Electrical Panel Mystery

[Kosmo219]

Hey all, I'm new to the forum, (nice place you have here) with a 1992 C34, and have a question that has me stumped. I thought I'd swing by to see if anyone wiser than me has any ideas.

The panel light for my "windlass" decided to go on the other day when I turn the battery to any of the on positions.

The thing that has me scratching my head though is that I don't actually have a windlass. Nor is there breaker in the panel for it. I'm assuming it's an empty slot in the panel where a windlass could have been hooked up if myself or any of the previous owners had opted to add one, but none of us did.

So what is this light telling me, exactly?

After scanning other electrical panel posts on this forum, I did the obvious thing of cracking the panel open and looking behind it for any signs of corrosion or frayed wires, and honestly it just looks like a fairly orderly little Spaghetti factory back there (pic attached).

Does anyone have any intuition about what might be going on here?

[scgunner]

Kosmo,

Obviously for whatever reason you've got a completed circuit. You could simply disconnect it or you can do some wire tracing if you want to find the cause.

[Kosmo219]

Thanks, Kevin. Appreciate the feedback.  Looks like it's the yellow and the black spiral wires I'll need to trace. (Center of pic) For the life of me, I can't begin to guess what's hooked up to the Windlass spot on the panel, if I don't have a windlass. Or why there's no breaker, if somebody DID hook something up there.

The previous owners all seemed to have known what they were doing, since all the other modifications I've come across have been super smart and well done.  Which makes me wonder if this isn't a modification but just something I'm just not understanding.

[scgunner]

Kosmo,

If at some point it was pre-wired for a windlass there should be wiring somewhere at the bow. In the anchor locker or forward in the V-berth.

[Kosmo219]

Thanks, Kevin.  I'll check that out. It'd be great if I find some crossed wires up in the anchor locker.

[rmjohns]

The windlass breaker would typically be pretty big, and at least on my Mkii, it's not on the panel, it's under the desk in the footwell there. The light is typically just wired to the windlass side of that breaker. If you in fact have a breaker under the desk, it might just have gotten pulled on or switched depending on the design.

Rob

[Ron Hill]

Kos : The wiring for the Windlass will be on the anchor well side of the teak partition at the head of the V-Berth.

A thought