B28 Bilge Pump Switch and Fuse Panels

[abh3]

First post so please pardon my ignorance!

My 1973 B28 Flybridge Cruiser is real a time machine with little hackery and modifications taking place since built. It's been on the hard for years and years, nice as it missed the ethanol era plus never fell into the hands of charter guys, and is soon to float again after a lot of work. There've been the usual bad ring terminals, battery wires, scaly bus fuses & holders, some engine wiring to renew (original 302 Fords, not screamers but tough), control cables to replace, etc... not to mention replacing lower 1/3 of of engine bulkheads and inside engine beds!

As anyone who has fooled with old machines knows, it's a blessing to have the published wiring diagram actually somewhat resemble what is actually there, but what has me flummoxed is something that seemed like an afternoon fix, the forward bilge pump wiring. The diagram shows power coming off the port engine battery switch and it's there on my boat, I replaced the rotten fuse holder someone had installed with a breaker, but still don't have power at the BP switch under the fuse panels. I've checked as best I can, have good ground, but don't have continuity between the center wire on the switch and the purported other end at the battery switch so maybe the wire has been cut, switched around somehow, or ???

The real problem is that the switch cannot be seen except by cramming a phone in the holes with fuse panels unscrewed and taking a pic, cannot be tested except by blind fumbling with test leads, and even if something is discovered it will be impossible to repair. There doesn't seem to be enough slack to drag the switch up to those panel holes, maybe there are wire ties holding it all back, can't see what wires are actually there, but what's the best way to get a look a the back of these panels, wiring and BP switch!? Of course, this Florida boat has AC so the evap assy is mounted right behind all this greatly complicating simple approaches like just taking some plywood loose to have a gander...

What am I missing? Does the top of the hanging locker come off to gain access? Do folks just cut a much larger hole in the berth bulkhead to do work and then fill with a panel? The old panels are intact but probably need to be replaced with modern breakers (the nylon nuts fastening the fuse holders are crumbling, plenty of corrosion, etc), is that the usual solution to wiring issues here, just open it up to take the new panel and repair what's not right while there?

Thanks for your time and attention to my problem!

[Yannis]

I also have a 73 fbc.
When I bought her, the fuse panel was on the side over the dinette table, but I’m not sure if that was the original setup as the stbd side panel had been changed by a previous owner.
Trying to figure out what’s what, I realized that most if not all cables were cut and/or partially changed...it led nowhere.
I decided to do a complete rewiring. It was the wisest decision. If those engines of yours are gas then you have an additional reason to do things right from the beginning.
A pic or two would help to guide us where your panel is and what you consider “forward bilge pump”.

[Tony Meola]

I know there was a discussion on 28 wiring. For some reason, I can do a searvh and see the topics but I can not open them. Try searching for writing diagrams, and hopefully they will open for you.

[Preston Burrows]

If tracing/testing the original wiring is proving fruitless I'd run a new wire from the batteries to the existing forward locker location if you are just trying to get things going and keep to the old wiring scheme for the time being, you can use the port side gunnel area as a wiring run starting from the starboard side battery location in the bilge and crossing to port side along the forward engine compartment bulkhead then through along the port gunnel side.

I believe the original wiring ran from the starboard battery side aft along the starboard gunnel then crossed via the cabin's headliner and down in to the port side locker area, if I recall the original schematics correctly.

Realizing I've said port and starboard side a lot in the above, which is never a good combination......so hopefully I have described correctly!

[abh3]

These seem to be the original chromed panels with switches and tube fuses, powered from the port and starboard battery switches to the port and starboard panels, respectively.

The forward bilge pump is under the forward sole hatch, supplied by what looks like factory 10 ga wiring that is white with stripes indicating what it is in the hanging locker on the port side in front of galley, white/violet to float switch, wh/blk direct to pump, and wh as the ground. There appears to be a 10ga red wire to the center of the BP selector switch, same size and color as the lead in wiring bundle on front engine space bulkhead.

The space for a BP switch on the bridge is plugged so I don't think it ever had that option but I guess I need to look under the dash for white/violet/blk 10ga wires in case the issue is there.

What appears to be the power supply to the BP goes from the port bat switch, into the harness at the top of the front engine space bulkhead, then port to under gunnel and into hole. At least I think this wire runs the BP. I'm concerned that if there is corrosion at the ring terminals I may loose continuity, hence no 12vdc and infinite resistance w meter back to red wire at battery switch. OR it's been messed with and I'm barking up the wrong tree. Or maybe I really do need to look at bridge wiring, making more and more sense, if someone started to change something, replace a bilge pump switch, and didn't finish. It would seem odd to have the only BP controls below up in the berth by the fuse panels...

I think I understand why the panel on Yannis' boat was moved, it's impossible to see anything or fix it if you find a problem in the stock location, they must've built the locker and galley after all the wiring was done, never to be seen again. As they say, "Looks good from MY house!"

I'll try to post some pics of the BP and wiring, it's a 30 min drive to the boat so I can't just pop in for that. I hate to run temporary wires as I have a bad history of temporary becoming permanent, LOL!!

Thank you for the replies!

[Donmystic1]

Text me for some pictures of my rehab of the electrical panel on my 86 28 flybridge
Don
860-460-3282

[Tooeez]

My 79 came from the factory with 3 pumps: one forward as you describe, one between the engines at the forward engine room bulkhead, and one aft at the transom. The forward pump is controlled by the switch below the fuse panel on the port side of the v-berth. This switch is supplied by the #10 red wire from the port battery switch. The pump between the engines (the wiring diagram calls this the "aft" pump) is controlled by the bp switch on the bridge, and is supplied by a #10 red wire from the stbd. battery switch.
It sounds like you have already found the problem; something is amiss with the supply wire to the switch. Old wires are not worth playing with; run a new supply from the breaker you installed to the bp switch. It's not that hard to run wires up the port side, especially if you remove the fridge--there is a load of room behind it. Leave a runner cable when you replace the wire so the next time (there's always a next time) you need to run a wire you can just pull it through from either end.

[abh3]

Tooeez: That's my fallback solution if there's no wiring at bridge for the forward pump that I've overlooked, I'm headed to the boat this afternoon to look. The catch is HOW to replace the wire at the switch end under the fuse panels as the switch can't be pulled out of the fuse panel openings for lack of slack wire or it's fastened somewhere. I can only guess where the neg wire terminates, a terminal block is on the wiring diagram and the wire going forward is black while the BP neg is white, but I can't even touch it, much less turn a screw on it. Is there a trick to get at the BACK of the switch and fuse panels, does the top of the hanging locker come off, etc? Since it has the AC system and the hanging locker is all boxed in around the back of the panels/switches it's a challenge. The AC is charged w freon so I hate to disassemble it to get the evaporator assy out of the way, if it's an R-12 system it may be impossible to replace and even R-22 is getting problematic...

[Tooeez]

My switch panel is a Perko setup, with plastic blocks that have a switch on one end and the fuse holder on the other, with a screw at each end. The blocks hook together, one on top of the other. If I unscrew the blocks I can pull them out, and there is enough slack wire to pull the bp switch through the opening.
If that doesn't work there is no sense in disassembling the a/c just to get to a switch. Get a new switch, and mount it somewhere else. I never understood why Bertram put that switch in a berthing compartment in the first place.