www.iFourWinns.com

Hello,

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone has a fix for this issue I am experiencing. I recently purchased 98 Sundowner 225. The radio that it came with was a from 2002 Jeep Liberty. I purchased a Kenwood radio, wired everything up and it worked out great. Until yesterday when I put it in the water and fired up the motor. Every gauge had a false reading. Fuel was empty, temp was as hot as can be, and oil pressure was maxed out, lights flashing on the dash and alarms going off like a slot machine that just told me I just LOST a bunch of money.

All of this is happening and the engine is purring perfectly. Its not hot, I know it has gas, and the oil is just fine.

So began checking connectors, which really means I just wiggled a bunch of wires around, and it suddenly started working again. AWESOME!

Went for a cruise, and 30 minutes later I powered the radio on. Then it all started gain. Turned the radio off, all was good.

An hour later, it randomly started all over again.

Please tell me there is some simple quick fix for this issue?!

I would greatly appreciate it!

VDO...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1951

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2005 H200

that's what I thought, based on what I was reading these famously known for going bad. But I am thrown off by the fact that it was fine (ish) prior to installing the radio.

Probably nothing to do with the VDO cluster, which appears to be the favourite "fall guy" for any helm electrical related issues.

There is a multi pin connector near the helm, connecting the VDO cluster and the helm electrics to the rest o the wiring harness that comes loose because there is a lot of weight ( from loads of wires) acting on it.

Corrosion in that connector block.

Poor ground connections

Don't you hate it when this happens, you try to do something good and then...
I think its as Graham said, the harnesses are poorly supported and the weight to the wires pulls things loose. When I get time in the off season I am going to fab up a way to support the dash wiring in my boat better than it was done. F/W has wiring diagrams on their website, look for yours, with that it will make it easier to track down problems.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

my guess would be corrosion and a loose connection, possible grounding issue as well.. check and clean them off and tighten them up. good luck.

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1997 Horizon RS 180
5.7 GL Volvo Penta /SX drive. (1.60)
2018 Ford F-150 super crew 4x4

Thanks guys. I took it out today and it happened once, for a few seconds and then went away. Hopefully, now I'm just dealing with temp issues. I will check the connectors on the bro guages next time. I greatly appreciate the tips.

I unplugged all he connectors I could find and reconnected them and the issue hasn't come back yet.

Thanks for the follow up. Its a good idea to check all the push on terminals at the fuse box because they can get loose. In addition, if you have the old style glass/metal fuses they can get oxidized and cause a circuit to go dead.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II