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I live in the UK, I have just bought a Sundowner 205, year 2000, with the Volvo 5.0gl engine.
on the dash board to the right of the ignition switch is a reset button, can anybody tell me what this is for. i have searched through the manuals and the FW website and can find no reference to it.

according to FW this model (2000 onwards) was supposed to be fitted with the 4 position ignition barrel, my one has the older style 3-position ignition. it does have the VDO instrumentation and the 7 function read out. it was built at the end of 1999 and delivered in March 2000. is this just because it was at transition stage between the 2 models or has some one changed the ignition at one time. the reason i ask is every so often when i turn the key nothing happens, there is no power to the instrumentation or the ignition. i have ruled out the kill switch but i am having problems deciding if it is the ignition switch or the mystery reset button.

according to the hour meter the boat has only done 200 hours and just over a thousand miles, can these meters be interferred with or reset. any information would be greatly appreciated.
any

On my H210 I think it is a reset / breaker for the helm power. It's a little rubber button beside the key that feels like there is nothing in it until it is tripped.

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2008 Four Winns 210 5.7 GI/SX
2007 GMC Sierra 2500 Crew
1966 Fed-Up Wife

thanks for the information, when you refer to the reset (breaker) button is for the helm does that include the instruments etc

Martin,

Welcome. to another UK FW owner. I never figured out what the breaker actually protected on my '99 225 Sundowner as mine never tripped. Looking at the wiring on my current 245 Sundowner though it's everything that's ignition switched. The main cause of intermittent power supply, including inoperative instruments is, or rather are, the multi pin connections behind the dash that connect the dash/ switch panels to the rest of the wiring loom. I had horrendous problems earlier this year such as the engine carrying on running when the ignition was off/ the kill cord disconnected due to poor connections due to those; search for the post for the details ! Another potential cause on a 1999/ 2000 "WT" model year is the big main wiring connector on the engine on the Starboard side (with a Jubilee clip on it). That can work loose, but it shouldn't affect all the instruments.

Graham

hi Graham,

thanks for the reply, how did you solve your problem, what did you mean search the post.
i am considering replacing the dash, apparently from what i have been told by my local FW dealer, is the VDO displays could be very unreliable and FW no longer support these dash's because they did not manufacturer them and no longer use them.

the connectors you are referring to, are they similar to a duplex connector, if i look under the dash while lying on the floor i can see several duplex connectors, would applying some WD40 solve the problem.

regards

martin

graham,

figured out what you meant by search the post,you will have to be patient i'm new to this, managed to download the VDO manual for the dash, many thanks

martin

Martin,

From what I gather, it would be quite unusual for the whole VDO unit to work intermittently. If they do fail, individual functions stop working completely. The fact that there is no power to the ignition ( plus starter?) at the same time as the gauge cluster stops working tends to point towards a bad connection, switch or breaker. I would have expected that the breaker would not work intermittently, it's internal parts only move when it trips. As to the connections, this can be not only the plastic blocks not being clipped together tightly but also some of their pins loose in the blocks. The worst case on my '04 Sundowner was the main power connector to the helm; two heavy cables in one block, in which the pins were loose in the block and actually pulled out due to the weight of the wiring loom pulling on them. Others were also loose.

However, I wouldn't discount that large connector at the engine; I am not certain whether that supplies power +12V ( plus connection to -12v) to the helm, but if it does, if it's loose it could have the same effect as a loose connection at the helm.

The only thing I didn't like about the VDO dash on my '99 boat is that it was recessed qute deeply in the dash, so I couldn't see it when standing up ( I drive the boat standing up so I could see lobster pots looming up etc). Mine always worked fine ( when I could see it !), the engine had over 230 hours on it when I sold it if I remember correctly. I'd only consider changing your's if it started to give trouble ( the Faria individual instruments on my current boat are unfortunately proving less reliable!)

Graham