| www.iFourWinns.com https://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/ |
|
| Gauge fault https://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23455 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | johnny340 [ Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Gauge fault |
So the gauges intermittently behave erratic. The Fuel gauge simply is stuck on 1/4 and the tach intermittently reads very high. I assume there could be a ground problem. Any suggestions for any known problem areas to start with? Thanks in advance! |
|
| Author: | LouC [ Sat Aug 24, 2019 11:41 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
The gauges all get power from the I terminal on the ignition switch and they all have a common ground...You will have to hang upside under the dash and check connections to make sure they are clean, not rusted and tight. The fuel gauge being stuck on 1/4 is that also true when the ignition is off? If so probably a bad gauge if not it could be the connections or sending unit in the tank. |
|
| Author: | johnny340 [ Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
Thanks for the reply. The common ground terminal looked clean and not rusted so I'll look into the ignition switch terminal next. The fuel gauge never moves with ignition on or off so yes, perhaps a stuck gauge itself. |
|
| Author: | I_am_Sam [ Tue Aug 27, 2019 11:02 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
Don't confuse the terminal block for the grounding block. Your grounding block is in your engine bay and is probably in rough shape. Manufacturers don't do much corrosion prevention (if any) from the factory so if you keep your boat in the water for the season it will more than likely have some oxidization on it/in it. Clean it up and you should see better performance out of your electrical system (ie your gauges). |
|
| Author: | LouC [ Tue Aug 27, 2019 11:35 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
There are also ways to tell where you are losing current....you need to get a long heavy gauge jumper wire and put alligator clips on both ends....First measure the voltage at the + and - ends of the fuse box. Should be close to or at battery voltage. Turn the ignition key to ON and see if it drops then. If its lower then try running a heavy gauge jumper wire (like 8 gauge) from the battery + to the fuse box as a test. BE CAREFUL not to ground this anywhere! If your gauges now work better and the fuse box voltage is the same as the battery, there is a fault in the positive feed to the fuse box. If this test yields no change, then do the same with the negative feed from the fuse box, connect the jumper from the neg terminal on the fuse box to the battery -. If you get an improvement then, the fault is in the return path. Sometimes one bad connection in the engine harness can cause this esp on the positive side. My boat had low voltage with the ignition on, I was not able to trace it in the engine harness, so I semi permanently added a supplemental feed form the battery common (fused) to the fuse box. Now my gauges and other dash accessories all get 12+ volts and everything works reliably. Not a perfect solution but when I get time I may troubleshoot that engine harness further, just did not want to rip it apart if everything works this way.... |
|
| Author: | johnny340 [ Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
I tightened up the connections to the tach which looked mint but it made no difference. For the fuel gauge I could ground out the sending unit terminal and that got the gauge to move. After multiple cycling of grounding the terminal the gauge eventually went up to 7/8 and would seem to indicate fuel level once the sending unit wire was reattached. So grounded the gauge goes close to full. With the sending unit wire off it goes to the low stop and when wire connected it pretty much stays stuck; now at 7/8 instead of 1/4. Does it look like the gauge is the only problem here? Should this gauge go to the low stop with the key off like the other gauges do? Thx |
|
| Author: | I_am_Sam [ Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
Yeah the gauge should go to the bottom stop with the key off. Probably some corrosion inside of it making the needle stick. You could try cycling it a bunch more times and see if you can loosen it up and maybe spray some ACF50 (look it up.. stuff is amazing) in there to lubricate and stop any more corrosion. if that doesn't work id say replace the gauge.. what is it like 80 bucks? |
|
| Author: | johnny340 [ Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Gauge fault |
Still a work in progress as I need to check that grounding block and the supply voltage. Thank you for the suggestions. That ACF50 stuff sounds pretty good too. Yes, the gauges are fairly inexpensive but that style is no longer available (Dress white but with the stainless steel ring) so it would be ideal to fix them if possible. For the tach I have also read that the small adjuster screw (1-2-3) in the back of the gauge that selects the number of cylinders has a tendency to corrode and may just need to be cycled (and ACF50 sprayed) a bit. I'll update this thread once I can get to the boat and try a few things. |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ] |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|