# Electrical Question



## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

I'm not complaining or anything, I swear... 

I noticed the other day that my exhaust housing had some ground wires (well I'm guessing that's what they were) that had rusted off. Here's a pic:










I attempted to reconnect them with some new wire and it seemed to work but, after driving home today, I noticed one came off again because I didn't secure it good enough.

I went to reconnect it only to get a vicious spark and it basically melted a little bit of wire.

I was just curious what the purpose of these are...are they necessary?

I was just going to leave them but, if they have something to do with the sensors, alarms, etc., that's not something I want to leave non-functioning.

Let me know!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I know that a ground strap is used to control galvanic corrosion
by connecting all the bushing mounted components together.
But I never heard of it being used in a situation where it actually
carried enough current to spark or melt the wire. Something's buggy.


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

> I know that a ground strap is used to control galvanic corrosion
> by connecting all the bushing mounted components together.
> But I never heard of it being used in a situation where it actually
> carried enough current to spark or melt the wire. Something's buggy.


That's what I thought, too. Call the dealer, I guess? :-/


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Under warranty, heck yeah.


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

> Under warranty, heck yeah.


Well I talked to the dealer and they said it sounds like the battery cable it grounding off somewhere. Which makes sense because it does it when the motor's off, too. I soldered some new wires to the grounds so we'll see what happens. It's not doing it right now...

I checked all of the battery connections and wires outside the motor but everything seems fine. I looked as far as I could under the cowling but it's really cramped it there...so I couldn't tell much.

My guess is if it's battery related, no warranty coverage...


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

RK, they're talking about a short from a positive cable.
That ground strap should not be carrying enough voltage to arc.
I would make sure to disconnect your battery when not in use.
Then start finding the short. 
You'll need a battery powered circuit tester or ohm meter to find it.
With the engine off, there should be no current flow anywhere on it.


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

Brought 'er back to the dealer today. Hopefully I'll have an update by tomorrow.


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

ist that a manual jack plate? is anything electrical connected to it?


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

No, nothing electrical is connected to it. But, after spending some time with Piper's and them studying, in depth, the ENTIRE wiring system, we came to the conclusion that it HAS to be something with the battery cables touching the transom riser or jackplate. There is no other way it could happen. They put new wires on (which are actually for controlling corrosion so good call on that one, Brett) and had me come pick it up...free of charge. Great group of people over there...and an awesome black lab to boot.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

Well... did it fix the problem???

This sounds pretty weird. Like to find out what it is.

-T


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

It sounds wierd to me also. There is no way I would leave it with the battery connected. A battery disconnect switch is cheap insurance and required at every marina storage facility. I would get one or take the cable off each time.

Best regards,
Frank_S


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