I’m trying to get power to my new GPS and the only person who can fit under the helm of my B28 is my daughter. Fortunately she is pretty bright and patient (with her father and the job at hand) After four tries we got the GPS running but it’s still not “right”.
Step One – connect new black and red to the old black and red wires. GPS would not start.
Step Two – connect black and red to a pair of these screws (below). Nothing, this is apparantly just a terminal block.
Step Three – connect to each side of one of these fuses. Result nothing.
After step three I began to wonder, “Is my brand new GPS broken?”. So I unplugged my VHF radio and stuck the GPS leads in for a test. Started right up.
Step Four – piggy back the red and black on the radio’s red and black. Result: GPS started up! Until I turn on the radio, at which point the GPS turned off.
This is very frustrating. Especially when you can’t see what’s going on. It seems odd that the black and red wires from the radio and the old GPS connect to screws a foot or more apart. With DC can you just connect the red hot line and just ground the black line any old place? Also curious that despite turning off all breaker in both AC and DC panels the instruments still had power. Is that normal or would I need to shut off the battery switches to de-power the helm.