Last weekend I pulled my jon boat to do some winter time maintenance. The list of to do items include new paint, bilge pump replacement, correction of anchor/stern light wiring, and a few other minor items. While I was trying to decipher some wiring I remembered this article that I had put together a number of years back. I pulled it up as a quick reference and decided to go ahead and print out a couple of copies. I now have a copy for the garage and one for the tool box on the big boat. Since it has some a number of years since I released this I thought it might be of benefit to everyone as a quick refresher.
Marine wiring usually presents some unique challenges such as working in some real tight areas, feeding wire through tight chases, feeding wire through T-Top or other superstructure piping, and perhaps the hardest part of it all, keeping all the wire well organized. If your boat was wired by a reputable manufacturer; then believe it or not there is some method to the madness for the mess of wires underneath your console. Below is the color code used in the marine industry; according to the American Boat and Yachting Council Standards, perhaps it will help you decipher the usage.
Yellow w/red stripe - This wire is for the starting circuit. It runs from the starter switch to the starter solenoid.
Yellow - Two uses. 1) It is used in the alternator field terminal to the regulator on the engine. 2) Power wire for the bilge blower if your boat is so equipped, it runs from your fuse or switch to your blower.
Dark Gray - Two purposes. 1) Power wire for your navigation lights. It runs from your fuse or switch to your lights. 2) Tachometer wire-it runs from your tachometer sender on the engine to your tac.
Brown - 3 different purposes. 1) On the engine it is for your generator armature, it runs from generator armature to the regulator. 2) Also on the engine it is used for the alternator charge light and is runs from generator terminal/alternator aux terminal to light to regulator. 3) Power wire f