Original Panda 8kW witing harness.

[Keoni Aponte]

Hey everyone,

I have a 2007 Grady White 36 Express with the original Fischer Panda generator, which recently gave out. I’m replacing it with a Westerbeke 7.6 kW unit.

While inspecting the electrical setup, I opened the panel and noticed the generator wiring going into the Panda controller is zip-tied very cleanly. My question is: is the wiring typically zip-tied tightly all the way from the breaker panel to the stern (where the generator is located), or is it usually just bundled at the ends and left loose or in conduit along the run?

I’m asking because I want to remove the old Panda wiring completely, not leave it in place. But if it’s all tightly zip-tied or secured throughout the entire run, it’s going to make removal and replacement much harder. If it’s only tied at the ends, I’m hoping I can reuse the same path for the new Westerbeke wiring.

Has anyone done this swap or has insight on how the wiring is typically routed in this boat? Any advice would be appreciated before I dive in.

 

[Hookup1]

There are PVC pipe chases installed in the GW boats. Download your Owners Manual from GW to see approximately where they are located.

Pulling new wires thru these chases using the same wire path can be a problem. Especially with large cables or bundles. Most of the time other wires sit on top of the wire you want to pull out and replace with a new wire. I have found that leaving the old wire and pulling new on top of existing wires easier if there is room in the chase. I run a new poly pull string by tying a small plastic bag to the pull and sucking it thru with a shop vac. This will pull the string thru the void in the chase.

There may be several wire bundles in them that each bundle may be tied together. You should be able to see that. The ends are always tie wrapped along the way to keep the wires from flexing. If it were me I would try to re-use the AC wiring. Neatly splice extension wire if necessary. Maybe run the new control wires and neatly abandon the old ones. The AC chase may not be that full of cables. Good luck!

 

[Keoni Aponte]

There are PVC pipe chases installed in the GW boats. Download your Owners Manual from GW to see approximately where they are located.

Pulling new wires thru these chases using the same wire path can be a problem. Especially with large cables or bundles. Most of the time other wires sit on top of the wire you want to pull out and replace with a new wire. I have found that leaving the old wire and pulling new on top of existing wires easier if there is room in the chase. I run a new poly pull string by tying a small plastic bag to the pull and sucking it thru with a shop vac. This will pull the string thru the void in the chase.

There may be several wire bundles in them that each bundle may be tied together. You should be able to see that. The ends are always tie wrapped along the way to keep the wires from flexing. If it were me I would try to re-use the AC wiring. Neatly splice extension wire if necessary. Maybe run the new control wires and neatly abandon the old ones. The AC chase may not be that full of cables. Good luck!

View attachment 37646 View attachment 37647

Thank you. Really wanted to do a neat job and not leave old cables behind. But in the end there is really not much you can do if they are zip tied all the way through

 

[Hookup1]

Thank you. Really wanted to do a neat job and not leave old cables behind. But in the end there is really not much you can do if they are zip tied all the way through

Looking at your boat layout and where the conduit tubes are there are places where cable are going to be ties to the boat. For example the electrical panel in in the middle of the boat and forward of the conduit tubes. You are really going to need to open panels up and investigate. Understand which conduit tubes the AC wire in and how "full" they are. See if the harnesses are individual wire runs to if they are tied together with a floss binding materiel to make a single :"bundle". Take some pictures too.

I wouldn't be discouraged if you need to re-use some the existing wiring. The AC cables should be fine except possibly the length - which can be neatly spliced and be a professional job. The control cable will likely have to be re-run but that shouldn't be a big job. The battery cables will have to be re-connected.