40 sedan bridge forum

[Drafter]

Man, that table is ... not ideal. It’s impossible to get people sliding around it to use the full amount of seating. Has anyone replaced it with something smaller but still functional? I’d love to see pics!

I ditched that table pretty quickly. Mine is in my attic. We moved the table from the salon up there. It seems to be ideal to hold a cocktail or hold snacks.

 

[dgerrit]

very nice and elegant same questions where/who/how much?

Thanks. I'm happy with how it came out this far. I actually designed it and built it with the help of proper sheet metal, welder, and painters (my work has a fab shop - and some friends willing to do what we call gov work). Its all 1/8" aluminum. I had to find a fabricator to roll the SS tubes for the uprights - NJ McCutchen in Stockton, CA, and then another outfit to polish them. I haven't added up the cost (kind of afraid to), but a bit of cash for the skills and materials, I think it will be about $8k without canvas enclosure (the electric sunroof was about $2k).

 

[scooper321]

What is the current rating on our GFCI’s?

 

[ZZ13]

I ditched that table pretty quickly. Mine is in my attic. We moved the table from the salon up there. It seems to be ideal to hold a cocktail or hold snacks.

Ha! Mine is in the attic too. 99 percent of the time we prefer the seating without a table. But on occasion when we need it we use the salon table which we permanently removed and store under the stateroom bunk. It's not the factory table. It's a wooden kidney shaped thing from a 460 DA I believe. It came with the boat when we took ownership.

 

[Arickosmo]

I said I would post some pictures if this project came to fruition. It did, and almost done...need to put in the headliner (cover black) and ultimately canvas enclosure (when my wallet cools down). Thanks for all the input from the forum. Here are some photos:
View attachment 91199 View attachment 91197View attachment 91198 View attachment 91200

That is REALLY good looking! I just couldn't be without my side curtains though for the rain storms.

 

[CaptRonn]

My boat has 8.1 Mercruisers. I've recently ran into a problem electronically that keeps raising it's ugly head.

This started when I had a battery go bad on my starboard side. I went to start the engine and had nothing. The battery was bad, so I removed it, along with the house battery and the port battery as well. Bought 3 new batteries and installed them.

Went to start the starboard and had nothing. Did an emergency start and it started right up. Shut it off, tried to restart, nothing. Did the emergency restart, started.

So after troubleshooting I found the 90 amp fuse on the starter was bad. Replaced it, and everything is good.

Over a couple of weeks, started the engine several times, no problem. Then took the boat out and anchored, sat on anchorage for 4 to 5 hours, then went to start the starboard engine and......nothing.

Checked the voltage at the battery, fine, checked at the starter, fine. Checked the 90 amp fuse, fine.

Did and emergency start, and it started, but as soon as I released the emergency switch the engine died. Now before, if I started on emergency, the engine would continue to run after releasing emergency. Now it won't.

So I rigged the emergency switch to stay on, and motored back to the dock.

This has happened twice now. I can trace voltage from the battery to the starter, no problem. The 90 amp fuse supplies power to the engine computer continuously. I have voltage on it.

It's as if the ignition CB on the electrical panel is off. I have tested the CB and it's working.

Finally, I confirmed the engine alternator is working. It's churning out 14 volts.

I wonder if the carling switch for the starboard ignition on the flybridge is failing? It has two functions, the first to energize the ignition circuit, then a momentary position to start. It's just odd that it will work fine at the dock, and then fail away from the dock.

And here we go again. I’ve gone out and anchored 3 different times. Each time, when ready to go, my starboard engine won’t energize when I push the switch. I can hold down the emergency, and it will energize and I can start, but I have to keep the emergency switch engaged or the engine dies.

Last time this happened, I replaced both carling switches with new. And before that, the next day at the dock the engines started as advertised.

The problem acts as if the CB is not on for the starboard ignition. I have checked both CB’s, numerous times. I can’t get them to fail. The only other part in the line is the key ignition switch, which is nothing more that a on/off switch. Again, no failure.

