2 blown fuses in a year on a newish boat is that normal?

Is something else wrong that I am having electric problems?-have also had depth finder problems could that be the cause?

I don’t know that i’ve ever blown a fuse on a boat. Get it looked at.

Not normal

Ripjiggen wrote:

Not normal

. X 2

Ok- so what are they looking for? (with mechanics it seems the more I know the better- and I do not have a boat mechanic that I trust yet) Thanks, if you have more ideas let me know

Tim,which circuit is the fuse protecting?
Once we know that we can track the problem from there.

WHAT kinda boat????

lund? just pull out the fuze and replace with a heavy paperclip!!!!

j/k

often times wires will rub as the boat bounces and can rub thru the wire casing and cause a short let me guess ( usually happens when the boats wet?)

other possibilities would be
wrong fuze
crossed wires
bad or corroded ground
loose or corroded terminal connections!!!! (should have put this one first!)
wires that are to small for the current draw!!!

I’d check all your electric connections. Including grounds. Have seen some dealer installs that were horrible. Also working on cars for a living near 50 years. A new fuse isn’t always a good fuse. Some electronics run 2-amp fuses, not much leeway for cheap materials or manufacturing. If a good name brand fuse and checking connections doesn’t do it. Find someone that can test with a meter.

I don’t think a boat mechanic is what you are looking for unless the fuse has something to do with your motor. Some good advice already posted. Get a meter and figure out the circuit the fuse is protecting. Another thing to look at / add is a ground wire. I have seen where the ground is done to the boat and not wired directly to the battery.

tim hurley wrote:

Ok- so what are they looking for? (with mechanics it seems the more I know the better- and I do not have a boat mechanic that I trust yet) Thanks, if you have more ideas let me know

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Tim,which circuit is the fuse protecting?
Once we know that we can track the problem from there.

First, this ^^^^^. What’s on the circuit that is blowing the fuse?

Next question I have is if you leave the battery connected and with the master switch “on” (if you have a battery cutoff master), does the battery discharge fairly quickly on its own? I other words, do you have a dead short?

Even if you’re NOT going to fix it yourself, I’d do some DIY troubleshooting to at least be able to tell the shop what kind of problem you think you have and where it is.

The prime suspect here is some kind of short that’s blowing the fuse, but if it’s intermittent, some detective work is going to be in order.

A fuse blows because the current draw exceeds the rating of the fuse IE. 5 amp fuse opens at 5 amps. You have one of 2 problems. (One) you have a device/devices drawing more then the circuit fuse or (Two)you have a short happening to ground on he power wire. First thing to do is find what fuse is going out and see if it is even the right size that is called for, if it calls for a 10 amp and you have a 5 amp then expect it to go out. Also if you have a 10 amp rated circuit and add 3 hummingbirds that all draw 5 amps each, so total is 15 amps there is your problem. 12vdc is like water, it likes the ground. need to find where it is finding ground.

Thanks for the feedback-a lot to unpack-anyone know a mechanic who is a good detective with this stuff?

bigcrapppie advice is spot on. Follow it and you will find your problem. If you don’t know what runs on that fuse you might have to disconnect all of the wires from your grounding spot and connect them one at a time until the fuse blows. It could also be a sloppy connection that has the power grounding out on the side of the boat or laying in some water in the back of the boat.