Carver Owners Forum

Did you have the wires connected properly? Postive to postive and negative to negative.perhaps you wired it wrong. I would reconfirm this. I assume your courtesy lights are still working ok right now. If it works on the cig lighter it should work anywhere if wired properly if it's led it really draws no current. Do you have a volt meter? I suggest getting one it will make this stuff easier and safer to work on

yes, it was correctly wired. But I used Displacement Connector (scotchlock connector), maybe I did not get good connection. I thought it should have been fine as they are 12 volts, I will try again with proper connectors this time.

Yea check it, some of them scotch lite connectors have a burr on them and you may have not gotten the wire all the way in before you crimped it. Mine are hooked up there and work just fine. Mike

Update, reconnected with better connections and everything worked great. Now when I turn on the deck lights, front light strip under cowl also lights up blue, looks great at dark.

Way to go! Sometimes it's the simplest thing!

cpoint wrote:Qr Bbpost......I used Displacement Connector (scotchlock connector)....

Shouldn't be using these. Most of them are also designed for solid wire only, not stranded wire.

Agreed viper. I soldered them basically now.

cpoint wrote:Qr Bbpost .... I soldered them basically now.

For future reference, in general, soldering is not recommended. By doing so, you create two stress points where the solder meets the unsoldered wire strands. These become stress points because the unsoldered points will flex while the soldered section won't. Eventually, under the right conditions, the point where the strands end and the solder begins will fail. It's like having a solid piece of wire which has no place in a marine application. If you're going to do this, spread out/minimize the fatigue load at the joint by using a long piece of shrink tubing and securing the wire immediately before and after the connection. This will cushion the load at the joint where it is most vulnerable. Best to simply use crimp connectors with built-in shrink tubing or add shrink tubing to regular marine connectors. Shrink tube connectors with adhesive are even better as they seal the wire and connection completely and make it waterproof. These are the only kind I carry on board now. More expensive but worth it unless you want to carry the same size in both types of connectors for different exposures. It just takes up less room to carry the one type.

Viper, good advice, thanks. Will keep in mind for future tasks.

Back to CO detector issue this weekend. I noticed all 3 CO detectors had no lights (green power or red), meaning no power. I think it was there last week. The only thing happened is I replaced a radar/chart plotter. I was careful to not touch most cables. Also not sure the co detectors power source would be at helm (upper deck)? that's where I was dealing with radar hookup. Last year when I had replaced the CO detectors, I did not cut power off or anything, so do not recall where the power source is for it or if there is a fuse. Does anyone know on carver 356 where the CO detectors power unit originates, or if there is a fuse? in cabin or upper deck (inside console where ton of wiring is or under seat upper deck where there is fuse box)? Any info will be greatly appreciates.