electrical issues? bilge high water alarm and cockpit lights

[bulldawg]

Hi all,
I've got a c24 and this is the first winter we've kept it on the (salt)water, taking it for a ride every couple of weeks or so. I got a call from our marina saying that an alarm was going off on the boat. When I got to look at it, it was the high water alarm (under to the right of helm) screaming. I turned it off and looked in the bilge all along the craft. There was no real water besides condensation and a very small amount (the usual) in the very back astern.

I thought maybe the condensation set it off (I'm in Gig Harbor and nothing dries this time of year), but there was another issue that made me think it may be more -- well, this and I still can't get the alarm light to go off.

The cockpit lights (the factory blue LEDs) won't turn off. When I flip the switch ON they light a little brighter, but they will not turn off *even when I flip the battery switches OFF*. The underwater lights work fine and turn on/off appropriately.

Without a manual/cable routing diagram, I'm not sure how to troubleshoot very effectively. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks much.

 

[Pilotnavigator]

Sounds like you have power to a ground wire. With a clamp meter check for current on the yellow wire with the lights off.
Then check for voltage on the ground side and the hot side of a light. If the alarm is going off you may have the same issue with it. Will take a bit of exploring to track down where you are getting voltage on the ground side. A bad ground connection may cause current to find a new path through some devices then use those devices ground.

 

[bulldawg]

Thanks for the reply, John. I'll give that a shot when I get back to the boat.