This is baffling. I have ohmed out the wires all the way through. The only possibility left is the ignition CB is failing intermittently. I could swap right to left and see if the problem follows it.

Batteries are new and tested, alternator charging confirmed, battery charger confirmed. Isolator checked and verified.

One interesting note. If I energize the port engine, and then push emergency, the starboard energizes without turning the switch on. That seems odd.

 

[CaptRonn]

Last night I did some troubleshooting. At the carling switch for the ignition/start I had voltage. Once I pressed the switch, voltage dropped to zero.

So, I either have some bad terminals at the battery, or even upstream through the emergency solenoid or even up to the starter. Or even a bad place in the cable. I suppose I could disconnect everything and look for high resistance?

This morning, boat started fine. So, while sitting in the dock, I’m going to replicate exactly the conditions yesterday (engines, genset, etc) and see if I can make it fail again.

But so far, from the batteries through the solenoid, to the starter I apparently have a bad connection. Worse case scenario is just make up and run new cables.

This would also explain why when I engage the emergency start it comes back. Which, using logic, would say the bad connection is from the battery to the emergency solenoid.

 

[CaptRonn]

Update: I just ran the exact configuration I had yesterday, except I didn’t leave the dock. After all of that, I can’t get the stbd engine to fail.

So I’m going to replace battery cables (starboard) from the battery to the emergency solenoid. I’ll also check the old ones for resistance. I suspect when I changed the batteries out by moving the terminals there was corrosion in them, and now I have this intermittent problem.

 

[CaptRonn]

Interesting development. I disconnected the starboard system battery, which includes the house battery.

I still have power to the starboard battery terminal at the starter. WTH? Also, my DC bus is still showing starboard side has 12+volts. Again, WTH?

Where is the voltage coming from? Also, on the fly bridge, I can still energize the starboard ignition with the starboard batteries completely removed. (I just can’t crank the engine)

I’m suspecting one or a couple of things. Someone has monkeyed with the electrical setup, or the battery isolator is the culprit.

BTW, I checked resistance on the cables, and so far they are dead on.

Also, with the starboard system removed, I still have main cabin DC power, which according to the wiring diagram, shouldn’t be happening.

Going to go start checking the battery isolator.

 

[CaptRonn]

Battery isolator checks ok, as per specs.

Removed battery charger from system. Removed terminal ends from emergency start solenoid. Removed terminals from all batteries. Checked continuity between port and starboard positive leads, and it shows a ground.

The leads go from the battery to each a Guest battery switch, then to the terminal of the solenoid. Turned switch off and still show a ground.

Starting to suspect I have a bad battery switch.

Going to remove terminals from the battery switch now and see if I can isolate it.

I’ve never had experience with one of these switches going bad.

 

[ZZ13]

Battery isolator checks ok, as per specs.

Removed battery charger from system. Removed terminal ends from emergency start solenoid. Removed terminals from all batteries. Checked continuity between port and starboard positive leads, and it shows a ground.

The leads go from the battery to each a Guest battery switch, then to the terminal of the solenoid. Turned switch off and still show a ground.

Starting to suspect I have a bad battery switch.

Going to remove terminals from the battery switch now and see if I can isolate it.

I’ve never had experience with one of these switches going bad.

Only thing I'd do in addition if it were me, is to disconnect/bypass the crossover solenoid for emergency start. That way you are totally electrically isolated on both sides. Maybe that thing is sick. Plus it eliminates a variable during debug.

 

[CaptRonn]

Only thing I'd do in addition if it were me, is to disconnect/bypass the crossover solenoid for emergency start. That way you are totally electrically isolated on both sides. Maybe that thing is sick. Plus it eliminates a variable during debug.

It’s disconnected. Just removed the strbd battery switch, took apart, cleaned, reassembled. Ops checks ok.

Interestingly enough, I checked the terminal from strbd battery the switch, good. Switch to terminal at solenoid, good. Put the switch back with just battery connections, good. When I add the wire for cabin main (red) on the load side of the switch, I now get a connection from stbd battery terminal to port battery terminal.

