Gauges recommendation

[LWD]

My tachometer has been going out for a few years, last year my voltmeter starting pegging at 16 volts all the time, till I turned off the motor, then it would settle on 4 volts (wouldn't drop to zero). Now my fuel gauge is doing the same as the volt meter. Turn the motor off, and it drops to 1/8 tank.

Instead of replacing 3 Sea Ray gauges, I'm going to replace the whole set of 7. I want reliable gauges, but don't want to spend a lot of money. This boat is 24 years old. Sure would appreciate some recommendations on what would be a good, reliable, and moderately priced brand.

 

[nola mike]

My tachometer has been going out for a few years, last year my voltmeter starting pegging at 16 volts all the time, till I turned off the motor, then it would settle on 4 volts (wouldn't drop to zero). Now my fuel gauge is doing the same as the volt meter. Turn the motor off, and it drops to 1/8 tank.

Instead of replacing 3 Sea Ray gauges, I'm going to replace the whole set of 7. I want reliable gauges, but don't want to spend a lot of money. This boat is 24 years old. Sure would appreciate some recommendations on what would be a good, reliable, and moderately priced brand.

Are you sure the gauges are bad?

 

[LWD]

Are you sure the gauges are bad?

Honestly, now that you ask, I'm not sure. Could there be something else I'm not aware of?

 

[nola mike]

Honestly, now that you ask, I'm not sure. Could there be something else I'm not aware of?

Yes. Much more likely that you have bad electrical connections at the helm or elsewhere.

 

[LWD]

Yes. Much more likely that you have bad electrical connections at the helm or elsewhere.

I'd almost rather have bad gauges, but it would be a lot worse to go through the expense and work of replacing them, only to not make a difference. Our daughter bought the same boat as ours a few years ago, and had to have panel of electrical connections replaced, that was an ordeal. I better not jump to any conclusions yet. I appreciate you questioning it.

 

[Chris1956]

SeaRay Gauges are normally made by a commercial gauge company. Sometimes they add the SR emblem to the gauge, but they are usually standard gauge lines. For my '88 SR, I was able to buy standard Teleflex (in those days) replacement gauges. They did not have the SR, but other than that matched perfectly.

just a data point.

 

[BWR1953]

I'm literally in the same boat, so to speak.

I have the new gauges in my purchase cart right now, ready to pull the trigger. More expensive than I wanted to buy, but this will be my final boat ever, so that's my justification (rationalization?)

I'm looking at $500+ for the gauges.

However, the gauges on my 33 year old boat were kaput. Even the plastic cases had cracked on several of them. See pix.

I wanted 7 gauges:
fuel,
tach,
speedo (GPS),
voltage,
trim,
water temp,
water pressure.

But, my boat has a pair of 4" holes and three 2" holes for gauges.
I've spent many, many hours over the last couple of weeks trying to find a solution. And I couldn't get exactly what I wanted/needed, so had to compromise. I was plagued by paralysis by analysis.

My old engine is strictly analog and lots of new gauges require digital signals. And I wanted a matched set, not a mish-mash of different manufacturers, colors or styles. Plus, getting full descriptions of the gauges and views of the rear of the gauges to check functionality was often challenging. At times, I had to scrounge the web to find a user manual to get specs. Ugh.

After eliminating the real cheapo gauges and the really expensive gauges, I finally settled on Faria Platinum for the set. They have a good reputation, are mid-level priced and I have actually used Faria before with success. Plus the Platinum series looks really nice.

Obviously, fitting 7 gauges into 5 holes meant needing multi-function gauges. They're out there, but compatibility and availability was tough. Some gauges were available, but in the wrong size or type or model. And so on.

I ended up with a combo tach/voltage gauge and no water pressure gauge. Instead, I'll hook up a red light on the dash, plus a loud horn to indicate a water pressure loss. Maybe someday I'll add the gauge in that hole to the right of the dash pod for water pressure. Maybe.

My project:

 

[mike_i]

Disconnect the batteries and see what happens with the fuel gauge and volt meter, see if they drop to zero.

 

[airshot]

In my years of boat ownership, most issues with gages have been corroded, dirty, loose connections !! Could count on one hand the actual number of "faulty" gages. Damaged and broken gages yes, but worn out or faulty was rare. If you want newer or better looking gages, then fine....but be prepared to replace the wires and upgrade all connections or you are likely to have similar issues with the new gages. Been down that road on more than one ocassion.

 

[dingbat]

Did you ever resolve your over voltage issue?

All kinds of weird stuff can happen if you’re operating in real over voltage situation.

 

[LWD]

Thank you for all the replies. I'll disconnect the battery, good idea.

dingbat, I haven't considered it an over voltage issue, although I should get my multi meter out and check it with the engine running. I've been thinking that with the gauge showing about a 1/4 high from the get go, I figured it was doing the same on the high side also. I will check that when I get it running next time.

Our daughter's boat, is the same as ours, and they had to have an expensive part replaced. Maybe the EMI? I sent her a text asking what it was and if they still have the receipt showing the description and part number. I figured that needs to be considered here.

I'm not a big electrical guy, so I appreciate all the suggestions, even the ones that are pretty basic to a lot of you guys.

 

[LWD]

I disconnected the battery, and the gauges stayed the same. I notice the fuel gauge is closer to accurate with the key off, but normally it's below the E line when off.

