2001 Super Air Nautique 210 Main Wiring Harness

[SAN4Fun]

Gosh, I hope you are wrong too. If it comes to that, where is the best place to look for a salvaged 2001 210? Just trying to prepare for the worst case scenario.

[SilentSeven]

Sadly, I have no experience on boat salvage yards and what's possible. A quick websearch suggests they are out there. But it's likely a long shot to find a match but who knows?

IMO, you really need a quality evaluation on the exact extent of the damage. That two parties have taken a look and declined repairing is telling I think. Here's what I would do if in your shoes.

- See if 196mike has an assessment and solution for you.

- Have a conversation with the parties that looked at the boat and try to get more insight as to the level of damage they saw. Ask them if they feel if a repair would be possible if a harness was located.

- Start looking for boat with a donor harness You'll also need to ID someone who would be willing to do a harness replacement if you did locate one. A full harness swap that includes all the accessories is not trivial. And you are also dependent that the salvage yard can pull the donor without damaging it AND it's identical to the one you require. I would only consider a harness swap if the damage was localized to battery/PDU side. If the damage is into the accessory side...probably not feasible.

- Press your insurance company on what repair options they will support. My guess is they may declare the boat a total as several shops have effectively said it's not repairable.

Again...sorry for the less than rosy outlook.

[SAN4Fun]

Thank you for the advice. I will wait for 196Mike to give his assessment and go from there.

FYI, I did speak to the guys at skiboatpartsonline that NautiqueJeff linked to earlier in this thread. They said they could build a main wiring harness if I could remove mine and send it to them as a blueprint, so maybe that is an option assuming the damage is localized to the battery/PDU side.

If the PDU itself is damaged, can it be replaced or is that something that would need to be salvaged as well?

Thanks for you continued insight. I will provided an update once I know more.

[SilentSeven]

I guess my part naming is a bit off....it's not a power distribution unit..it's called a "breaker box" or PME. Still orderable.

https://nautiqueparts.com/breaker-bo...ct-year-model/

When I have a few extra minutes, I'll try to sketch out a very simple schematic of how I understand the battery to main switch to PME wiring working. That may help you better assess how far into the harness the damage is...... My recollection is there is no full schematic for these boats...just portions of them.

[196Mike]

Project update - SAN4Fun and I spent the day yesterday removing the main wiring harness to determine the amount of damage. We must have cut 100 zip ties. I often wonder why Nautique runs PVC pipe through the hull and never places the wiring harness in it, as this would have made life so much easier.

The issue was determined to be the navigation lights. Earlier in the boat's life, someone cut the bow light wires in the 40-pin connector and directly wired a switch on the dash to the battery. You guessed it - they did not fuse it. The wire got hot and shorted directly to ground, melting the 12 ga red wire going to the PME and a main ground wire to the 40-pin connector. The damage looks way worse than it could have been. The plastic wire casing melted but only damaged a few wires. The damaged wires can be repaired/replaced, and we should be good to go - it will just take time to do the repairs properly and reinstall a fusible link in the main power wire to the PME.

The wiring diagrams are a huge help, and thank you for all that have given input.

We will keep you posted.

[SAN4Fun]

196Mike, I really can't thank you enough. Saying you helped me out would be an understatement. I chipped in a bit, but honestly, I was more like the water boy in this situation. I wouldn't have had a clue how to figure out or fix this wiring problem. I'm optimistic that we(you) will get this sorted out and I will be back on the water again.

[196Mike]

Here is an update on the project. After completely removing the wiring harness from the boat, the task of replacing the burnt and damaged wires comes now. Also had to replace the wires for the navigation lights, which is where this all started.

Below are pictures of the wiring harness removed, burned, and cut wires.



I had to source a replacement 40-pin plug, pins, and wire.
Sources T.E. Connectivity for the 40-pin connector, pins, and Deutsch connectors.

The wire was 16 gauge tinned copper wire with a thin exterior shield from
A.D.I. Inc.
516 W Cherry
Chanute, KS 66720
1-800-521-6001
this is needed to remove and reinsert the pins.
Also, they sell plastic wire loom in assorted sizes.

I used the wiring diagram to mark all the wires and measured their lengths. I created a build sheet to make a wiring harness.



Here are all the wires that were replaced.


And here is the final repaired wiring harness.


SAN4fun sent the P.M.E. box and switch pads to Nautique for testing. The P.M.E. and the Stop / Start keypad were fine. The starboard keypad that controls all the lights, blower, bilge, courtesy lights, and other accessories was inoperative and needed to be replaced.

Last week, we installed the wiring harness, replaced the wires to the bow light, and added plug connectors to the bilge pumps and blower. I reassembled the dash and did some other minor repairs. The 12V+ is fuse-protected, and all connectors are waterproof.
All the switches worked, and after installing the throttle lever to put the boat in neutral, it fired up. Success!!!!

[MN Ryan]

What an awesome ending to this saga! Way to go, 196Mike.

[SAN4Fun]

Yep, 196Mike got everything up and running again. I gotta say, I was a bit skeptical that it would work on the first try, but the panel lit up and all the buttons worked like they were supposed to, right off the bat. As 196Mike mentioned, after we put the throttle lever back on and got it in neutral, it fired up instantly. I didn't even realize what I was missing with the old starboard keypad only half working. Now, the keypad lights up like it's supposed to, the navigation and anchor lights change colors as they're meant to, and the courtesy lights are working too, which they weren't before at all.

196Mike has been, and still is, a huge help. I never would have gotten this back together without him.

[SilentSeven]

That's a crazy story. Sounds like you basically had to do a harness rebuild and 196Mike has mad skills. A few questions to maybe help the next poor soul in this situation.

