Running dedicated wiring to Finders/GPS

[STRETCH1]

I am going to run a dedicated wire to my electronics. Much like the Seaclear harness but I have the marine wire already here so might as well use it.

What is the best way to connect the power cords to this wire? Should I strip and solder them then cover with shrink wrap or should I use some sort of terminal block? I will have a breaker at the battery so the wire doesnt get fried plus a fuse on each power drop to the depth finders.

I have 8GA wire which should be planty big enough.

[tlefire]

Terminal block

[Marc Marcantonio]

This article and embedded video should be of help:

https://storage.westernbass.com/mag_...e34/index.html

[STRETCH1]

This article and embedded video should be of help:

https://storage.westernbass.com/mag_...e34/index.html

Thanks Marc, that was a big help. Now I just need to do it!

[Muleheaded]

I used the Blue Seas 6 circuit fused terminal block. Couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out. I ran #8 marine wire from battery to the block, then landed negative wires from unit(s) to negative bus and positive to fused terminals on block. Very neat job.

[Marc Marcantonio]

Thanks Marc, that was a big help. Now I just need to do it!

I can relate to that...I amassed all the parts over the period of almost a year before I took the time to do the project. It wasn't until I had to replace all my worn-out batteries that I took the plunge and quit "studying" and start "doing." Good luck, it is actually a fun and rewarding project.

[RazorCat]

There are a number of current BBC threads regarding dedicated electronics wiring. Marc’s article is full of good information on how to do the job properly. And I have to admit it’s taken about a year for me to amass all the parts and tools to complete the job. Now that I’ve installed new set of lithium batteries it’s time to complete the upgrade wiring. Can’t wait to see the results.

[johnwater]

Marc looked at your video in Western Bass magazine.
the labels for the wiring, could you leave a link to where i can get them?
thanks
john

[RazorCat]

Another tip for wiring up your electronics. I’ve used this place several times in the past. Tinned marine wire with custom terminations. Top quality wire and terminations with adhesive heat shrink applied. I have a crimper for 4/6/8 AWG and bigger, so I’m able to do my own terminations.
Problem is, I can buy custom lengths of 8awg with custom sized terminations cheaper than I can make them.
https://www.bestboatwire.com/collections/boat

Let me edit this. I ordered custom length 8awg cables from https://www.genuinedealz.com today. 2 - 12' - 8awg (Red/black) with #10 (3/16") tinned connectors on one end, 5/16" tinned connectors on the other end, with yellow shrink wrap on both end to distinguish it from other wiring. Under $30.00 w/free shipping. I've ordered from them before with no issues. Excellent quality custom cables.

[Marc Marcantonio]

Marc looked at your video in Western Bass magazine.
the labels for the wiring, could you leave a link to where i can get them?
thanks
john

Sure John, I got mine on Amazon and they are the waterproof versions. They worked out well!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wire+labe..._ts-doa-p_2_11

[dk239]

IMG_0459.jpgWhen I repowered it allowed me to remove the oil tank in my boat. I was tired of all the wires going to my batteries so I made this platform and ran all of the wires to this fuse block. I ran a 10 gauge wire to a separate fuse block for my electronics. Since then I've added more toys so I replaced the 10 gauge with an eight gauge wire.

[Jon@RMP]

We like to use heat shrink butt connectors to splice into your units power plug and use a 10 gauge marine grade inline fuse holder on the end that connects to the battery/perko switch. We are running 10gauge dedicated per unit. Each unit has its own positive and negative connection all the way to the battery. This is more similar to the Sonar Pros harness where everything is truly dedicated.