Running an electrical line from the console to the stern of a 210.
Posted 08-13-2009 at 01:35 AM by cmarkphillips
For those of you that like to install your own gadgets and wonder how to run an electrical line under the floor board from the console to the rear of a 210 (or at least on the 2003 model year), read on.
You will need to take up the rear floor board behind the live well. The one with the access hatch in it. NOTE: the floor board is screwed down with 2 different screw lengths so keep track of which hole each screw came out of. Tip 1: make sure you use a #3 phillips bit, otherwise you run the risk of stripping out the screw head. Tip 2: start in one corner and start unscrewing the screws in a clockwise pattern and lay them out one by one on the live well lid in the order that you removed them.
You should be able to pull the floor board up and move it out of the way once the screws are removed.
Open the console and remove the middle shelf, which should provide access to the batteries and the base of the console.
Tip 3: undo the right side wire cable that keeps console from flipping all the way back and attach a strap or rope or something on the same side but out of the way to take its place. This will give you more access to the lower right corner (all orientation references assume that you are facing the bow unless specifically indicated otherwise) of the console base. This is where all the wires run into the console from the rear of the boat.
Assuming the wire that you are running is not a single strand of say 18 awg wire, if it is just give up now, dive down head first into the bowels of the console and reach into boot where the other wires are feeding out of. Since you are facing the rear of the boat now, the boot is located on the left side.
This is the really important part, you have to try and reach as far into the boot as you can and feed the wire, cable, or whatever you're trying to run to the back pushing inch by inch with your fingers until it won't feed back any further. Seriously, if whatever you're trying to feed back doesn't have enough side wall strength to support itself while you push on it, i.e. if it collapses easily onto itself like a nylon rope would compared to say a garden hose, all your efforts may be in vain and you're better off trying to feed through a pull cord than waste your time.
If you are lucky, you will find your cable within sight inside the PVC conduit that the other electrical lines are run through. You can find this conduit on the right side. You may need a reach tool (2-3 foot long tool that is spring loaded with three to four prongs that you push a plunger at the end to extend the prongs - you can find it at Sears, Harbor Freight, etc.) to grab and pull the cable the last couple of feet through the conduit. I found it a handy tool to use.
I was able to run a 3 wire cable encased in a vinyl sleeve using the above method. It took me over 4 hours to run the cable as I tried every possible combination I could think of before I figured out the above method.
Remember to reach as far down and inside the boot as you can and try to feed the cable in a path similar to how the other electrical lines are running to the back. You won't be able to see where the cable is feeding once your hand is in the boot. You'll have to trust your fingers and instinct.
I hope this helps save someone many hours of time and a lot of frustration.
-Mark
You will need to take up the rear floor board behind the live well. The one with the access hatch in it. NOTE: the floor board is screwed down with 2 different screw lengths so keep track of which hole each screw came out of. Tip 1: make sure you use a #3 phillips bit, otherwise you run the risk of stripping out the screw head. Tip 2: start in one corner and start unscrewing the screws in a clockwise pattern and lay them out one by one on the live well lid in the order that you removed them.
You should be able to pull the floor board up and move it out of the way once the screws are removed.
Open the console and remove the middle shelf, which should provide access to the batteries and the base of the console.
Tip 3: undo the right side wire cable that keeps console from flipping all the way back and attach a strap or rope or something on the same side but out of the way to take its place. This will give you more access to the lower right corner (all orientation references assume that you are facing the bow unless specifically indicated otherwise) of the console base. This is where all the wires run into the console from the rear of the boat.
Assuming the wire that you are running is not a single strand of say 18 awg wire, if it is just give up now, dive down head first into the bowels of the console and reach into boot where the other wires are feeding out of. Since you are facing the rear of the boat now, the boot is located on the left side.
This is the really important part, you have to try and reach as far into the boot as you can and feed the wire, cable, or whatever you're trying to run to the back pushing inch by inch with your fingers until it won't feed back any further. Seriously, if whatever you're trying to feed back doesn't have enough side wall strength to support itself while you push on it, i.e. if it collapses easily onto itself like a nylon rope would compared to say a garden hose, all your efforts may be in vain and you're better off trying to feed through a pull cord than waste your time.
If you are lucky, you will find your cable within sight inside the PVC conduit that the other electrical lines are run through. You can find this conduit on the right side. You may need a reach tool (2-3 foot long tool that is spring loaded with three to four prongs that you push a plunger at the end to extend the prongs - you can find it at Sears, Harbor Freight, etc.) to grab and pull the cable the last couple of feet through the conduit. I found it a handy tool to use.
I was able to run a 3 wire cable encased in a vinyl sleeve using the above method. It took me over 4 hours to run the cable as I tried every possible combination I could think of before I figured out the above method.
Remember to reach as far down and inside the boot as you can and try to feed the cable in a path similar to how the other electrical lines are running to the back. You won't be able to see where the cable is feeding once your hand is in the boot. You'll have to trust your fingers and instinct.
I hope this helps save someone many hours of time and a lot of frustration.
-Mark
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