www.iFourWinns.com

As many of you know, I got my 2002 248 Vista a couple weeks ago and have been working diligently to get her ready for what hopes to be a very busy season. When I picked up the boat from the broker in Michigan on March 24, everything appeared to be working just fine. We took the boat out for about 20-30 minutes to bring it up to temperature, make sure everything shifted ok, etc. No poblems.

We towed the boat back to Indiana and put into our warm storage building. The boat has a full tank of gas (that the previous owner so graciously left me with). In the past week, I have installed numerous electronics (stereo, amp, new speakers, GPS, XM Satellite Radio) in the boat. I also finally recieved a power cord adapter so I could plug the boat in and charge the batteries. While installing all of this, I had the engine compartment cover off so obviously, there wasn't an issue with fumes in the compartment. After I completed all my installs, I put the cover back on.

Here's the problem. I arrived at our storage shed this week to a loud alarm sound. After further investigation, I realized that it was the gasoline fume detector. I open the engine hatch and found a what I would call "normal" engine smell, but nothing that would jump out and say "hey, you have a gas leak". The tank is still full and there is no fuel in the bilge. There was a little water in the bilge from the recent bath that I gave the boat. I put a rag down into the water to soak up some of the liquid and smelled to see if there was gas in the water. Nothing. I don't see any leaky fuel lines. During my installs, I never came close to any fuel lines or the fuel tank. I did stand on the corners of the fuel tank from time to time while working in the engine compartment.

The boat has only been ran once in probably the last 6-8 months. Is that causing it? This is very frustrating. Any idea what's going on here?

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"Where Da Go"
2002 248 Vista
Lafayette, IN
http://blueoceanlife.worldventures.biz

Your house battery may be low. When the voltage in the battery goes below a certain voltage (I think 10Volts) it sets off the alarm. Reset the alarm, make sure you have the shore power connected to charge the batteries, and check it again. Good Luck! (BTW, it looks like you have been very busy!)

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'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

Carburated or fuel injected? Could also be the out-gassing of the batteries because of a low voltage condition and a high charge rate.

Reset the alarm and see what happens

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Very busy is an understatement. When the alarm is going off, the red light in the middle of the sensor is illuminated so it's picking up something. I'm just not sure what it is or where it's coming from. Outgassing of the batteries is a good possibility. How can I ensure that's what it is and there isn't some sort of slow leak?

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"Where Da Go"
2002 248 Vista
Lafayette, IN
http://blueoceanlife.worldventures.biz

If it's a Xintex unit, the red LED lights up and the alarm comes on if the circuit between the display and sensor is broken. There's a connector block between the sensor and the main cable cable about 10-12"" from the sensor in the engine compartment. There's also a connector behind the display itself. Maybe one of these got disturbed when you were installing other electrical items in/ near the dash?

Regards,

Graham

It came to me last night in my sleep. (Wierd I know) One of the items that I installed was a fuel flow sensor. When I say installed, I should say, half installed. I ran the wire from the engine compartment to the helm where the chartplotter is located. The actualy sensor howerver is sitting in the engine compartment because I haven't connected it to the fuel line yet. Since this is a used fuel flow sensor that I removed from my old boat, there is more than likely still some fuel left in the sensor. That has to be what's releasing the fumes and triggering the fume sensor.

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"Where Da Go"
2002 248 Vista
Lafayette, IN
http://blueoceanlife.worldventures.biz