Best idiots guide to electrics

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eddystone

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I’m looking for the best very practical guide for someone who has no aptitude for electrics whatsoever. Emphasis on fault diagnosis and fixing
I’ve had the Pat Manley book for ages and I don’t find it that helpful.
The 12volt bible?
 
In PBO #727, March 2026, there's an article concerning boat electrics.
OK, I was dealing with high end underwater electronics all of my working life, which encouraged a 'nit-picking' mentality to get it right throughout.
In the article, I lost interest whilst looking at the pictures where the guy's checking fuses with his fingers touching both probes. (You will get a continuity reading through fingers, so that a blown fuse might indicate 'good'). Poor practice.
Checking other fuses using varying Ohmeter settings. They should always be checked using the lowest resistance setting available on the DVM, say 200Ω. If you've a higher setting selected it's more likely to read 0.00Ω as it's incrementally less precise. Having it at the lowest suitable setting will give greater accuracy with an item that might not have a perfect connection, such as on a busbar connector.
The illustration showing the battery post having Vaseline put on it is misleading. The Vaseline should only be put on after the terminal has been thoroughly cleaned and fitted to ensure metal to metal contact, then with a smearing of grease over it to keep the bad stuff away. Greasing the battery post will insulate it from the battery terminal, making a poor connection. I'm sure that the author knows this, but it's ambiguous in the text.
 
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I used Nigel Calder's "Boatowner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual" when rewiring, but not sure if there might be better options when it comes to fault finding. It's very comprehensive and comparatively easy to understand though.
 
eddystone said:
I’m looking for the best very practical guide for someone who has no aptitude for electrics whatsoever. Emphasis on fault diagnosis and fixing
I’ve had the Pat Manley book for ages and I don’t find it that helpful.
The 12volt bible?
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Good info has been supplied.

We all began somewhere. Over many years and many books and magazines and practical experience- mistakes and successes I am now pretty proficient.

I find boat electrics far easier than car electrics, but I have managed to work my vest through the complexity of car ‘electrics’ eventually … up to a certain vintage !

Is there a particular fault that I or others could help give advice towards? From there the learning curve can climb less steeply … perhaps.

Don’t get me wrong, I love learning from books, but learning from others is a different dimension; easier or not I wouldn’t like to prejudice, but if pushed I would say easier to learn from others.

Being on hand and in the boat helping people is a lot easier than remote advice via forum of course, but can’t hurt to ask and try perhaps.

What is not working or needs diagnosis?
 
Raising your issues one at a time, here, on PBO will initially give you focussed replies and then the threads will tend to generalise.

Oddly that's why PBO survives. :) and that's exactly the purpose of the PBO section of YBW.

Illustrating your issues with accurate script and where relevant photos helps immensely. Simple information, like which yacht is being worked on, is commonly missing. Too many threads go off track because the OP assumed that participants are clairvoyant.

We have people here who run marine electrical businesses and, separately, gifted amateurs - better than most books.

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
Raising your issues one at a time, here, on PBO will initially give you focussed replies and then the threads will tend to generalise.

Oddly that's why PBO survives. :) and that's exactly the purpose of the PBO section of YBW.

Illustrating your issues with accurate script and where relevant photos helps immensely. Simple information, like which yacht is being worked on, is commonly missing. Too many threads go off track because the OP assumed that participants are clairvoyant.

We have people here who run marine electrical businesses and, separately, gifted amateurs - better than most books.

Jonathan
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Hear hear! One of the great aspects of this forum; people helping others.
 
+1 for ELECTRICS AFLOAT by Alastair Garrod. Very good, clear, visual guide. Just beware that it's 25 years old and some of it is dated (eg charging systems.)
 
MontyMariner said:
Bite the bullet.
Put your hand in your pocket and find someone who does have an aptitude!
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I have a good understanding of the basics of electrical circuits (Ohm's and Kirchoff's laws!) derived from A-level physics. But I don't know things like "best practice" and relevant standards, nor do I have a comprehensive knowledge of the present state of the art of electrical fittings. So I obey the old adage that for some things, you use the right tool for the job - and the right tool is an appropriate expert!

As others have said, I'd buy a book by @PaulRainbow !
 
Trouble with most books now - they have not kept up with new tech ... BUT in basics - most boats really haven't moved on ... many are still based on Lead Acid with basic alternator / charger setups.

But there are some books which really are best left on the shelf .. 12v Bible ... comes to mind ... its so out of date .. its antique.

The Alistair Garrod book - yes its dated ... but the subjects it covers are still very relevant today .. and good explanations.

I know some will argue about this - but the RV / Caravan world has moved on ... and its well worth looking at their developments ... developments that will morph to boats .... taking care to be sure the water aspect of boats is not ignored.
 
The IET's relatively new (2023) On-board Guide, Electrical Safety for Small Craft book is fairly readable and is probably the closest thing in the UK to an official best practice guide.
 
Refueler said:
Trouble with most books now - they have not kept up with new tech ... BUT in basics - most boats really haven't moved on ... many are still based on Lead Acid with basic alternator / charger setups.

But there are some books which really are best left on the shelf .. 12v Bible ... comes to mind ... its so out of date .. its antique.

The Alistair Garrod book - yes its dated ... but the subjects it covers are still very relevant today .. and good explanations.

I know some will argue about this - but the RV / Caravan world has moved on ... and its well worth looking at their developments ... developments that will morph to boats .... taking care to be sure the water aspect of boats is not ignored.
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There's also the problem that standards vary between countries. Hasn't Calder's book been criticized for following American standards rather than European?
 
AntarcticPilot said:
There's also the problem that standards vary between countries. Hasn't Calder's book been criticized for following American standards rather than European?
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Maybe ... I don't know about Calders book.

But maybe its a bit nationalistic - but generally I much prefer UK stds to US ... having spent a lot of time over there.

A good example is the UK 3 pin plug ... it may be a bit cumbersome - but it has built in anti-shock ... by making the earth pin longer to open the 'gate' to allow the shorter pins to go in ...
 
Refueler said:
Maybe ... I don't know about Calders book.

But maybe its a bit nationalistic - but generally I much prefer UK stds to US ... having spent a lot of time over there.

A good example is the UK 3 pin plug ... it may be a bit cumbersome - but it has built in anti-shock ... by making the earth pin longer to open the 'gate' to allow the shorter pins to go in ...
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I know that I find American plugs very flimsy!
 
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