40 amp breaker?

[hjbutler]

Hello everyone, my Adventure 20 electrical system is dead even though the batteries are OK. I'm thinking that the culprit is this 40 amp breaker (?) pictured. Any suggestions for replacement? I'm guessing the red button is a reset but it doesn't do anything.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[wspitler]

Recommend you use a voltmeter to check the voltage on both sides of the circuit breaker and throughout the system to find out where your failure is. If you have 12 V on one of the leads to the circuit breaker and no voltage on the other side it’s a bad circuit breaker if both sides have 12 V relative to ground then look down stream from there for your failure mode.

 

[hjbutler]

Thanks for your reply! I checked the breaker with Ohm meter and it was OK; it showed 0 resistance. So then I fiddled with fuses under the dashboard and the thing came to life. Joy!

 

[Fishtales]

Fuses can be come dirty. Might be good to pull them one by one, clean, inspect and re-install. The wiring isn't the greatest either....

 

[SkunkBoat]

The ATO Blade fuses can get "green" and also heat up the plastic of the fuse panel. Pull every fuse and look at it and clean the contacts. If the boat is old its a good idea to inspect the back side of the fuse panel. Look for melted or brittle plastic and green drips. It can cause gremlins....

Your red button breaker doesn't look too bad but they can be the cause of gremlins also. A Bussman 185 style breaker is much better. It has the added benefits of letting you see the connections without twisting the wires, and letting you use it as an ON/Off switch.

Maybe I'm not seeing it right but the wire looks small, like 10awg (maybe its 8awg?). That may be original to an Adventure but its not very good if you start adding a lot of electronics and lights and a hi watt stereo.
Most of the time I see 6 gauge wire from the the 40A breaker to the terminal block under the dash

Too small of wire can cause it to heat up and you'll also get a large voltage drop. Your electronics start telling you the volts are too low. Sometimes your MFD will shut off when you start the motor.

 

[hjbutler]

Fuses can be come dirty. Might be good to pull them one by one, clean, inspect and re-install. The wiring isn't the greatest either....

Yes, wiggling the fuses solved a few problems and I will clean them. I've never had this problem with boat fuses before, but this boat uses automotive style fuses.

 

[luckydude]

Fuses can be come dirty. Might be good to pull them one by one, clean, inspect and re-install. The wiring isn't the greatest either....

Amen to this. I can't tell you the number of computers and other things I've fixed by taking it apart, clean the contacts, put it back together and it works. What did I fix? I have no idea, but something was dirty and now it isn't and it works.

 

[Sdfish]

Glad you figured the issue out! In case you need to replace, I went with Blue Sea Systems - 7182 187 Series, 285 Series & Klixon Circuit Breakers, 40A.
I replaced as a precaution, after 23 years of service I thought it was time.

 

[hjbutler]

Glad you figured the issue out! In case you need to replace, I went with Blue Sea Systems - 7182 187 Series, 285 Series & Klixon Circuit Breakers, 40A.
I replaced as a precaution, after 23 years of service I thought it was time.

Thanks! That's a good idea. I've just acquired this boat, which is a '94, so there are many things I'm sorting out and fixing here and there. Overall, though, I'm very pleased with this Adventure 20. The old Mercury 200 is still fine.

 

[hjbutler]

The ATO Blade fuses can get "green" and also heat up the plastic of the fuse panel. Pull every fuse and look at it and clean the contacts. If the boat is old its a good idea to inspect the back side of the fuse panel. Look for melted or brittle plastic and green drips. It can cause gremlins....

Your red button breaker doesn't look too bad but they can be the cause of gremlins also. A Bussman 185 style breaker is much better. It has the added benefits of letting you see the connections without twisting the wires, and letting you use it as an ON/Off switch.

Maybe I'm not seeing it right but the wire looks small, like 10awg (maybe its 8awg?). That may be original to an Adventure but its not very good if you start adding a lot of electronics and lights and a hi watt stereo.
Most of the time I see 6 gauge wire from the the 40A breaker to the terminal block under the dash

Too small of wire can cause it to heat up and you'll also get a large voltage drop. Your electronics start telling you the volts are too low. Sometimes your MFD will shut off when you start the motor.

Thanks for your reply! I thought the wire was on the small side but it works ok and is original to the boat; I'm not going to add any accessories. The stock breaker is not great; there's no way to test and reset it. Will replace someday.....