New 14foot Jon Boat owner. Need assistance on basic setup.

[MrGiggles]

Did you end up wiring this up ?

I have a 14 foot with nothin. I want nav lights front and all around white light in rear. I have a helix 5 fish finder that would like to have on a switch. Maybe some LED spot lights on the front to help me see in the dark.

I have a battery for a minn Kota powerdrive but will run that on its own and just get a small 12v for the rear to have my accessories run off of.

I’d like to know if you set it up and If you have had any issues with blown fuses, fires etc. I’m really nervous about doing this and the all-in-one switch panel seems WAY too easy. Must be a catch to running it that way LOL. I’d also add a main battery kill switch to kill power to the switch panel.


Also, will I need a negative bus bar to run the negative off the accessory (fish finder) or does that also go to the switch panel. The switch panel I want is the one on amazon and it comes prewired



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depends, some are DPDT, both power and ground run through the switch (run your component wires directly to the switch, + and -). Others are not, only the power wire is switched, in which case you will need to use a common ground, typically a bus bar. A lighted DPDT switch will have 6 terminals, lighted SPST will have 3.

It would be smart to run a main inline fuse as close to the battery as possible, and inline fuses for each component after the switch panel as well. Some switch panels already include the fuses, some don't.

I order bulk packs of connectors on ebay as well, buying them locally is outrageously expensive. Crimp type with shrinkable tubing are the best.

I don't see it necessary to connect your sonar to a switch, as it will still need to be powered on manually. All of mine are direct connected, they all include fuses, no problem there.