Pic 1 is battery connected, key off
Pic 2 is battery disconnected (no change)
Pic 3 is battery reconnected, key on.

What is this telling me?

On the over voltage question, I tested my battery before doing anything, it was at 12.4 volts. In the video with the multi meter, it's connected to the battery and showing it pegs out about 14.2 volts (engine off then running). In the video showing the volt meter, you can see it pegging out above 16 volts (again, engine off then running).

From what I get out of the over voltage test, I don't think it's an over voltage issue. I think I'm testing it properly, but should I be testing it at the alternator, instead of the battery?

 

[Drivewayboater2]

Did you bench test each gauge after you removed them? You can do that to check the gauges out of the boat.
I did my 1990 Bayliner gauges in my shop. I thought I needed to replace them.
Cleaned up connections and bench tested and alas they all worked. (I replaced the backlights while I was at it) . I also used headlight rejuvenator stuff on the lenses and a paint job. They turned great


.

 

[LWD]

I'm literally in the same boat, so to speak.

I have the new gauges in my purchase cart right now, ready to pull the trigger. More expensive than I wanted to buy, but this will be my final boat ever, so that's my justification (rationalization?)

I'm looking at $500+ for the gauges.

However, the gauges on my 33 year old boat were kaput. Even the plastic cases had cracked on several of them. See pix.

I wanted 7 gauges:
fuel,
tach,
speedo (GPS),
voltage,
trim,
water temp,
water pressure.

But, my boat has a pair of 4" holes and three 2" holes for gauges.
I've spent many, many hours over the last couple of weeks trying to find a solution. And I couldn't get exactly what I wanted/needed, so had to compromise. I was plagued by paralysis by analysis.

My old engine is strictly analog and lots of new gauges require digital signals. And I wanted a matched set, not a mish-mash of different manufacturers, colors or styles. Plus, getting full descriptions of the gauges and views of the rear of the gauges to check functionality was often challenging. At times, I had to scrounge the web to find a user manual to get specs. Ugh.

After eliminating the real cheapo gauges and the really expensive gauges, I finally settled on Faria Platinum for the set. They have a good reputation, are mid-level priced and I have actually used Faria before with success. Plus the Platinum series looks really nice.

Obviously, fitting 7 gauges into 5 holes meant needing multi-function gauges. They're out there, but compatibility and availability was tough. Some gauges were available, but in the wrong size or type or model. And so on.

I ended up with a combo tach/voltage gauge and no water pressure gauge. Instead, I'll hook up a red light on the dash, plus a loud horn to indicate a water pressure loss. Maybe someday I'll add the gauge in that hole to the right of the dash pod for water pressure. Maybe.

My project:
View attachment 409315

View attachment 409316

You've got quite a project there. Sounds like we're thinking along the same lines, and it's like reading something I would have written, with your puns and such. I've never seen anyone else use the "paralysis by analysis" before, it's a real thing.

I really don't want to go as high as $500 either, but I've kind of taken a liking to the Faria gauges, if it comes down to needing new gauges. I'm not sure where this is heading yet. You mention the compatibility between new gauges and older analog boats, which is something I was thinking about also.

Appreciate you sharing your thinking and findings.

 

[LWD]

Did you bench test each gauge after you removed them? You can do that to check the gauges out of the boat.
I did my 1990 Bayliner gauges in my shop. I thought I needed to replace them.
Cleaned up connections and bench tested and alas they all worked. (I replaced the backlights while I was at it) . I also used headlight rejuvenator stuff on the lenses and a paint job. They turned great

I haven't removed my gauges yet, not sure I'll need to at this point. I may end up taking your lead on this.

 

[BWR1953]

You've got quite a project there. Sounds like we're thinking along the same lines, and it's like reading something I would have written, with your puns and such. I've never seen anyone else use the "paralysis by analysis" before, it's a real thing.

I really don't want to go as high as $500 either, but I've kind of taken a liking to the Faria gauges, if it comes down to needing new gauges. I'm not sure where this is heading yet. You mention the compatibility between new gauges and older analog boats, which is something I was thinking about also.

Appreciate you sharing your thinking and findings.

Well, earlier this afternoon I pulled the trigger on the new gauges. They'll start coming in next week. Gives me time to do a bit of cleanup.

Yes, compatibility is an issue. Connecting a digital gauge to an analog source won't work if it's looking for ones and zeroes instead of an analog voltage. And the connectors are often very different. I made sure that all of the gauges that I ordered have threaded stud connectors.

As I said above, this boat will be my last, so I took the plunge with the new gauges so that I don't have to worry about them later. I'm too old to be messing with these old boats.

 

[airshot]

Make sure all connections, splices or any other electrical joints are thoroughly clean and shiny before hooking up new gages. Good luck...

 

[ratdude747]

I mostly have Faria Beede gauges on mine. Very good quality and not stupid expensive. The original 1976 Starcraft gauges were very faded and half functional at best.

But, I went generic Chinese on the GPS speedometer since it was replacing a defunct pitot tube setup and isn't nearly as critical as the other gauges. Not to mention it has a digital voltmeter which is good for checking battery health.

 

[legalfee]

I went with Faria Chesapeake to match the Suzuki multi-function installed when I repowered. The MPH gauge isn't hooked up but I get speed from my Hummingbird. The fuel and voltage gauges weren't working and I replaced the fuel sender also.