www.iFourWinns.com

I have a alarm when I'm going arond 1000 rpm my water and oil gauge shoot up to red and the alarm goes on. Then if I give it gas it goes off but when I slow back down the alarm go's on again. I put a new water pump and thermostat and it still does it but when it's in the red I put a heat gun and only reads 150 degrees. My mechanic said my gauges aree bad in my dash and that is why my alarm is going off has any one ever had this kind of issue and how do you get the dash off.

Thanks Mike

A warm-engine low oil pressure alarm isn't uncommon. 50-weight oil solved that for me in my 500-hour 5.7GSi.

Don't know why your gauges go up at low RPM, but you might check the +12 and ground voltages at the instrument cluster. Is your alternator output correct?

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Tom
Cape Coral

'99 Four Winns 258 Vista
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bowcam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cape-coral-marine-radio VHF
http://67.207.143.181/vlf9.m3u VLF: Lightning, spherics

Ok I'll check it my grounds today.

Thanks.

Im surprised nobody chimed in with this yet....

The VDO dashes used during that era were a fierce hot mess.
Checking your present ground wire for the cluster might solve your problem if you are lucky, but most of the times the whole cluster needs to be changed out. To prove that they were a mess, Four Winns doesnt even replace the VDO cluster with the same; they have a really nice looking revised dash with what I think are Faria gauges.

A few members here have upgraded to the new gauges. Runs about $800 IIRC. I never bothered with my 99 Vista 258, because it acted up very rarely.

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21

It sound like your raw water impeller is failing. If you get your RPMs up tp 1500-2000, I bet the temp goes down and the alarm stops.

That would normally make sense... that is, if the VDO gauges werent whacked out

The OP said he used (what I assume to be) an infrared heat gun on the engine while this was occurring, and it registered 150f degrees, which is far from an overheat from a bad impeller..a true overheat condition wouldnt explain why the oil pressure gauge maxes out at 80psi either. Usually, if the engine gets hot, the oil pressure drops, not rises. Again, a sign of a faulty gauge panel.

Many of us here have had that very same dash and know its quirks. This (crazy gauges) definitely being one of them. Search around the forums, many threads on this topic.

I just realized that maybe some arent familiar with that panel. It was designed to look just like a car dash; therefore, the gauges arent 'changeable'. For example, on most boats you have a seperate voltmeter, tach, speedometer, etc... However, on the VDO dash, its one unit looking very similar to the dash panel in your everday car. They didnt use it for very long before going back to the independent gauges.....

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21

I did not know that this was inherent problem! But I would think that even if the gauge is wrong, that the "on board computer" would be taking the info from the sender. Not from the gauge. Yes?? Just tring to understand it!

There is no processor in the VDO cluster. It is a collection of electrically-conventional "gauges" in one housing. Nor is there any data exchanged between them or their corresponding senders and the engine computer - which is not as sophisticated as modern automobile engine controllers which monitor essentially everything under the hood for emissions control.

_________________
Tom
Cape Coral

'99 Four Winns 258 Vista
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bowcam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cape-coral-marine-radio VHF
http://67.207.143.181/vlf9.m3u VLF: Lightning, spherics

I see!!! I was not taking into acount the age of the boat. I had a 2007 Merc, and the on board computer controlled the alarm when it overheated. Also, this is my first year with a FW & Volvo engine.

Greetings, I have a 98 258 Vista with the infamous VDO dashboard and the accompanying issues. My temperature guage will increase by a significant amount (needle will move from straight noon to 1 o'clock) when the engine compartment blower is on. The fuel guage responds randomly to the fuel level and it will drop to empty and the low fuel light and alarm will come on. I have replaced the fuel sender unit in the tank and the line from the sending unit to the dash. I have run a dedicated ground wire from the instrument panel to the battery with no effect on these problems. In the end, I removed the dash and stuffed a rag into the alarm so that I could not hear it when it was incorrectly alerting me to a low fuel level. I track my fuel usage so that I can know when to ignore the inaccurate fuel level readings and I 'subtract' about 30F from the temp guage when the blower is running. At least no other instruments are affected (knock on woodd!!). At some point, I will buy a new set of Faria guages and mount them in a nice wooden dash and put that in the place of the POS VDO.

Desert Steve

My '99 hasn't shown these problems. The only complaint I've had with it is the clock resetting at engine start. I fixed that by moving one wire - the "Power/Cont" line - to my house bank. Otherwise, knock on plastic, it's been fine.

_________________
Tom
Cape Coral

'99 Four Winns 258 Vista
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bowcam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cape-coral-marine-radio VHF
http://67.207.143.181/vlf9.m3u VLF: Lightning, spherics

replaced my vdo gauge cluster this past spring . I have a 1998 258 . The cost for the FARIA gauge cluster was $1000.00 . Now I have to replace my depth finder transducer because its not compatable with the new Faria gauge . Stuff like this is what makes boating fun !

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1998 VISTA 258

Do you use the same harness.

I see alot of people use the Faria Gauges I found these on ebay do you thinkl they will work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FARIA-Sp ... 43a8e6a442

Went down to my boat went for a ride and the whole time from 1000 to 5500 rpm the alarm went off water and oil gauges hot trim and tilt didnt work and no speed od. I stop took the dash apart put a rag in it to muffled the sound but now my gauges read cool but still have a low alarm sound but I can deal with it. The boat ran great the few hours we were out. I just have to spend the money to get new gauges and hopefullyt that is the problem.