engine will not start

[Ron Hill]

kev : I might be worth it to hire an electrician and straighten things out.  
You might have him/her label your wires and remove the ones that are no longer needed.   A thought

[Stu Jackson]

I'm somewhat confused and/or perturbed by the accusatory approach to helping Kevin.  He was trying to improve his boat systems, and may have misunderstood the details.

We're here to help, although sometimes without being on the boat with the skipper who is asking the question, sometimes we just don't know what he has done, or what he hasn't done.

It's up to him to explain it to us, and I'm sure he will.

Swapping out the ammeter with a voltmeter requires understanding the difference between the two meters and how they are wired.

We tried to help with the "Ammeters & Shunts" topic in "Electrical 101".

What more can we do to help, kev, specifically for you?

[Ken Heyman]

I agree Stu,

BTW, while I know that the ammeter had to be wired  "serially" in the circuit (I guess like XMAS tree lights in the old days) and  a volt meter is simply connected  to a  + AND - , I never really gave much thought to the point made above that if Kev reinstalls the ammeter all "may" be fine.--sort of like the those tree lights in days of yore where folks would have to hunt for the one bad bulb to restore the circuit.  I'm reminded of Chevy Chase in "National Lampoons Christmas--funny scene.
(I always need simplistic analogies regarding electrical and plumbing systems)
Ken

[scotty]

Kev,  I just wanted to add in that I sometimes get really (really) confused about electrical stuff on boats.  Boat systems are complicated and very idiosyncratic.  While some people may have the ability to "see" the system easily, I'm sure most of us have to really work at it.  From my perspective it sounds like you're doing the right thing - working to both understand and also to improve your system.  I've still got a lot of work to do to understand my electrical system, and it seems that both of us are making progress towards that end.  Thanks for your post, because it reminded me that I have not yet finished tracing the ameter/voltmeter circuit.  The to-do list keeps getting longer.

[Ron Hill]

kev : I believe that in one of your other threads you mentioned that you had "someone" remove?/disconnect? wires from your alternator.

I honestly believe that your best course of action is to get someone that knows the C34 wiring or an electrician to look at what is actually there.  

If you wired in your new voltmeter the way the ammeter was wired, as Sailaway said, "It is toast"!  
But, with the "changing" of the alternator wires, the Voltmeter may be OK?!?
Easy test - take a wire from the Vmeter p[positive pole and connect it to the (+ red) contact on the battery.  Then connect the negative Vmeter pole (- black) contact on the negative battery post.  If the Vmeter measures about 12.5+ volts - it's OK.

When I first got my C34 over 24 years ago, I was knowledgeable about gas engines, but knew NOTHING about diesels.
So I hired a mechanic and had him show me how to change the engine oil.  While he was there I picked his brain and EVEN PAID FOR AN EXTRA HOUR.  I had my own instructor.  It was well worth the cost.

The people on this site are more than willing to give you answers to your problems, but is that advice correct?  
That's why I suggest that you need someone on site to look at that wiring and test what is going on.
  
And for all of the super smart guys reading this - remember that the actual wire color that Catalina used did not always match the color in the wiring diagrams!!  A few thoughts


PS : Even though some would profess that wiring in an instrument improperly may not destroy the instrument, I surely wouldn't recommend taking any of it's readings - as accurate.    Another thought

[Ted Pounds]

Actually the only way to toast a voltmeter is to way over-voltage it.  Like trying trying to run 220 through one set up for a 12v system.  Even then I think it's unlikely.  If it was hooked up like the amp-meter all it would do is add a LOT of resistance in the line and make it look like an open circuit...