85 340 - bonding wires on seacocks and engine/dashboard gauge issue

Bill Gau

New Member
Jul 28, 2019
7
Boat Info
1985 340 sundancer with crusader 454's
Engines
Crusader 350
Hi All,
I need some help. I purchased an 85 340 last August. I worked on it over the winter, I had my marina replace the 4 seacocks and thruhull fittings and the garboard drain. They left off the bonding wires and tell me I have to wait until Mid June which is the next time they will have someone available. They tell me the bonding wires are not needed and will not effect anything. I feel that should have been part of the replacement job. The marina owner told me he has been doing this for decades and the bonding wires on the seacocks will not effect anything. Today I tried to start up the engines in prep for going in the water. The port cranks but the starboard did nothing. I played with the battery connections and now the starboard will crank. The problem is the starboard dash gauges all pin when I turn on the nav lights which the breaker for them is also on the starboard side of the dash. Also, the gauges do not light up. The port dash is fine. I did not have this issue when the boat was taken out and winterized. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. thanks
 
I would consider the green "bonding" wires essential. They were installed for a reason not to mention when the day comes for you to sell a surveyor will want them restored. For the dash I would check the connections, grounds and voltages at the back of the ignition switch.
 
Thank you for the response. .the marina now wants me to wait until mid June as they are backed up. I am going to try and attach them myself. The way they installed the new seacocks requires me to extend the bonding wire. I also found about a 4 gauge wire that appears to go to the starboard engine that is not connected. That is the same side that I am having dashboard trouble.
I would consider the green "bonding" wires essential. They were installed for a reason not to mention when the day comes for you to sell a surveyor will want them restored. For the dash I would check the connections, grounds and voltages at the back of the ignition switch.
 
I know this sounds crazy but my friend with a 2005 34 had a serious corrosion problem ( electrolysis ) with all the thru hulls on his boat, every year he had to change them as they were badly corroded.
He could not find the problem so he hired two different boat electricians that could not find were the stay current was coming form so both electricians told him to remove all the bond wires from the boat which he did, It is now three years later and he has not had any more corrosion problems.
When you look in his engine room all you see is the bond wires taped off and hanging there.
Good luck selling that boat.
 

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