i was stuck in some heavy mud last night....eventually made my way out but when i finally got back into some water none of my power switches would work on the boat. i.e. running lights, spot lights, bilge pump. we had a couple of gallons of water in the boat, but nothing crazy. and my power trim on the motor was still working so i know the battery was putting out power and wired correctly. anyone ever experience this or have an idea on what to start checking first? thanks guys!

Start by checking all your fuses. Do you have a volt meter or test light? Just track the wiring from the battery until you figure out where you lost voltage.

i do have a volt meter...im brand new to the mud motor. so to sound like a complete rookie...where are the fuses located at? i run a gator trax 1750...and a GTR35.

The fuses for your accessories would not be on your motor... There should be a separate switch panel for all your accessories your talking about the fuses should be located in there...

Assuming your panel looks something similar to this with switches and then fuses below or next to each switch:

check the main lead that runs from your battery to your switch panel. + & -

i appreciate the help guys....my only issue is that my gatortrax boat has switches you pull to turn on the lights or bilge. there are no fuses underneath or over the switches....thats why im confused as to where the he!! these fuses are? any boys runnin a gator trax that know where to look?

http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/E ... tches.html

check this page out your electrical connections come into the back of the knob your talking about...

http://www.colehersee.com/pdf/F-PushPull.pdf

yup...those are it. i quickly checked the connections before it got totally dark. didn't seem like any were loose. am i correct in assuming there are still fuses located somewhere...or am i a complete re-tard?

There is probably a fuse somewhere. It may be close to the battery. Just start at the battery and work your way to the device('s) that are not working. If there is a 12v going from the batt to the switch with a fuse in the middle, check the batt side of the wire, then the other side of the fuse, then turn the switch on and check the other side of the switch, just work your way down the line until you find out where you lose power. I'm guessing it a fuse or fuses somewhere for everything to fail at once.

It could be an inline fuse on the red wire going from the battery to the switches.

you guys were right....it was a $1.50 fuse that caused the problem. the fust on my boat is indeed an inline fuse. it was under the battery compartment cover when i took it off this morning. thanks a lot for the help and suggestions. if this werent the internet id buy yall a beer...

x2

It probably had a spare in the fuse holder. I know mine did.

Rebbeer, what kinda fancy fuse box you gots in your boat? I've seen that in a car, but not in a boat yet. I think the one he replaced is just one of them little rubber or plastic tubes with a fuse inside. There aint no room for a spare in there.

Not really that fancy. LOL

LOL, thats damn near the same thing I was talking about. Mine doesn't have the extra tube. Never seen one of them like that.

well...i thought the issue was fixed. ran the boat yesterday and blew two more fuses. iv got 30 amp fuses in their so i know im not using too small of a fuse or im guessing i would have burned my shiat up. any suggestions on what it might be?

Be careful, you can put a fuse in too big for the wire. What fuses are you blowing? You have a short somewhere. Does your volt meter have a continuity tester?

hmm...i just replaced the fuse with what size was in their before. how do you tell what size fuse you need?

Was it a glass fuse or plastic? If a 30a came out, you're probably fine, just making sure you weren't putting a bigger one in.

Carefully follow the wires from the fuse holder to wherever they go. You said the fuses popped while you were stuck, I'd bet you chafed a wire or two somewhere while trying to dig yourself out.

it seems like they pop after i run the bilge when i have water in the boat. which leads me to think its either water getting to the wires and causing an issue....or the wire to the bilge is somehow chaffed or having some other issue. i'll check it out and let yall know what i find out. thanks for the help boys...

Hate to dig up an old topic, but this thread was all I could find...can anyone tell me what the stock fuse is for the inline y'all discussed here? Mine melted somehow and I can't tell what amp it's rated for...

It's the inline fuse on the wire leading from the battery to bus(?) on a gator Trax.


Thanks guys

I think it's like a 15

Oh ok. Thought it would be higher than that. Anyone changed the fuse/holder out with a breaker?

I usually stick with fuses for DC and breakers for AC. Not certain why but that is just what the taught me in EE school.

I wound up staying with the fuse. Figured since that's what came on it, probably should Keep it the same...