Hey all ... after waiting almost 2 months for my boat to ship out to me I finally received it today.

Since it was being shipped cross country, the dealer didn't install the tower speakers. I followed the instructions and everything seemed to go pretty smooth ... until I went to power it up and found out that everything was dead. No lights, no accessories, no nothing.

So I checked the batteries and they weren't connected. Just a bunch of loose wires laying around.

I have never used a dual battery system before so I was hoping someone could tell me the proper way to hook them up? Obviously red goes on + and black on - but there are a few extra wires laying around and I am not 100% sure how to connect.

Here is what I have so far:





I am assuming that battery 1 is closest to the bow of the boat. Battery 2 is closer to the stern.

The two thick reds are connected to battery 1 and 2 positive terminals.
The one thick black is connected to battery 2 negative terminal.
Another thinner black wire is connected (using a wingnut) to Battery 2 and the other end is connected to Battery 1 negative terminal.



When I switch it over to battery 1 ... everything lights up ... but no stereo. When I switch it over to battery 2 ... everything lights up ... but no stereo. When I have it on 1&2 ... same. Everything lights up ... but no stereo. The red stereo light does turn on though when I hit the toggle switch.

So at this point I have no idea if I connected the tower speakers properly because I can't get any power to the stereo at all.

Did a water test before it shipped and the stereo was fine. So I'm guessing the batteries aren't connected properly ... but I thought I would come here first to see what the experts had to say!!

Hoping to get out early tomorrow morning so any help is appreciated!!