Question related to wood fixture

paulga · Sep 29, 2024

The dc outlet has become on and off (lower helm control panel), the exact reason is unknown. I think it's easier to put a new one in than to diagnose the outlet. DC outlets usually have a lock nut behind the panel. Does the panel have an access port?

There are two wood covers on the back and bottom of the panel. Both are fastened using 4 dowels. Does this indicate they are not intended to provide access for maintenance?

Delta Riverat · Sep 29, 2024

How about removing all the perimeter screws on the panel and taking a look?

Flatswing · Sep 29, 2024

they are not dowels; they are tapered teak plugs which cover countersunk screws.
Just remove the 2 screws from the DC outlet. It is a surface mount and will come out easily. Btw, is that a 12v cigarette type plug with a USB adapter? or is it a dedicated USB outlet? I ask because the adapters are notorious for failure. Rod Collins recommended the Scosche brand. I found them to be a reliable, inexpensive upgrade. A second very common problem on boats is corrosion of the lightning male plug at the other end of the cord. Even the Apple versions wear leading to intermittent failure to charge. Look at the lightning end, any discoloration of the contacts, change the cord. I found i went through cords very frequently especially on the flybridge. Fortunately, cheap and easy to replace.

paulga · Sep 29, 2024

Flatswing said:
they are not dowels; they are tapered teak plugs which cover countersunk screws.
Just remove the 2 screws from the DC outlet. It is a surface mount and will come out easily. Btw, is that a 12v cigarette type plug with a USB adapter? or is it a dedicated USB outlet? I ask because the adapters are notorious for failure. Rod Collins recommended the Scosche brand. I found them to be a reliable, inexpensive upgrade. A second very common problem on boats is corrosion of the lightning male plug at the other end of the cord. Even the Apple versions wear leading to intermittent failure to charge. Look at the lightning end, any discoloration of the contacts, change the cord. I found i went through cords very frequently especially on the flybridge. Fortunately, cheap and easy to replace.

It's a cigarette type plug with a USB adapter. Do you mean this type of adapters have a high failure rate, or they cause more corrosion to the DC outlets?

Flatswing · Sep 29, 2024

I mean the USB Adapters are notorious for failures, of course there are issues with the cigarette lighter style sockets too but usually just corrosion issues or the plug doesn’t seat properly.
Check out Marinehowto.com, Rod covers the issue nicely & as I mentioned, recommends the Scosche brand which come in various configurations & outputs including USB-C

paulga · Sep 29, 2024

The lower helm's side profile has a "one step rise" shape. I wonder how the long narrow piece in the middle is joined to the neighboring pieces. I thought there are hidden screws at the joining interfaces. But it turns out, the screws are roughly along the middle line, as shown in the last two photos. How was the long narrow piece initially put there when they build the station?

paulga · Sep 29, 2024

Flatswing said:
I mean the USB Adapters are notorious for failures, of course there are issues with the cigarette lighter style sockets too but usually just corrosion issues or the plug doesn’t seat properly.
Check out Marinehowto.com, Rod covers the issue nicely & as I mentioned, recommends the Scosche brand which come in various configurations & outputs including USB-C

Thanks.
I tested other DC outlets. It works as expected in other outlets. So the problem is this outlet.

CharlieO. · Sep 30, 2024

Take the screws out of the socket face, pull out the socket, verify you have 12v coming into the socket, if not check for a fuse. If fuse is bad replace fuse. If you have 12v - replace socket with a USB socket. Get the replacement socket as a surface mount also for ease of replacement.
I had to repair the wiring on the two of my cigarette style outlets(because I have a plug in spot light, and they also came in handy for borrowing a 12v cooler) and added a combo USB-A and USB-C outlet with voltmeter at each helm station. Probably one the easiest and most convenient upgrades I've made on my boat for the least amount of money.

paulga · Sep 30, 2024

CharlieO. said:
Take the screws out of the socket face, pull out the socket, verify you have 12v coming into the socket, if not check for a fuse. If fuse is bad replace fuse. If you have 12v - replace socket with a USB socket. Get the replacement socket as a surface mount also for ease of replacement.
I had to repair the wiring on the two of my cigarette style outlets(because I have a plug in spot light, and they also came in handy for borrowing a 12v cooler) and added a combo USB-A and USB-C outlet with voltmeter at each helm station. Probably one the easiest and most convenient upgrades I've made on my boat for the least amount of money.

thanks. that definitely is a nice addition to the station.
what confuses me is how the wood pieces were joined together, see my post 6

Southern Boater · Oct 3, 2024

paulga said:
thanks. that definitely is a nice addition to the station.
what confuses me is how the wood pieces were joined together, see my post 6

As DR mentioned, remove the perimeter screws from the control panel and lift it out as far as the gauge wiring will allow, get some light down into the back of the wiring room and investigate. Take photos of where terminals were connected and use masking tape with written indication of the origin of the terminals to which gauge if you need to remove the control panel itself for better access.
Most likely glued and screwed with access to screw heads behind the teak cover strips. It could mean destruction of the cover strips, so maybe investigate other options first, like gauge and head unit removal.

paulga · Oct 3, 2024

Southern Boater said:
As DR mentioned, remove the perimeter screws from the control panel and lift it out as far as the gauge wiring will allow, get some light down into the back of the wiring room and investigate. Take photos of where terminals were connected and use masking tape with written indication of the origin of the terminals to which gauge if you need to remove the control panel itself for better access.
Most likely glued and screwed with access to screw heads behind the teak cover strips. It could mean destruction of the cover strips, so maybe investigate other options first, like gauge and head unit removal.

