How to use terminal blocks on wiring harness?

[JonnyQuest]

Hi gang,

My wiring from engine to cockpit instrument panel is currently unprotected/unsupported/unbundled/etc. and is a mess in my engine compartment. I am thinking of adding terminal strips near the engine compartment or possibly behind the instrument panel to clean things up by providing wiring landing/jump-off points, and to give me an opportunity to re-route my wiring directly out of the engine compartment and have it travel under the quarter berth to the cockpit. I would need a couple of extra feet to do this.

The wiring appears to be in good shape and proper ABYC coloring as well--likely a rewire kit form MMI by a previous owner. Unfortunately there isn't enough slack to reroute the wiring out and back to the cockpit, and currently the wiring is poorly run without support and it free-hangs in air to the connections at engine.

Desired results: get most of wiring out of engine compartment heat/oil. Clean up engine compartment by properly bundling and routing the spaghetti monster into wire runs. Protect wire runs with conduit mounted underneath qtr berth. Gain needed wire length by adding wiring on to end with a terminal strip near engine compartment or in cockpit lazarette.

Is this a proper use of terminal blocks? Any suggestions to go with this project as well?

See the attached drawing showing the existing wiring runs in red, and the proposed re-routing in green--down other side of engine compartment wall, under qtr berth.

How about replacing all the inline fuses with an ignition protected fuse block like the Blue Seas SafetyHub 150 Fuse Block (PN 7748)?

Thanks for the discerning eye,

Jonny

[hanleyclifford]

Your plan is good. Wherever possible and desired the terminal block function should be combined with the fuse block function. The Blue Seas ATC block is excellent but I would go to the largest size feasible to leave room for expansion of the system. I don't like in-line fuses on a boat especially the AGC (long glass fuses that you can never read the amps, you know the ones). They leak, corrode and are difficult to loom up and organize.

[joe_db]

I did exactly this. All engine wiring runs to a terminal block near the engine. I'll post a photo when I get a chance.

[JonnyQuest]

Thanks Hanley and Joe. Joe I'm glad you mentioned "Wherever possible and desired the terminal block function should be combined with the fuse block function."

--I guess that would be the same for buss bars where they are used as well?

Thanks for thinking of photos to post Joe, they'll be useful. I'll post mine as I progress.

[roadnsky]

Thanks for thinking of photos to post Joe, they'll be useful. I'll post mine as I progress.

I re-wired my DC Panel and Cockpit Panel when I upgraded to the MMI Panel.
I went the extra effort and expense and re-did the wire and all connectors as well.
The old wiring was a mess!
It was a lot of work but if you do it right, you only do it once!

[HalcyonS]

sooo clean!

[67c&ccorv]

I like Blue Sea electrical gear...well made and good quality materials!

[roadnsky]

I like Blue Sea electrical gear...well made and good quality materials!

I totally agree...

[sastanley]

JQ,
Here is my re-wiring job..I had the same issue...wires everywhere. This is version 1..I've re-worked this a couple of times but don't have any updated pics. The color coded wires are engine harness, and the Blue Seas block to the left is a grounding block for various engine functions..oil pressure sender (off the engine), electric antrifreeze circulation pump, bilge pump, etc.



The 2nd pic is the other end of that harness behind the gauge cluster.I've also improved on this design too since this picture, similar to the engine room. I moved the grounds clustered to the right to their own dedicated Blue Sea bus to reduce clutter & clean up the panel. I am not real good about clustering & bundling all of my wires up, because I am always tweaking and changing things.



Hopefully, also attached is a 3rd pic .. the gauge end of the engine harness before I started.