According to the wiring diagram, only the strbd batteries supply the cabin main through the 50 amp breaker above the battery switches. I verified this with a multimeter.

Why is my port battery supplying power to the cabin main?

This could be the case if someone has wired something across the system. Problem is SR has used too many red/violet wires in the harness for a variety of things.

From what I can tell, something is allowing voltage to flow from port to starboard systems, or vice versa. I suppose my next venture is to start disconnecting everything until I see the voltage drop offline on one side or the other. This morning when I removed the starboard batteries physically from the system, the voltmeter on the main DC panel still showed strbd voltage. That shouldn’t be.

 

[CaptRonn]

Found it.

My starboard system is getting back fed from the port side via the battery isolator.

How I know? Just hooked up the port battery side, everything normal. Cleaned all terminals and was hooking up the alternator line to the strbd battery terminal, and my cabin systems came on, without touching the starboard batteries.

My understanding is the isolator should prevent this.

Going out to by a terminal block and remove the isolator from the system.

 

[ZZ13]

Found it.

My starboard system is getting back fed from the port side via the battery isolator.

How I know? Just hooked up the port battery side, everything normal. Cleaned all terminals and was hooking up the alternator line to the strbd battery terminal, and my cabin systems came on, without touching the starboard batteries.

My understanding is the isolator should prevent this.

Going out to by a terminal block and remove the isolator from the system.

Congrats! Perseverance! My '01 and later they didn't install the isolator anymore. Each engine is on its own charging its own batteries. Only cross connection is the emergency start crossover.

 

[CaptRonn]

Congrats! Perseverance! My '01 and later they didn't install the isolator anymore. Each engine is on its own charging its own batteries. Only cross connection is the emergency start crossover.

Makes much more sense. I have zero need for an isolator.

 

[ZZ13]

Makes much more sense. I have zero need for an isolator.

I have the wiring diagram for the non isolator version if you want it for reference.

 

[tdschafer]

Found it.

My starboard system is getting back fed from the port side via the battery isolator.

How I know? Just hooked up the port battery side, everything normal. Cleaned all terminals and was hooking up the alternator line to the strbd battery terminal, and my cabin systems came on, without touching the starboard batteries.

My understanding is the isolator should prevent this.

Going out to by a terminal block and remove the isolator from the system.

Wow!! Way to hang in there! Glad you found it!

 

[CaptRonn]

I have the wiring diagram for the non isolator version if you want it for reference.

Thanks. I just installed a terminal block and hard wired everything. Everything is working as it should. Just got done going through each system individual and then everything operating together.

Retested the isolator, and sure enough one of the diodes is flaky. It’s on its way to the trash can

 

[Plumbing Guy]

Gentlemen,
Next month I’ll be winterizing my 400 for the first time to put it to sleep for the winter. For those of you in the northern climates, does anyone have a winterizing checklist for your 400 that you would share? I’ve started to build one and will happily share with whomever is interested once it’s complete.

Thanks. Stay safe
Jon

 

[Drafter]

Gentlemen,
Next month I’ll be winterizing my 400 for the first time to put it to sleep for the winter. For those of you in the northern climates, does anyone have a winterizing checklist for your 400 that you would share? I’ve started to build one and will happily share with whomever is interested once it’s complete.

Thanks. Stay safe
Jon

I can tell you that the best thing that I ever bought was a Trac Ecological flushing cap that replaces the strainer caps with a plastic cap with a hose fitting. I put a seacock valve and clear water hose mounted to a 5 gallon bucket with the flushing cap on the end. Replace the cap, fill the bucket with 5 gallons of antifreeze, close your raw water intake, and fire it up. 5 minute job for both engines. Our marina charges $166 per engine plus $18 a gallon for pink antifreeze. Ridiculous. Mine are gas. I use the same cap for the AC and Genny strainer which is too large to screw on, but works fine to just hold in place over the strainer with the same result. For whatever reason, they don't make the flushing cap for the smaller strainers.