Adding accessory on '01 180BR

[Shiggs]

Hi,

We have a 2001 180BR and the instrument panel has an empty switch slot. I was hoping to add in a marine GPS and wire it to an additional switch. I already got the owners manual + supplement and parts manual from SeaRay so I know it's a "V" series rocker switch.

My question is how hard is it to add things to the panel? Is wiring going to already have a large enough gauge add another device without running a wire the entire length of the boat? We haven't yet taken full possession of the boat so I can't poke around myself but any guidance would be well appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[BillK2632]

I added cockpit lighting on my 185 and put the switch in a blank like you have. Ordered the rocker switch online to match the others. As far as wiring, you have to do all the wiring to whatever you are adding - if you look at your fuse block under the dash you will see some open fuses for adding things like this. You just need to wire the switch into the fuse block and run the wiring to your GPS - should be pretty easy.

 

[Shiggs]

Do you also need to run back to the battery or just the fuse block -> switches and accessories? Like is there some kind of main line running back to the batter which powers everything in the fuse block? Or independent lines for each accessory back to the battery.

Thanks!

 

[Little Ducky]

Do you also need to run back to the battery or just the fuse block -> switches and accessories? Like is there some kind of main line running back to the batter which powers everything in the fuse block? Or independent lines for each accessory back to the battery.

Thanks!

Everything should safely run from the fuse block unless you add something like a stereo amp with needs a dedicated cable for a bit more current draw from the battery.

 

[scoflaw]

What Ducky said.

 

[Shiggs]

Beautiful thanks!

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yes, the wire that feeds the fuse block is more than adequate for a GPS. HOWEVER... adding a switch is kinda redundant since the GPS will already have it's own switch. In reality, you don't need a separate switch for it.

 

[BillK2632]

Lazy makes a good point, if you are just looking to power the GPS, then just wire it from the fuse block without a switch.

 

[blaster]

Do you also need to run back to the battery or just the fuse block -> switches and accessories? Like is there some kind of main line running back to the batter which powers everything in the fuse block? Or independent lines for each accessory back to the battery.

Thanks!

No need to run wire to the battery unless you require more juice than you can get at the fuse block. If you aren’t powering a windless or 1000 watt amplifier then you should be good running wiring from under the helm.