New to Sea Ray, and trouble already

[dinks747]

Hi All

I am new to the Sea Ray family via the purchase of a 1999 330 Sundancer, over the inertnet no less.

After a month at sea, she finally arrived in Dubai (my new and very recent home). A long story short, after reassembly from the transport condition, she has some electrical problems.

I have followed the wiring diagrams, but they are not boat specific, so are some help, but very limited.

With engines running, some systems get power, while others dont.
Unpowered items, anchor light and control, helm system monitor, Raytheon pathfinder radar, bow nav lights,speed sensor on depth gauge.

The port engine also needs several attempts at the start switch, before she will start (1st 5 or 6 presses on the start button does nothing, just dead) Then out of the blue, she will start.
I dont think it is related though.

The gennie works fine and makes no difference.

Secondly, the stuffing box on the V drive leaks plenty. Is an engine pull required to change the seal?

Thanks in advance.

Any thought would be greatly appreciated.

Keen to get going.

D

(Technology does 2 things, it does things for you, and it does things to you)

 

[HarttoHart]

So much for visiting your local dealer.

There are many more folks on this board that will be familiar with your year and model than myself. However I mention one thing thing will certainly do no harm.

When I bought my new 290 DA I was amazed at how many places there were to turn things off. There is a breaker box in the bilge, a breaker box under a seat, a fuse panel under the helm and an electrical switch panel in the cabin. Do you know where all these are located? Did you get a owners manual or download one off of the Sea Ray Site.

Good luck.

 

[rktktpaul]

http://www.searay.com/owners_manuals.asp?tab=&year=1999&folder2=95_99_330_Sundancer

Here is what Sea Ray has available on their website. Unfortunately it is a scanned copy of the Owner's Manuals, but I guess something is better than nothing.

 

[AKBASSKING]

Start checking your ground connections and make sure they are tight.

 

[tobnpr]

Hopefully someone with your make/year will chime in with specifics, but taking a stab...
While it's possible that there's multiple problems causing the non-functioning of the electrical accessories, it's more likely to caused by a common problem. A digital multimeter is a big help in troubleshooting electrical problems- trace the wiring as far as you can visually to see if you can find a common power source and see if there's voltage present. Sometimes the wiring disappears into a "loom to nowhere", but it's worth a shot.

I suspect the starter problem is a faulty solenoid, provided the connections are tight as was already suggested.

V- drive stuffing boxes can have a real problem with access. While it may take a tiny bilge monkey to get to them, it usually can be done without pulling the engine. I'm confident you'll hear from someone who's been there and done that...

 

[Bajan]

Was the boat surveyed before final purchase? If it was, and everything was fine then, you may have corrosion or bad grounds.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Hopefully you get everything fixed and up and running so you can post pics of boating in Dubai.

 

[dinks747]

Thanks to all those kind folks that have responded to my plea.

I'll try cover all the suggestions that I have already covered as per your helpful tips.

I did all I could from my position in the gulf for prepurchase inspection, so now its a matter of dealing with the post transport issues.

I have all the original manuals with supplements included, so have been using those while troubleshooting.

My multimeter has been working overtime in chasing wires into those looms, but access to the origins is not always possible.

I have checked the groundings, but will give them a better look now, thanks.

I will have a look at the starter solenoid and do a swap out to check for faults, thanks.

I have checked for other possible switches to turn equipment on and off, and have checked all those mentioned, bar the breaker box under a seat?Im am pretty sure I have checked every seat but Ill check for that today, thanks.

What the wiring diagrams dont tell you, is where the harnesses get their power from. ie which battery.
That would be quite useful to know, to see if the faulty systems are on an operating harness or not.

And as for the stuffing box work, I know you can get to it, barely, so I look forward to some expertise on that as well.

Many thanks gents, and as soon as she is up and running (1 engine down already thanks to the fuel pump, parts on order) Ill post some pics and videos from the Gulf cruises.
Cant wait.