SIONYX NIGHTWAVE SIMPLIFIED INSTALLATION

[Marco4Ever]

Here is my approach to a clean integrated installation of NightWave that can be accomplished in a couple of hours with minimal experience and tools you already own - difficulty is about the same as installing Smart Doorbell or Thermostat in your home.

This post is not discussing the merits of the product.

I decided I wanted NightWave mounted to my 360 light to maximize my display view.

The good news is that it was extremely simple to accomplish and I only needed to acquire a couple of additional add-on’s, ie., extension cable, electrical connectors and mounting bracket, all available from Amazon. Once I had the goodies from Amazon, start to finish, 2 hours.

The installation process is accomplished in a few different efforts:


* Accessing hidden areas ie, tower & bowling alley

* Pulling the Wires

* Utilizing the existing Accessories Button

* Plugging into Garmin or you Chart Plotter

* Ordering add on’s from Amazon


Step 1: Using a ball of string and some painters tape and lay it out along the path that you are looking to use so you get an idea of how long of a run you need for the power & video. Note: I wanted the integration into my display vs using the Wifi. They both work, I just wanted to leverage what was in place and you can use the Garmin controls to simple toggle between displays that you want to use. My Nightwave came with 20-25’ cable which made it from the 360 down the WakeBoard Tower to inside the boat, however, it was not long enough to run up the starboard side of the boat to the console. I ordered a 25’ extension cable off of Amazon and used some doorbell wire for power that I had in the garage. If needed order the extension cable so you have it when you are going to do the installation and the mounting bracket (see pictures for details)

Step 2: (Look at my other post on “Pulling WakeBoard Tower Speaker/Camera Wires” on how to run the video & power up to the 360 light and also down into the hull in minutes instead of hours. The result of this step is that you have string to pull cable from the 360 on top down the Tower to the Hull

Step 3: Take off the black video/power wire to NightWave being careful of the two very small Philips screws holding the connector in place. Connection is simple snap together.

Step 4: Tie/Tape the black NightWave power/video wire to the string that you pulled up at the 360 WakeBoard Tower Pipe. I did not drill any holes as there was a large number of existing holes for speaker mounts with simple rubber plugs to pull out. IMPORTANT - you are pulling the wires down from the top into the boat. Why? That way you do not have to mess with the connector that is preinstalled for the NightWave. REMEMBER to leave a little extra wire at both ends.

Step 5: Gently pull the black cable down through the Tower pipes as shown in my other post.

Step 6: On my SC25, the side upholstery where the WakeBoard Tower base connects to the hull, unscrew the 8 or so Philips screws holding the side panel in place. I used another screw driver to prop it open and using the same approach used to pull the wires to the 360, pull the cable through into the boat. I did not remove the panel, only lifted it from the bottom enough to pull the wires down into the boat.

Step 4: Access the “bowling alley” behind the starboard front seat that runs the entire starboard side via the 12 screws holding the white boards in place. Don’t worry, nothing is wired to the board, just take your time and back the screws out until the panel slips out of place. A flash light is helpful to see how open and long it is.

Step 5: Using standard Electrician Wire Puller, send it down the Bowling Alley to the back of the boat where you have the upholstery propped open. Connect the Video Extension to the existing video wire and also the power wires (the Amazon cable only had video, I used some doorbell wire to extend the power) to the end of the Electrical Wire Puller and simply pull it forward.

Recap - you now have NightWave cable running from the tower down through the WakeBoard Tower into your boat, added the extension cable and additional wires for Power and Ground and pulled them up to the front of the boat where the operator console is located.

Step 6: Connecting to Power & Ground. I wanted to use the existing Accessory Button on the dash which is is easily accessible by simply laying on your back and reaching up under the dash. I elected to use the Accessories button on my dash as I liked the clean look, however, you can add your own button/switch. The Accessories button is a mother to get at and the good news is that you do not have to remove the panel. I take a lot of pictures so I know for sure what wire went where etc. Suggest you take a picture of the Accessory Switch wiring. Note: I do not have underwater lights, however, the good folks at Cobalt have installed the switch and wiring that you can use. Again, you may have other optional ideas or other location for Power. This is the approach I have used on several Cobalts and it has worked. TRICKY - the Accessory Switch has 4 Lugs and two of them are micro and the other two are standard. A quick visit to Ace Hardware proved fruitless, and I noted that if they did have them, they were $$$ for a small package of 6. I ordered a whole box of various sizes from Amazon for 10 bucks.

Using your side cutters, snip the zip tie the Cobalt folks used to hold all the wires to the switch in place and gently pull off the wires. I simply used the new connectors to create simple splitters (3-way) and just added my power and ground to them and slid them back in place. Standard colors for power, ground etc. Google or email me if you need deeper instructions.

*** Do not forget to add in the inline fuse that Sionyx NightWave included in your kit.

However, keep the fuse out until the installation is complete to prevent any “OOPS”

Apologies for long explanation for simply saying “splice in power & ground”

Using the Supplied Adapter from NightWave, connect to your Chart Plotter display unit by simply screwing it into the back of the unit If you are going 100% wireless - skip this step.

Step 7: I found on Amazon a mounting bracket that simply slides onto the 360 light upright, 2 in a package, Amazon for 14 bucks. Connect the bracket to the 360 pole using supplied bolts/nuts and save the other one for a friend. Carefully connect the Video/Power wire cable to the unit. I used my folded back Bimini to hold NightWave while I put the connectors together and tightened down the screws etc. ** leave a little extra wire for future use/requirements.

Ok, so now you have the unit mounted and you are ready to put the fuse in and fire it up.

On my Garmin, there is an existing selection for video, simply touch it and give it a few seconds and you are ready to go.

NOTE: If you get a white screen and no video, simply hold your hand over the camera lens and wait for the audible click and your back in business with a beautiful screen. If you fire up your NightWave at high noon on a sunny day, you may experience this, just hold your hand and bingo, it is fixed.

You may have to adjust NighWave to achieve optium viewing angle via the alignment screw (See NightWave installer guide).

Optional Step 8: If you have boats in multiple locations, you could purchase additional connectors and make a Plug & Play connection up on top and take your NightWave from boat to boat.

FWIW - My NightWave mounting survived Hurricane IAN with 100mph winds without any problems and the mounting hardware has not shown signs of rust or corrosion etc.

To Step Back & Summarize: Amazon mounting bracket holds NighWave in place, fish the cable down the WakeTower into the hull. Pop open the side upholstery panel to pull cable inside the hull and then run up to the center console for power/Chart Plotter connectivity.

Before you ask, yes NightWave works with both the Chart Plotter integration and WiFi at the same time which is simply slick.

Forum rules limit pictures - here is the best 6.

Safe Boating.

Cheers.

[Marco4Ever]

Additional images of dashboard panel removal (to pull video/power) - and side upholstery panel (pull wire from WakeBoard Tower into Hull of boat to run to power and chart plotter display.

[AsLan7]

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Great install reference!
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