photo site Tom also has some good photos of that amazing upgrade.
Tom Irwin
North Saanich, BC, Canada
1983 Catalina 30 - #3134
Until June 10, 2013
Future Catalina 36 MK II owner
There's another option: I upgraded my circuitry using the same fuse panel supplied with boat. I purchased a couple of contact blocks, brought a huge wire from the battery switch to each, then ran new wires to each of the fuses. Same with the grounds. So now each fused circuit at least has its own supply rather than going through the "daisy chain."
Of course I also cleaned all the terminals and replaced a lot of crimps along with the wire leads. Some of the daisy chain jumpers were pretty much burned up - melted insulation etc.
My cabin lights are much brighter; they don't dim as I add more load on the electric panel, and a significant fire risk has been eliminated or reduced. Cost was about a hundred bucks.
- nick
Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA
Tomfoolery,
Thanks for your kind words. The pix are better in the shutterfly album (color vs b/w), but there isn't room for a detailed explanation. The Mainsheet articles (all 3 of them) give a lot of details that you need when considering the upgrade.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Thanks Tom and Nick. What a great idea, and also fitting in with my philosophy that there are often ways to upgrade an older boat without plunking down the credit card at WM. I need to dig up my TechNotes CD and look at that Mainsheet article.
Robert