Thanks.
I'm just curious how I can put that middle piece in place if I work on assembling the station from scratch. this is the photo of the back side. The back side has some screws along the middle line. But these screws cannot explain how this piece is joined to the neighboring members

NStenger · Oct 4, 2024

Don't mess with any of the woodwork. Just pull the instrument panel out by removing the screws. There will be enough slack in the cluster wires to pull it away from the cabinet and do whatever you need to do behind it. That is how it would have been installed and how it should be removed. The certainly didn't build the cabinet around the instrument cluster.

The woodwork is likely joined together by a mix of screws, glue joints and glue/biscuit joints.

paulga · Oct 4, 2024

NStenger said:
Don't mess with any of the woodwork. Just pull the instrument panel out by removing the screws. There will be enough slack in the cluster wires to pull it away from the cabinet and do whatever you need to do behind it. That is how it would have been installed and how it should be removed. The certainly didn't build the cabinet around the instrument cluster.

The woodwork is likely joined together by a mix of screws, glue joints and glue/biscuit joints.

Thanks. are bulkhead panels joined to the hull using similar joints, or using only fiber reinforced plastic?

NStenger · Oct 4, 2024

Structural bulkheads would be epoxied to the hull with fiberglass reinforcement.

paulga · Oct 4, 2024

NStenger said:
Structural bulkheads would be epoxied to the hull with fiberglass reinforcement.

Here is the closet aft of the galley. The green dashed line depicts the flooring behind the scene, the purple dashed line is where the bulkhead is. Are the floor boards screwed to the top edge of the bulkhead?

paulga · Oct 9, 2024

The wires to the DC outlet are wrapped tightly in elec tapes. I already removed one layer and saw a second layer, as shown. Further, each quick connector is also wrapped.

Is it a common practice to tape this way for insulation?

Is it common practice to feed two pairs of DC wires to one outlet

RT Firefly · Oct 9, 2024

Greetings,
Ms. p.
MY opinion only:
1. NO.
2. Not uncommon IF terminated properly and if whatever else is connected in the circuit doesn't overload the wiring if everything in that circuit is on.
Personally I would use a fitting like this for two conductors:

paulga · Oct 9, 2024

RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Ms. p.
MY opinion only:
1. NO.
2. Not uncommon IF terminated properly and if whatever else is connected in the circuit doesn't overload the wiring if everything in that circuit is on.
Personally I would use a fitting like this for two conductors:

View attachment 158984

1 If not using tape, what do you use for insulation?
2 What is the purpose of feeding two wires into one outlet?

RT Firefly · Oct 9, 2024

Greetings,
Ms. p. I VERY strongly suggest you purchase this book immediately. Amazon.com

paulga · Oct 10, 2024

RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Ms. p. I VERY strongly suggest you purchase this book immediately. Amazon.com

Already have this book. I'm reading it on the bus occasionally.

Is it to essentially combine two wires into a higher gauge wire, to minimize voltage drop?

Comodave · Oct 10, 2024

paulga said:
Already have this book. I'm reading it on the bus occasionally.

Is it to essentially combine two wires into a higher gauge wire, to minimize voltage drop?

That is a question that can’t be answered without more information or a look at the overall wiring.

CharlieO. · Oct 10, 2024

Do both wires provide voltage or is it someone wiring in series? I prefer shrinktube rather than electrical tape.

Bmarler · Oct 10, 2024

It’s very likely that there are more than one devices fed by that circuit. Instead of putting a small terminal strip to land the wires on, someone decided to put two wires into one spade terminal and tape the crap out of it. Sloppy work.

Delta Riverat · Oct 10, 2024

Two wires into one lug can be done well depending on the connector and the wires. You can put (2) 14g wires into a 10g lug and get a good crimp. Then use adhesive heat shrink after and call it good.

What bothers me about the above is the wire looks fat, like 10g or 12g and that will not go into a 10g lug.

What is the gauge of those wires?

paulga · Oct 13, 2024

Comodave said:
That is a question that can’t be answered without more information or a look at the overall wiring.

I got the wiring.

One pair of wires come from the circuit breaker. The other pair goes to the second DC outlet on the starboard side of the station.

paulga · Oct 13, 2024

Delta Riverat said:
Two wires into one lug can be done well depending on the connector and the wires. You can put (2) 14g wires into a 10g lug and get a good crimp. Then use adhesive heat shrink after and call it good.

What bothers me about the above is the wire looks fat, like 10g or 12g and that will not go into a 10g lug.

What is the gauge of those wires?

14 awg according to the blue prints on the white sleeve

paulga · Oct 13, 2024

Bmarler said:
It’s very likely that there are more than one devices fed by that circuit. Instead of putting a small terminal strip to land the wires on, someone decided to put two wires into one spade terminal and tape the crap out of it. Sloppy work.

I see, what you said is true.

paulga · Oct 13, 2024

CharlieO. said:
Do both wires provide voltage or is it someone wiring in series? I prefer shrinktube rather than electrical tape.

I already replicated the tape wrapping, thinking it has already worked for two decades so it's proved

paulga · Oct 13, 2024

This is the hole for the DC outlet. I cannot see the laminate clearly. Is it fiberglass with balsa core?

Delta Riverat · Oct 13, 2024

You should be good then if (2) 14g are twisted and crimped properly to a yellow (10-12g) connector. Heat shrink would be better than tape but as long as the lug and the crimp are good, works.

Question related to wood fixture

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Senior Member

Guru

Member

Guru

Member

Guru

Guru

Enigma

Guru

Enigma

Guru

Moderator Emeritus

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Guru

Similar threads