1998 Bass Tracker...I am putting a garmin in the bow and as with many trackers they are "pre-wired" to the deck.  Under the deck I found the + and -.  I tested them and they are not hot.  From looking at a chart my understanding is that the wires run to the fuse box.  I have no way of knowing what will bring those wires to life.  I will note the 1 empty space in my box but no wire attached as apposed to other designated  fuses.  I am stumped.  Any help is appreciated.  

I'd sure hope they run to the fuse box. Anything electrical should have a properly sized fuse to protect the device and prevent fires. 

 

You have a meter set to DC voltage reading across the plus and negative? If you are still not getting voltage these wires could be connected to a switch. 

 

Make sure you have any accessory power switches on. These could provide power to the wires. Possible that the key ignition switch powers them as well. 

 

If still no power found I'd check to make sure there are no fuses missing. 

 

Once you get to this point you'll have to start tracing down the wires and see where they lead. Or just look at running a new circuit from your fuse block for it. 

Richwon4, I'm having the same issue on my bass tracker.  The extra wires run to the front don't seem to have power to them.  Were you able to resolve your issue? 

For the best performance of electronics and reducing interference they should be wired directly to the cranking battery with the inline fuse provided with the unit.

1 hour ago, cheif said:

Richwon4, I'm having the same issue on my bass tracker.  The extra wires run to the front don't seem to have power to them.  Were you able to resolve your issue? 

I see you are new here. The original poster hasn't been on here for two years so you aren't likely to get a reply.

Thank you for the heads-up.  I'll open it to the general knowledge of the forum, then.  Trackers come with a hot and a ground pre-run to the front deck for powering a fish finder (or other accessory) added aftermarket.  They run back to the fuse box by the console.  I've inspected the fuse and it's still good.  Any other ideas on why these wires aren't getting power, while the rest of the accessories run off the fuse box (trim at front, console graph, bow lights) all operate normally.  

 

Sounds like the OP on this thread had the same problem, so I was hoping to get lucky with their exact same solution.  

Did you have the power switch on the console turned on?  It has to be on the get power to those wires.

That seems like the possible solution.  At the dash, we've got the bilge switch, nav/anchor lights, aerator and recirc.  There doesn't seem to be an accessory switch in plain view.  Is it tucked under the console somewhere on Trackers? Or maybe behind the paneling by the fuse box?

I was referring to the main power switch on the console.  They don't normally put those on a separate switch.  That's so all you have to do is turn the power switch off and cuts the sonars, pumps and everything off.  Even most of the separate switches are wired to the Power switch provides power to them.

Got it, thanks Keith.  I think my main power switch is on, as the other accessories (pumps, nav lights, console fish finder) that run off the same fuse block are all functioning. Mysteriously, this one set of wires isn't getting power.