1. How much of the damage was past the PME? I understand the PME as a relay/breaker box and would have thought it would protect the main harness. Did it do that? Or did the wiring hack effectively prevent it from doing that job?

2. Looks like all the damage was limited to the 'boat accessory harness' and there was no engine e-system damage?

3. Sounds like most all of the connected bits like dash gauges, PME, etc survived and the only casualty was one keypad?

4. How hard was it to pull the harness? I would think it was factory installed prior to the top of the boat being sealed on making removing it very difficult?

5. The supplier links are huge. Especially for the replacement PME plugs and plug pin tools. I poked around on the TE site but couldn't ID the right items. Any chance to provide plug and pin tool links? Might save someone in the future.

[196Mike]

That's a crazy story. Sounds like you basically had to do a harness rebuild and 196Mike has mad skills. A few questions to maybe help the next poor soul in this situation.

1. How much of the damage was past the P.M.E.? I understand the P.M.E. as a relay/breaker box and would have thought it would protect the main harness. Did it do that? Or did the wiring hack effectively prevent it from doing that job?

2. Looks like all the damage was limited to the 'boat accessory harness' and there was no engine e-system damage?

3. Sounds like most all of the connected bits like dash gauges, P.M.E., etc survived and the only casualty was one keypad?

4. How hard was it to pull the harness? I think it was factory installed before the top of the boat was sealed, making removing it very difficult?

5. The supplier links are huge. Especially for the replacement P.M.E. plugs and plug pin tools. I poked around on the T.E. site but couldn't I.D. the right items. Any chance to provide plug and pin tool links? Might save someone in the future.

I will give it my best to answer your questions.

The issue is someone directly wired from the battery to a SPST switch on the dash for the Navigation Lights and bypassed the P.M.E. This setup grounded out and completely melted the power and ground wires until they came apart. Luckily, it did. Otherwise, it would have been a much bigger issue. The original starboard dash pod was bad, and instead of replacing it, the prior owner had someone wire this in place and remove the fusible power wire to the P.M.E.

1. The P.M.E. is where the Power and Ground come into the system. The wires in the 40-pin Deutsch connector (part# below) come in from the dash pods and main engine harness and go out to the nav lights, courtesy lights, horn, blower, bilge, and other accessories. The P.M.E. is each circuit's power distribution, ground, and breaker.
The P.M.E. was not damaged as the wires were melted due to the separate Positive wire being secured to the dash harness. As it heated up from being shorted out, it melted everything it touched.

2. The main harness includes the seven wires that go to the engine and the dash gauges along with the 40 or so wires (Nautique has a few extra wires in the harness for easy repairs and other accessories on Ski Nautiques) that control everything else except the radio and speaker harness, depth gauge, and water/air temp gauge.

3. The Starboard Key Pad was inoperative regarding the NAV and Courtesy Lights before the previous owner/shop installed the aftermarket switch and power wire. There was no damage to the dash harness that controls the gauges. The Heater wiring harness, Dash Pod wiring, and other wires were melted due to contact with the Positive wire that shorted out.

4. Removing the harness was a job in itself. This would have been a much easier task if the fuel tank wasn't full of gas. Pulling the tank gives you direct access to the wiring harness and securing zip ties. We had to cut what seemed like 100 zip ties (probably 20 and some we could not see) to get the harness out. It took us about eight hours to get it out.

5. Here is the info from T.E. Connectivity on the plug and pins. The wire is very specific, and most 16 ga marine wire is too thick. It took me a few weeks to track it down, find the right supplier to work with me, and not charge an arm and a leg. Scott at A.D.I. was excellent.

T.E. Connectivity for the Plug and Sockets.

Here is the P.I.N. removal tool. It works much better than the plastic ones that everyone else sells. You can buy it from Amazon.


I could have taken the easy way out and just cut the burnt portion of the wires, used butt connectors and electrical tape, but I am a perfectionist and want it done right.

My advice to anyone who experiences a problem with their boat is to do the research and repair it yourself, or take it to someone who knows what they are doing and will do it right!!!! I love Nautiques and will help to keep the older ones on the water as long as possible.

[SilentSeven]

mike196 Thank you so much - really much clearer on what happened. Information on the electrical systems in these boats is spotty at best and this posting helps fill the hole.

Slight thread hijack specific to the PME / deutch plug setup and a problem I am having.

On my 2004 206, I have an intermittent connection for the horn circuit around the harness plug to the PME. The symptoms are that if I carefully lift/adjust the main harness just past the PME connection, the horn will work or not work. The plug is correctly screwed in to the PME. Without success, I've tried adding a strain relief support to the harness in a way that keeps the horn working. My suspicion is that there is some problem around the area of the pin connection to the horn output wire. I'd love to permanently fix the problem but until this post I have never seen a good outline of the plug, pins and tooling.

Two questions I guess....

Any suggestions on how to ID the correct pinout in the connector? I know the circuit uses an orange wire but I see multiple orange wires in the bundle. I don't recall seeing a pinout map and have been hesitant to do any exploratory surgery on the plug for fear of making the problem worse.

Once the pin is IDed, how it feasible to just be able to replace the pin/header for that wire only? It's all pretty tight around the connector without a lot of extra wire to work with.

Thoughts? Thank you!

[196Mike]

Final Update - everything is working, and the boat is back on the water. I can not figure out how to upload a video to this thread, but we had a great water test.

[MN Ryan]

Awesome! Snow and 35 mph winds here today , so I will live vicariously through you.

[SilentSeven]

196Mike is a cool dude. He's pointed me in the right direction on how fix my deutch plug related horn problem. Told him what he did to rescue this boat is a total one off. Kudos!