www.iFourWinns.com

Well, there's been issues with my 2009 Vista wiring since I bought it last year ("new", unsold/ unused).

Issues with the EVC system precluded using it last season; now sorted.

I started digging into the other wiring properly recently. The 278 has a forward bilge, as it can get water in there they fitted bilge pump there. Sensible ( except the way they wired it so it could never have worked). What's worse is they sited a number of other connectors there at the lowest point of the bilge, just where they could get wet. The stupid part is they could have added 2 feet to one half of the wiring loom and taken off 2 feet from the other side and put the connectors in a more safe position.

The person that designed it was an idiot.

I've extended the wiring to take the connectors out of the bilge area.

Also, what is s the point of a 14 pin connector; 13 male pins one side and one female, 14 female pins the other side !

The supplying dealer wiring for the replacement bilge pump was even less impressive I'm afraid !!!

2009 was a rough year for the factory. Not surprised quality control might have been questionable.

What happened with your evc system? Our 2008 318 had it, and we didn't have any computer issues?

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Intermittently faulty shift actuator (causing engine to go into limp home mode at the most inconvenient times)
Faulty original shift lever.
New shift lever would not talk to EVC electronics as far as trim function was concerned.( a known issue with EVC-C apparently !). Separate trim control panel needed.

Thankfully costs covered under dealer warranty.

Hi

Here is hopefully an inspirational pic of my new main 12V panel:


Now to finish the other project before 240V conversion...

That looks complex !

I took what I think is a simpler route.

Original VP 120A charge splitter on the bulkhead.

Charger fuses swapped for breakers and connected to the charge splitter rather than behind the switch panel.

Windlass battery to breaker connector cable changed from 35mm2 to 50 mm2; like the rest of that circuit.

Emergency systems to starter battery link changed from 12" long 35 mm2 to 5" long 50 mm2 ( still a bit small, the diesel engine boats have 70mm2 cables, but there's no room for a curved 70mm2 cable there )

A separate off-1-2-both battery switch panel on the starboard side for the system batteries. With the amplifier breaker connected to the systems batteries rather than the engine battery, plus the active corrosion protection fuse and bilge pumps fuse ( plus a LCD voltmeter/ battery selection switch). 70mm2 cable across the boat.

If anyone is considering doing some battery rewiring, I really do recommend buying a hydraulic crimper (around £30 in the UK , ca USD 45). You can easily make custom cables at a fraction of the cost of premade ones. I shortened all the battery cables, from the standard 72" or 108" to an appropriate length. The crimping on some of the originals was a bit suspect.

.............and as for the 14 pin connector, well there are none shown on the wiring diagram that came with the boat ( dated 2007). They clearly upgraded the connectors ( to an "almost" waterproof type) and changed the wiring compared to earlier ones, but no schematics are available even to dealers.

EDIT: I understand it was a grim time for FW employees in 2008/9 ( it was a bad time for me as well !). In the paperwork for the boat there was a copy of an E-mail from FW HR to employees saying what they should do if redundancy was initiated, Horrible. Since then though FW should have been more responsive to their dealers as far as wiring info is concerned.

Hey Graham,

I to have thought the wiring located in the forward bilge area is of bad design.

I developed a forward bilge issue 2 years ago. The pump ran continuously with a dry bilge, the manual cabin switch in off position, and light on manual switch was illuminated. I solved the problem by disconnecting the manual cabin switch. Bilge pump still activates with the float switch.

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2010 278 Vista
5.7 GXi DP

Past:
1999 225 Sundowner
5.7 GSi SX

looks good.

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Not Penny's Boat

1993 190 Horizon 5.0L EFI
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11136
1977 14' CMF Skiff SOLD
2015 Emotion Stealth Angler 11

Graham, found your post "Expect the unexpected" under "Electrical". Will let you know how I make out. Thanks for doing the leg work!

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2010 278 Vista
5.7 GXi DP

Past:
1999 225 Sundowner
5.7 GSi SX