Battery switch for 1991 ski Nautique

[ATX1991NAUTIQUE]

Has anyone installed a battery switch on a 1991 ski Nautique? I bought the boat used and had a new battery installed. The battery seems to be normal size, but takes up the entire compartment where the battery is. I’m curious if anyone has figured out a workaround to be able to install a battery switch. Right now I’m just taking the positive terminal on and off when I need to use It, which is not ideal

[NautiqueJeff]

Moving this to the Maintenance section, since this post does not conform to the GUIDELINES FOR POSTING IN THE RESTORATIONS SECTION.

[NautiqueJeff]

A Group 65 battery will fit perfectly in the compartment.

Plenty of people have added battery switches, but if yours is draining, there may be another issue. You are turning the Ignition breaker on the dash off when you're not using the boat, right?

[ATX1991NAUTIQUE]

the battery isn’t draining - I’m just removing the positive lead when it’s not in use. I’ve shared a picture of the battery for context. I guess my question is: where would you fit a battery switch in here that would allow you to still put the cover on top? Anyone have any pictures of their setup with a switch?

[NautiqueJeff]

A group 24 like that is not going to allow the battery cover to sit flush with the floor anyway. It is too tall. You need a group 65.

You really shouldn't need a battery switch if things are wired properly. By the way, is that SPEAKER WIRE providing power to your amp? Please get rid of that and wire it properly (using a proper fuse and the correct gauge wire), and route the wire through the proper wire exit from the battery box. That is an extremely dangerous setup.

You also didn't respond to my question about whether you're turning off the ignition breaker on the dash when you're not using the boat.

[bturner]

I'm sure you don't need/want to get ragged on about your set up so I'll echo Jeff's comment and give my thoughts.....

There should only be 2 cables going to the battery, at least that's the way I was taught and cable my boats. Past the main power everything should go through distribution panels and should be fused or protected by breakers. If you're having a fantom power drain anything going to the battery would be the first place I would be looking.

So what to do?

• The battery cables look crusty and older than dirt. I would start by detailing the entire area then strongly consider replacing both cables. Whenever replacing battery cables it's never a bad ideal to drop down a gauge or 2 (larger cables) while you're in there. Also ditch the lead cable ends and go to tinned copper terminals.
• Revisit/document those wires going to directly to the battery. If those are for the amp my money is on that their undersized. The negative side (as Jeff mentions) looks to be speaker wire. If so that is a real bad idea and needs to be corrected now. The positive side looks old, undersized for an amp (if that's where it's going) and the insulation appears to be compromised about an inch from the terminal end but that could just be the picture. Either way these connections and wiring need to be addressed. At a minimum you need a fuse/breaker between the device and the battery.
• On the battery switch.... I've seen people mount them on the floor by the battery but I would much prefer seeing them mounted vertically off the floor and away from excessive moisture/water. If there's room or you can make room on the wall where the amp is mounted, that is probably where I would be looking. It would be fairly easy to get to yet out of the way.
• On dual batteries.... Unfortunately when I look at dual battery installations I'm also doing an isolator which would take up additional room and require additional wiring. I like using the Blue Seas "Add A Battery" kits. This is the only way I do a dual battery setup these days.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/765...ery_Kit_-_120A

All this said I also agree with Jeff that with a straight Nautique skier you really shouldn't need dual batteries and would probably not go or recommend going in that direction. The battery switch on the other hand is not a bad idea if you want the peace of mind knowing the battery is completely disconnected from the power system. Depending on how crazy you want to get you could probably get away with one of Blue Seas Mini switches that handles 300 amps of continuous power since there really shouldn't be much current draw on a skier without a full on stereo system. They do also make a 350 amp switch if you feel you need the extra current rating. The real difference between the 2 is going to be the starting power rating which is 900A for the mini switch and 1200A for the larger switch. Typically 900A is going to be plenty of head room for a standard single engine boat installation.

[SilentSeven]

...Please get rid of that and wire it properly (using a proper fuse and the correct gauge wire), and route the wire through the proper wire exit from the battery box. That is an extremely dangerous setup.

^^^^ this. Super dangerous - huge fire hazard. Put an inline fuse in the battery box so you can easily inspect. And is that a RED wire going back to the ground?

As the boat is new to you, I would suggest reviewing all the added wiring (it's likely stereo related) and cleaning it up. Or have a shop do it for you. At the same time you can get the correct sized battery and clean up those lugs and terminals.

