2003 Nitro NX 882 Electrical Issues

[Griffin]

Hey guys I just installed some lights on my 03 NX 882 and am having an issue of not getting enough power to the fuse box. I need some clarification and help so the way I understand it is, there's a wire that comes from the battery that either goes to the ignition, or to the main power switch, then from there the power goes to the fuse box, as well as daisy chains to most of the switches(I assume for lights when I turn the key). It seems like the wires going from the battery to the fuse box are too small because I didn't have enough power to run my graph from the fuse box and when I turn anything on it lowers the power, with both sets of my led lights on it jumps from 12.8 to 10.8 and stays there until I turn the lights off. If I turn anything else on it keeps going down.

I have an 8 gauge wire long enough to run from the battery to the console, but I am unsure where I should run it to. If I run it to the fuse box, and have both positive wires ran to it, will this bypass the master power switch or mess anything up? I just am unsure since it would be getting power from 2 different wires. Or could I just remove the wire from the fuse box thats coming from the dash and put in the larger gauge wire straight from the battery? Would I need a fuse or breaker in-between the battery and fuse box and/or a battery switch? What size if so? Right now I am unable to back track the power cable from the fuse box so I don't know where it is coming from which makes it difficult to do what I want, which is just run the same route with bigger wire.


So my main questions are if anyone is familiar with this setup to explain how it is wired right now, and how I would go about getting my fuse box the power it needs. I already upgraded the negative wire to an 8 gauge going from fuse box to battery just need the positive side figured out. All the lights work I just don't want to have issues in the future, and am unsure if they will be brighter with full power. It'd also be nice to be able to add more stuff in the future but I can't run it straight to the battery because i already have 3 things on each terminal. I tried searching the forum for my answer but didnt find it and was unable to understand what I need to do. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Andrebass]

How's the battery? Load test results?

Check grounds. A bad ground might cause this issue.

I am not familiar with bypassing the main switch, other than everything after is constant hot.

 

[Griffin]

Thanks for the reply! Battery is good, the battery stays where its supposed to when I turn stuff on, I originally bought a new battery because I thought that was the issue, then I wired straight to it and also tested it and it was working fine. its just the power at the fuse box and after that gets lowered every time something comes on and it doesn't go back up until its turned off. It looks like 18gauge wire running from the battery to the master switch and fuse box and is running a lot of stuff so I am pretty sure it just isnt big enough to flow that much juice through.

 

[Robertalan9911]

18 gauge is almost 'speaker wire',should be at least 10 or 8 gauge depending how many accessories you are running.

 

[Griffin]

yeah I am pretty sure this was how it came from the manufacturer, I have seen a lot of people with similar issues, I bought 8 gauge and replaced the negative side just having trouble figuring out what I need to do for the positive side.

 

[ChrisH]

I have a 04 Nitro 882 DC and ran into some of the same issues years ago. First recommendation is to put in a QUALITY fuse block like a seastar system fuse block. The original fuse block is very cheap and doesn't have a sufficient buss system to distribute the load. Doesn't have to be done all at once but I recommend rewiring the entire boat with marine grade tinned wire. 10 to 12 GA is plenty, for the most part you only have 10 to 12 ft runs. Best to run graph wiring direct from battery with appropriately sized inline fuse (KEEP ALL GRAPH WIRING AWAY FROM ANY TROLLING MOTOR WIRING). Your trolling motor wiring runs up the port side of your boat.Keep all your other wiring on the starboard side. Where possible I would use soldered connections and not rely on crimp connectors.

 

[Griffin]

Thanks for the reply ChrisH! Do you remember when you rewired your boat how it's wired from battery to fuse box? Does it go battery to master switch then to fuse box is there a relay or anything in between? I have never used soldered connections so I will look up how to do these, thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Griffin]

Anyone have ideas on how to fix this? the hole is where my ignition goes, I can't keep it in place with the extra space broken out, I have been just letting it hang, after i plug in the key and start it I use my floater keychain and push it in that hole to put the weight of the keys and igntion on that instead of letting it hang freely with the weigh to the wires. That works for the short term to make sure it stays running and doesn't effect the wires. Anyone know where I can find a replacement panel, Or what the best way to make one fit in that space would be? All the ones i have found are not the right shape or size.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

You can make your own using black HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) sheet 1/8" x 12" x 24" at United States Plastics. Cost is approximately $7.

 

[Griffin]

Thanks I am looking into using ABS and acetone to patch it if it looks terrible I may just create a whole new panel, just unsure how to cut it to size as I have never worked with plastics that way.

 

[Griffin]

Got it completed it looks okay, I got a 1/8” board of abs plastic that the panel was made out of, then dissolved some of it in acetone to make a glue then gut out the piece that I needed glued it on, and then finished the hole for the ignition.