Examples of some very ugly Gremlins are shown here. Gremlins of all kinds are not unusual and can be expected to pop up often in older boats. Electrical Gremlins on a boat can be fleeting, mysterious, challenging, annoying, frustrating, exasperating and sometimes even dangerous.
- Gremlin #1 is just plain U-G-L-Y.
- Gremlin #2 is ugly but entertaining.
- Gremlin #3 is cute.
- Gremlin #4 is shocking.
- Gremlin #5 is ugly and a major pain.
Electrical Gremlin #5: can be found on many boats- old and new. This gremlin is "corrosion"- and this ugly critter is particularly common on saltwater boats. Like many problems, electrical corrosion is better prevented than repaired. At least corrosion can be easy to spot- due to the growing green deposit of crud.
A different type of electrical gremlin cropped up during the early days of my Triton ownership. The Atomic 4 gas inboard engine is a throw back to a simpler time. Give it gas, air and spark and it will usually run.
While motoring back from a nice day of sailing the engine suddenly quit running.The engine had gas, air, whoops- no spark. A quick check of the not-very-old batteries proved that they had run down. The question was why?
Back at the mooring with the engine covers off- exploration of the wiring and connections began. After gently tugging the main feed wire to the alternator the answer revealed itself. The ring terminal was securely attached to the alternator stud as it should be- the wire was a different story. The #10 feed wire dangled loosely, no longer attached to the terminal. While it had looked solid- the truth was that this was a poorly made crimped connection. Corrosion was not a factor. The wire connector was easy to fix. The alternator was not so cheap. The blame for this costly mistake goes to a P.O. (previous owner).
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