AIS300 power source.

[LET IT BE]

I have a 2013 R29 I bought used two seasons ago. It has a GARMIN 5215 chart plotter and a AIS 300.
Last year I never saw any AIS targets and did not know the boat had the system! I'm sure the module never showed a green led indicating it had power.
This year after total power down and a new set of house batteries the system was working and the module below the helm had a green light on. In fact the power was on all the time even if the plotter was not powered up. The only way to turn it off was to turn off the house battery switch. I have been looking for sources of battery drain when all D C circuits are off and this seemed to be one. I would think power would come from the NEMA 2000 system After the chart plotter was turned on?
Yesterday when I took the boat out the AIS was not working again and the green light was off. All other components of the navigation system was working fine. I did a quick check of the connections on the AIS module but got no power and tried a power off and on again reboot with no success.
Any suggestions? Where should the power source for the AIS normally come from and where is the NEMA 2000 "back bone" located in an R29 in case there is a loose connector there?
There does not seem to be a specific circuit for the nevigation/radio system unless it is one of the accessory switches on the main panel?
Any suggestions?
LET IT BE

 

[knotflying]

The unit should have a line for power. Just follow the wires out of the unit and see where they go. It should be fused. Then for signal there is a wire in and out of the VHF to the backbone.

 

[BB marine]

The AIS needs a line power as Mike has stated. Depending on how the Ais power data cable is wired Toggled, wired directly to the chart plotter or into the N2K back bone will determine how it is turned on( it should always be powered with its own line power but tuned on in these methods). If the Ais is connected to the N2K back bone it will turn on and off when the back bone is powered up or off. If the yellow lead from the communication cable is attached to the accessory wire of the chart plotter it will turn on with your chart plotter. If there is a toggle switch it can be switched on with the switch. None of these methods are the main power supply just methods of turning the unit on. I suspect it is wired direct to the N2k back bone. If it is I would trouble shoot your power supply to the back bone. The Tee connections can loosen or actually go bad. Also make sure your back bone is powered direct from a power panel and not thru a devise. In my case it was powered thru the fusion radio giving me issues. Many times a complete reboot would fix for a while then it would not work. Most of the times the electronics worked they just didn't communicate. I dedicated a line power for the N2K fused it and can confirm power to N2K. I remove the fuse to the N2K to turn it off if I'm not using the boat for a while but leaving the house battery on.