Concerned New Boater/ Battery Wiring Question/White Smoke

[Madantek]

Last year we were happy to pick up and enjoy a nice season onboard our 2017 Yamaha Limited S E Series...

I pulled her out of storage and just completed 2 oil changes and had my father in law with me who has "been boating for 30 years". This is where my concern arises...

We opened the battery compartment where last year I disconnected all wires and harnesses. Before I could get the manual to properly see how to replace to the proper configuration my Father in law tells me "it's foolproof and he's been boating for years so he can just do it for me without issue". Long story short he started by connecting the 2 Black thick negative wires to the positive terminal, white smoke was present in the engine compartment and I immediately took everything off and almost had a nervous breakdown. The boat was not turned on nor were the house or aux battery switches turned to on. This lasted for about 30-45 seconds in my opinion.

I followed the wires and they seem to hook up directly to a part of the engine itself, I'm assuming the alternator or similar component. I turned boat on next day after doing wires correctly and everything seemed to work fine and I couldn't fine any damage done at first glance following the black wire itself. Running the boat for 3 mins on the trailer the batteries still were increasing in voltage and all systems seemed to be in order.

I don't want to blow up or have an issue so I'm wondering if anyone knows for sure what those 2 black negative cables attach to on the engine? what voltage is normal when operating boat so I know what to look for? Given I saw white smoke I realize something sizzled so should I be panicking or can I just be cautious and observe?

I admittedly know nothing and learned a valuable lesson that I should be the only person who does pro bono work on my watercraft!

Thank you for any input- Adam

 

[bronze_10]

Sounds like they were just hooked to the motor for a ground. If that's the case then I would think you would be ok, just that black wire cooking. But there are other far more knowledgeable people on here. I think @AndyD has that boat.. Maybe he knows more about those wires.

 

[AndyD]

I’m not sure about where the wires go but on our boat the battery voltage tops out at about 14.3 on a full charge and drops to around the low 12’s high 11’s after a full day lounging with the radio on.

 

[Julian]

Sounds to me like you might have burned a little of the insulation on the ground wires. The engine grounds run right to the starters, so if the starters work and the engine runs fine I'd say you are ok. One thing you could do is to take your phone and turn on its light and use your camera to record video under the engines of the wire connection points to the starters. Look for badly melted insulation. If you don't see any bare wires or badly melted insulation I'd just keep an eye on it and enjoy your boating!

In the future, when you disconnect the wires, label them and loop them together with a wire tie so you know which are grouped together and where they go.

 

[Madantek]

Thank you so much all 3 of you! Have run the boat twice all day and no issues to report. Also talked to dealer and they said to just have fun because without knowing what burned they would have to rip everything apart. Enjoying life and the water and appreciate the sound advice!