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Does anyone know of a master electrical fuse on C&C 27? Our MKII shows no sign of electrical life at all. I thought the batteries might have drained, but after charging both there was no change - no radio, lights, etc. Weird thing is everything was fine last use, which was a week prior. I've cleaned the battery terminals, no luck. My only other thought is the master switch may have broken.
Thanks, Tom (Chefanti, 1973 MkII)
Tom,
I spent a long time looking for an electrical "leak" on my 74 MKII (turned out to be a packing gland/bilge pump issue) and there is no "master fuse" on my boat. I would suspect that if you had power and then cleaned the terminals and lost power the cables could be suspect. I would put the battery back in and pull the master switch away from the bulkhead, then with a volt meter start testing. The other day I came back from lunch and my car would not start, not even click, no lights, accessories, no nothing. The battery had a charge. So before I called a tow truck a shook the power cable where is connects to the battery and poof, lights.
I remind myself that postitve ground is a bad idea every time I restore another Triumph or BSA...
Mike M
SV Pura Vida
#375
Galveston Bay
Mike M
SV Wind Horse
#375
Galveston, Tx
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Tom-,
Been there - had that ( master switch failure). Since they're sealed against infiltration of any flammable/explosive fumes, there's no taking them apart to try repairs. As I recall, replacement wasn't that hard.
Clare, Aragorn
<U>SAIL FOR SALE </U>_
#2 Genoa for 27' Mk.111 by North Sails . Tri-radial cut, Norlam fabric, built 1998-- good shape . Window, tell-tales and draught stripe. Stitching etc. checked ;2001/2002 . #6 Luff tape .
Replacement Genoa is on order for 2004 racing season but there's some cruising years left in this one -$ 550 asking price. phone 613 498-2029 or e-mail <A href="mailto:bosco@ripnet.com">bosco@ripnet.com</A> <img src="emoticons/icon_frown.gif">Brockville)
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There's no master fuse on any circuit diagram I've looked at. The main switch or the breaker (if you have one) is a reasonable assumption, but MikeM is quite right that there could be a cable fault so I'd test before scampering off to the chandlery (nothing worse than coming back with some expensive new "solution" that isn't).
Get a multimeter or even a simple go/no-go 12 volt tester (basically a 12V light bulb with wires long enough to reach around the engine space). Touch one end to a battery post, one end to a good ground (a bare spot on the engine block, the negative bus bar if you have one). Use that ground from there onward so you're not confusing things by having a bad ground. If the light goes on when you touch the battery and ground, move on to the battery side of your main battery switch. If that's good, touch the switched terminals (with the switch on, obviously). If those are good, touch the battery side of the master breaker. And so on, until you find the dead spot. What lies between the dead spot and the last live one is your culprit.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Last edited by (2005-08-09 03:28:10)
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
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Thanks all, good tips. Have invested in a $5.00 go/no go circuit tester rather than jumping to expensive conclusions. Will post results. Cheers! Tom
Well, turns out it is not the battery, the battery cables, the master switch. I've got power up to the cockpit instrument panel. Nothing past the Amp Meter. I couldn't see how the meter, even it it is bad, stopping things. I've called in some professional help at this point. Its scary behind that panel. T.
Well, here's the deal. The ampmeter (ammeter?) on the instrument panel had gone. Turns out when this happens, it breaks the circuit, and no power. So, new ampmeter, power restored. I find it surprising that the electrical system would be set up in such a way, but there you go. I'll be keeping some wire on the boat to bypass a bad meter if it ever happens again. Thanks again to all for your input. Tom
Another one of those "Why didn't I think of that!" things.
I guess it stands to reason though. Connected to one side of the ammeter is the battery. Connected to the other side of the ammeter is the "load" (all of the circuits) plus the alternator. If the alternator produces more power than all the circuits draw, the current flows one way through the ammeter to charge the battery (at a rate controlled by the voltage regulator). If the load exceeds the alternator output (or the alternator isn't producing-- as when the engine is off) current flows the other way from the battery to feed the load. The direction of flow drives the ammeter needle either up or down the scale in an amount proportion to the flow rate and we read 'amps' (charging or discharging).
Clare Jordan - Aragorn
Don't you love it when you finally figure it out? Just an aside on ammeters: Some have shunted circuits---ie; the bulk of the current flows thru a shunt that is able to run the blender/hairdrier/iron/inverter/flat screen/etc-----only a "measured amount" for lack of a better term---of current goes thru the meter movement itself. So when you "peg" the meter at minus 60 amps---when you plug in the toaster---the shunt is handleing the load.
Some meters are not shunted-----all the load goes thru the meter (sort of). Point being---for those of us that try to "fix" stuff---jumper wires on the back side of ammeters sometimes give rise to the dreaded "where is THAT SMOKE coming from"?????Dave Tinder
DAWN BREAKER Mk3
Ft Myers
All this chatter about a "master fuse" brought to mind a suggestion by Don Casey in his book on "boating electrics", i.e. there should be an in-line fuse close to each battery and equivalent to the maximum expected load. I hope I've summarized that correctly. Anyone have a setup of this nature on their 27?
Ken Pole
Santiva
Ottawa
Ken Pole, Ottawa
1975 Mark III Santiva
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There is a master circuit breaker on my Mk IV. No idea when they started putting those in, but my old wooden boat, built in the early sixties, had socking big fuses on the starting circuit and the house circuit. Probably original.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
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