New to me CD 22: Shore Power Questions

C

cbbernard

New member
Long-time lurker, first-time poster. After admiring C-Dories for 25 years—all the way back to my Alaska days—I just bought a 2005 22 Cruiser. Low hours, good condition, but the last owner did not use it much—some of the systems have been neglected, others he just did not know very well.

As I root around learning how she's put together, I've got some issues and questions, most of which will reveal my ignorance.

Right now the most pressing is shore power.
* There's a brand new Marinco 30 amp shore power inlet.
* There's a Guest charger under the sink.
*There are two GFCI outlets—one beside the helm seat, and one beneath the aft dinette seat—and one non-GFCI outlet under the sink beneath the Guest charger.
* There's a panel on the helm dash with a reverse polarity indicator and two switches, one of which is a double.

I cannot get shore power to the boat. I've tested the cord and it works. The Marinco inlet is new. But nothing happens when I connect to the boat. None of the lights on the helm panel illuminate and there is no power to the outlets. There are no lights on the Guest charger either.

Is there a switch I'm missing to enable it? Do I need to "tell" the boat to switch from battery to AC somehow?

Thanks!
 
In most cases, the dealer rigs the boat with the electrical system and the motor. So all the electrical systems are a little different.

However, in my case, the green light on the electrical panel next to the double breaker should be on if power to the panel is available.

I would guess that since the shore power inlet connection in new, then something is not connected or not connected properly. The wires from the inlet should go to the double breaker on the panel. All AC loads should be after this switch.

Basically, the only thing you can do is to trace the wires and make sure they go where they should. If you know how to use a voltmeter, it would be helpful.
 
If you're at a Marina, make sure that your connection at the dock is turned on. Usually, it's not enough to just plug it into the Marina's outlet, you have to also switch it on (at the dock, not on your boat). I know this sounds obvious, but it's exactly how I solved the exact problem because I was new to shore power too.
 
How did you ‘test’ your 30A shore power cord?

Yes the dock pedestal will have a switch that also must be 'ON'.

I Agree that the wiring on the interior side of the new Marinco inlet is the most likely culprit and that there should not be any hidden 120v switches between the inlet and your AC Distribution panel breakers.

Ensure your shore power cord is disconnected (not just ‘off’) before working on AC wiring.

The inside the boat side of the Marinco inlet has a strain relief, back plate attached by screws and gasket. The black (load), neutral (white) and green (ground) interior AC wires have either color coded push-in spring terminals or screws connecting them to the pins on the inlet. Remove the strain relief and backing plate to ensure the proper color wires are inserted in the proper color coded hole.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/content ... lation.pdf

If so, remove them to ensure the insulation was removed to ensure a good contact.

The Guest charger could be hard wired to a AC distribution panel breaker, but I wonder whether that non-GFI outlet is for the Guest charger. A GFI outlet can protect down-stream outlets, but only if wired correctly.

If the inlet wiring is correct, you’d next remove the back of the breaker panel and test for AC voltage and connections there.

Best of luck!

John
 
My experience is that most of the Mains power 110 V AC is installed at the factory. In the 22, there are the outlets you described. Also the battery charger is either hard wired or plugged into a socket.

I like to use a non contact AC voltage signal tracer to follow out the wiring and be sure it is "hot". Since apparently the wiring on your boat goes to the console, there most likely will be a fiberglass or plastic shield around it to avoid any potential of a short or a 12 volt wire touching the 110 volt AC system.

Also many of the marinas have been wired to a more sensitive ground fault, and many of our boast will trip the ground fault.
 
[quote* There's a panel on the helm dash with a reverse polarity indicator and two switches, one of which is a double[/quote]

Make sure the double switch is on. If it is, try cycling the breaker(that double switch is a breaker).
 
My AC panel has a green light on it next to the double breaker. This indicates shore power is available and the light is before the switch. If the green light is not on, there is no power reaching the panel, regardless of the switch position.

There is also a red light which shows reverse polarity. This is also before the switch so that if the red light is on, you won't turn it on.
 
Beware of those little indicator lights. I've had to replace a couple that burned out. In other words, never assume because there is no light that there is no power. And it's worth repeating....AC black is HOT, DC black is ground....don't ask how I know even though I've known it my entire life


:D

James
 
Thanks, all, for the replies. I'd searched the archives on this site before I posted—what a great resource you all are.

A few notes:

* I "tested" the shore power cord on a neighbor's boat and it worked fine.
* I also tried it at the marina and on the trailer at home, with a Hubbel pigtail for the cord, as I'd like winter shore power as well. No luck there either, which makes me think it's definitely on the boat end.
* I pulled the Marinco inlet to check that it was wired correctly. It seems to be.
* The Guest charger is hardwired.

I will remove the panel back cover and test the leads today (repeating to myself that AC black is HOT, DC black is ground...).

The boat seems to have a ghost in the electrical systems and the snake pit of wiring makes me think it was jury-rigged and not well-thought out. I suspect I've got a long winter's work tracing and labeling everything to sort it out.

Thanks again, all of you, for the tips.
 
Helps a lot to pull the sink out first. It was easier for me to work on the breaker panel from under the kitchen cabinet and with the sink out I could access it from the top. Just wasn’t enough play in the wiring to do it by pulling the panel out from the front.

James
 
Thanks, James—my breaker panel is beneath the wheel, so I have to crawl into the V-berth to get to it. (Which is borderline acrobatic at my size.)
 
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