[ATX1991NAUTIQUE]

Sorry for the slow response - that first photo is actually a bit old. Attached is the updated setup, which honestly might not be good enough. A few comments:

• The blue cord connected to the positive terminal has a fuse about 16 inches away (see second photo)
• The small red cord (connected to the ground) runs behind the dash....honestly I'm not entirely sure what this is for, but this was on the negative terminal when I got the boat. I've put probably 20 hours on the boat with this connected to the negative terminal.
• The white cord is the ground for the amp - originally, I was hoping to ground this somewhere else, but I could not figure out a ground location in the front of the boat
• @nautiquejeff: Yes, I am turning the ignition switch on and off when I'm using/not using the boat
• I'm wondering if I need some sort of distribution channel to avoid having anything connected directly to the terminals? Is this how other folks do this if they are connecting an amp?

• 

[bturner]

Technically there is nothing wrong electrically with what you have for the amp power. It's not how I would have done the installation but then again it's not horrible or something that IMO would burn down the boat. These would be my thoughts and probably how I would have done the installation if I were not putting in a switch.....

• The blue cord connected to the positive terminal has a fuse about 16 inches away (see second photo)

For the life of me I don't understand why it is people can't just stick with red and black but I'm missing the point and will get on with it. What you have there is not horrible but I would have used a marine breaker instead of the car stereo fuse and instead of tying to the bolt on the battery cable terminal clamp I would have used marine rated lugs and attached directly to the posts on the battery.

• The small red cord (connected to the ground) runs behind the dash....honestly I'm not entirely sure what this is for, but this was on the negative terminal when I got the boat. I've put probably 20 hours on the boat with this connected to the negative terminal.

Red is hot (+), Black is ground (-). Wiring something like this is a great way to eventually create a direct short and an amateur move. IMO you need to do 2 things here.....

• Figure out where this wire is going. IDK is not an acceptable response when the wire color conflicts directly with the location its attached to and is directly attached to the battery. For all you know it could quite possibly be for a positive connection and may not even be fused. This should be your next job one.
• If it is a ground fine, at a minimum replace it with a black wire. If it's actually supposed to be feeding a positive circuit, figure out what that circuit is and find another way to power it that is fused. Either way figure it out and correct it.

• The white cord is the ground for the amp - originally, I was hoping to ground this somewhere else, but I could not figure out a ground location in the front of the boat

If no no distribution block or grounding lug is going to be installed, the battery is the best ground you're going to have and my preference for a high amperage circuit. My only beef here is the color and once again how this connection is made to the battery but that's a me thing.

• I'm wondering if I need some sort of distribution channel to avoid having anything connected directly to the terminals? Is this how other folks do this if they are connecting an amp?

Honestly, if you're not putting in a switch adding distribution blocks for the additional 2 power cables going to the amp probably isn't buying you anything. While I don't like it, depending on what that red wire is actually feeding you might be able to make that case for it as well but I would rather see that being feed off the terminal block under the dash and while there I would make sure if its a positive circuit that it's protected either by a breaker or a fuse. You really need to figure out what the purpose of this wire and if it's indeed a ground. My gut is telling me it's not and that having it connected as it is, is providing no function. That said, DO NOT connect it to the positive terminal until you figure out what it's for and verify it's intended purpose. Having red wires connected to the negative side of a battery just makes me nervous.

Back to the switch....
The challenge I see with adding a switch anywhere but next to the battery would be that you would have to replace at a minimum the cable run going to the alternator as that run would need to be longer to get to the switch. If you're going to do that the case could easily be made to run a new ground back to the block "while you're in there" as they say. If you're doing that you may as well move from lead battery terminals to marine rated cable lugs. Then make new cables for the amp with battery lugs and replace the car stereo fuse with a marine rated breaker. This would take care of the power side of the installation. For the ground you could replace the white cable with a new black cable with lugs and go directly to the battery, which would be perfectly fine or extend the ground from the battery negative to a bus bar or grounding post by the amp/switch. The latter is probably overkill and just makes for more unneeded connections.

As you can see fixing wiring snowballs quickly which is why you see people taking short cuts all the time. A good shop is always more expensive because they "do it right" using the correct components and do what's necessary. Car stereo shops are not created equal and those on the low end doing marine installations will take short cuts that may not be noticed in a car installation but may not function properly or could be outright dangerous in a marine environment.



I've posted these before/after pictures of the "professional installation" a car stereo shop did on one of my previous boats that previous owner actually paid for and what it looked like after the dual battery installation I did but here they are again. A classic example of what not to do.....