www.iFourWinns.com

Hi Guys, just like to say hello from England UK, i have just bought a 2000 Fourwinns Horizon 180 LS with the 5.0V8 Volvo Penta SX, its still winter here so only been out for a 30 min run in her and she goes well, a couple of things you can help me with, it has a stainless 4 Blade 21 pitch Prop, do you think this will be ok for Skiing etc, also the depth gauge on the dash, ( part of the Sealed dash) shows the depth when you press the mode key, then after a few mins goes blank again, Finally the trim sensor has packed up and all i can see is the wires dissapearing through the leg into the engine compartment, are they easy to change ?

cheers all

Steve

Hi Steve,

I also boat in the UK, also have a FW (245 Sundowner). Boat is used quite a long way from you though, in Anglesey. I can't help on the prop I'm afraid, as I've only had duo props on my 2 Four Winns.

My previous boat had a VDO dash like you have (actually an earlier 1999 one, I think the 2000 one had the addition of a water temperature readout so you can know how cold the water is before you decide not to get in!) The VDO marine website has a downloadable user manual for the 2000 version, or certainly did back in 2003. If I remember correctly, pressing the mode button toggles through some settings ( units, actual depth, alarm depths etc). The manual should help sort that out. These instrument clusters have been problematic for some people, others like myself had no probems (in the 3 years I had it). There's quite a lot of information/ discussion about them on the Boating ABC web site.

As to the trim sender; it's a known weak point on the SX / DPS. A new sender comes with the electrical connectors, but not the connector block as the hole in the transom that the harness feeds through is smaller than the connector block. So, you have to swap the old connector block onto the new harness' connectors once you've fed them through the transom shield. The rubber seal moulded onto the wires, pushed into the transom assembly, is held on with a small clip on the inner transom side. Don't lose it! Depending on the installation/ design of the boat, getting that off and back on again can be a nightmare (as for my 1999 225) or very easy (2004 245). The trim sender connector is probably on the port side of the engine as it was on mine, lying on the intake manifold quite near the back of it.; it looks like a black cylinder, about 4 - 5cm long, with a spring clip holding both halves together. There are at least 2 types of trim sender; 2 wire or 3 wire. The 3 wire one can replace the 2 wire one, but not vice-versa if your drive has the electronic trim limiter kit fitted (probably not fitted though). Later (and replacement) trim senders are a tight fit where the actuator goes into the pivot bolt head and tend to stick in the pivot bolt, breaking them if you try to remove them. I've found it helps to file down the actuator hexagon sides to a slight taper and use a waterproof grease. That way they are still a snug fit, but don't stick and can be removed if needed. Procedure to adjust; drive fully tucked in, rotate the sender set the resistance to 11 +/- 1 Ohm. ( or you can watch and adjust according to what the trim gauge indicates).

Sorry for the long reply, good luck with your new boat.

Regards,

Graham

Steve,

Web site for VDO USA is:

"www.sso-usa.com"

You'll find the manual for your instrument set under "Bulletins technical support manuals". Hope that helps.

Regards,

Graham

If you turn the outdrive all the way to one side you can get to the wires for the trim sensor replacement, but it is tricky at best. I suggest you don't worry about it until you take the boat in for maintenance on the universal joints/bellows. Once the dealer pulls the drive, it won't add much to the overall cost to have him replace the sensor at that time. In the meantime you can get by without it. Good to see someone from the UK on this site. I spent some time in the UK and lived near Reading (Wokingham).

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