Loose Perko connection and blown fuses

skiptowns98033

I had just finished installation of a new depth finder, zip tied all the cable runs and was idling at the dock, looking at the new display menus and admiring my work.

And the engine just............quit. The engine - Honda 90 - wouldn't turn over and I couldn't even raise it. Dead.

Long story short, the nuts on the connections in the Perko switch had worked loose and the arcing was most likely the cause of the blown fuse. When the engine quit last year, we checked the fuses, replaced the one that was blown but never went any farther. It was fortunate that I missed seeing the blown fuse this time -it was hard to see on the bottom corner - so that we had to look for other causes.

It was even suggested the loose Perko connections might have been the cause of the stuttering problem that led me to a new ECU last year..........

SGIDave · Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 1:18 pm Post subject:

Hello Skip,

Your switch as well as battery terminals, etc are all locations which should use a split ring lock washer under the nut OR use a nylock type of nut.

Fair winds and solid electrical connections,

dave

thataway · Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:10 pm Post subject:

I agree 100% on the lock washer. There have been some cases of melting of the Polymer/nylon, in the Nyloc nut when used in electrical connections due to heat when under high power or a short.

skiptowns98033 · Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 10:32 pm Post subject:

Great ideas! Thanks guys!