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Hey guys this is my first post here on this forum and i hope I could get som expertise from you!

I bought a 2005 Four winns 180 horizon 4.3 GL last year and I love it .. Today I took it out from winter storage and wanted to check on some stuff and then fire it up. Everything went really smooth, the engine started easily and run nicely. After a while I would check the engine temperature, I see that all the gauges behave very strange. One moment it shows the right value but after a few seconds they stand completely wrong and a moment later they change again and so continues. So none of the gauges works as they should. A little later, I decide to try the stereo and discover that it does not start at all. I kill the engine and test the horn. It is completely dead while the tank gauge jerk at the same moment I press the horn button and the leds inside the other buttons lights up brighter. The only thing that works well is the outdrive tilt, engine starter and engine room fan. What is going on ? I checked all the wiring and connectors under the steering wheel and fuses with no luck. Is there any other fuses or relays in the engine compartment? Could it be a ground issue?

I remember that Before the Winter storage I short Circuit the battery for a sec or two when I removed my second one, could that caused this weird problem.
I hope somebody have some tips out there Appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks and excuse my little bad English.

As to the batteries, I don't think so. But, FW has always (that I have seen) undersized there wires. Also, the one that I had had no marine rated wire in it. So connections were turning green. Check the grounds at the helm and all the connections.

Gauges going crazy? Ground issue.

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

I've found the problem and I'm so relived. The problem was the ground point over the starter. I loosened the bolt and put some wd40 and copper paste on it. Now everything works as a charm again. Thanks for all good advice..

Ah yes the bad ground issue rears its head. Next time think about replacing the batt cables with larger gauge (2 instead of 4 gauge) and tinned wire for marine use. The OE cables on my boat were junk. I replaced all that about 8 years ago when I put in the dual battery system and no more ground/cranking problems. Also do not use wing nuts to retain the terminals on the battery. They will get loose and cause the same problem. Use nylock nuts instead. I got a set of marine quality battery clamps and bolted them on the terminals I had made up for my cables. Much better than wing nuts and then if they ever get corroded you can just bolt a new one on.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Welcome and Congrats on your easy fix. You will find lots of members here with great knowledge and experience that are willing to help you out in a bind.