Tachomete

[TMALEGA]

Ok so this is a new problem even for what i was reading. I was out running across the lake today and was hitting the 5k mark flying across the lake it was awesome. Then out of absolutely no where my brand new tach that was working great turned into a brilliant ball of smoke and fire. The wires were not hot and the volt meter showed only 14 v on it. Might have been just a little higher but it was not past 14.5 for sure. My question is what could have caused this i had it set to the 20p setting i rechecked that, the power wire coming off the switch to the tach was not hot at tall. Luckily i was able to shut the key off and the fire and smoke stopped so i just disconnected the wires all together and went on. It was un eventful other then that. Please let me know if i should call the manufacture back or if it is something in my system. I have a fuse link in the system and if i remember correctly it is a 15 amp fuse. It didnt blow. Which is why i believe the tach was just faulty. Please any advice is appreciateed.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tachomete

And just exactly what engine are we talking about? Most tachs don't have a 20P setting. Did smoke and fire come from the tach or the wiring?

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

Well this was over in the force forum i assume it was moved because it was in the wrong area my apologies. It is on a 1985 85 hp force outboard. The tach has a setting for either 12 or 20 poles. Also the wiring was not melted or even hot the tach was all that was smoking and had a little orange flame in it. Also one other thing right before it happened the tach jumped to 6k then back to zero then pegged out at 6k. Then the smoke and flames happened. Thanks again.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

So i got in touch with great lakes skipper and they are taking care of it. On a second note though should i have a 10 amp fuse in line from the switch to the tach? I had a 15a and it didnt blow so that is why i dont think there was a issue with the power supply to it. I dont think the pulse to it would be the cause for it to set a blaze. However they did say that if there was any other damages caused by the tach smoking to let them know and they would help fix it. Lol any possible way that can cause the need for a new transom? Jk completly i am just thrilled they are taking care of me after 2 months on the boat. Awesome response and couldnt be happier. Any ideas on the fuse size though?

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Tachomete

Sounds like a known issue. Ask Great Lakes about fuse size/if one is recommended that way they bear the full responsibility if you size it wrong. Their customer service has been really good for me in the past.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tachomete

A 10 amp fuse would be way overkill as the tach draws very little power and really doesn't need a fuse anyway. None of the other gauges have one because the accessory line from the ignition switch is protected by the fuse way back at the engine. Besides, if the device (the tach in this case) has an issue that blows the fuse, the tach is bad and the fuse would not protect against that failure. The fuse protects the wiring.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

Awe ok then so do you think it was most likely a problem inside the tach itself then? And i shouldnt worry about protecting the wire then thanks silver i was unsure but was thinking if nothing else it was a good fail safe setup.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tachomete

If the smoke and flame were inside the tach, that's where the issue was. If it was a wiring problem, the wires would have melted or the fuse or fuse-link would have opened.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

Ok that was my thinking on the situation silver i am glad you were able to confirm it for me. Thanks for the advice and help.

One last question though what size fuse would you suggest at the battery for the switch power feed? I got this boat and the wires were really messed up back at the battery, so i had to repair them prior to hooking anything up. By messed up i mean they had a different wire for every single thing on the boat. And no switches so to turn on the lights for example you had to connect the lights. I found no problems with the charging system they even admitted it was just laziness on their part. They didnt want to get under the dash. Thanks again.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tachomete

Fuse size depends on the "total" current the circuit must handle. Hence I can't answer your questions since I have no idea what accessories are on the circuit. If the tach is all there is on the circuit the next question is what size wire was used to wire it and what "switch" are we talking about.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

Well it was a 8 gauge wire from the positive side of the battery to the back of the ignition switch and the same to a small junction block where the horns and lights are wired into. Both of them have thier own switch to power them on and the bilge is just ran straight to the toggle under the dash on its own seperate power leg. Then the tach comes off the back of the ignition switch to the tach and over to a volt meter that is all i have on the boat wired up. The tilt and trim system i have on its on battery.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tachomete

This wiring would appear to be a fire hazard since different gauges of wire are used to feed accessories with an 8 guage wire feeding everything. The concept is to install a fuse (30 amp if using 8 gauge wire) at the battery to protect the run of 8 gauge wire to wherever it goes. That fuse does NOT protect anything else. Separate fuses are installed before the switch that controls each device. Fuse size is determined by the size of that wire the current draw of the accessory. Normally,. 16 gauge wires is adequate for anything on the boat except killer stereos, high power lights, or trolling motors. Bilge pumps should have a 7.5 (perhaps 10A) fuse. If you want to fuse the tach line a 3 amp fuse is adequate for that. But this wiring scheme seems a little odd. Best you have a look at the "Generic Boat Wiring Diagram" in the stickies at the top of this forum.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Tachomete

Ok silver i must apologize i did follow that wiring diagram to certain aspect as best as i could. Instead of runing multiple smaller wires from the battery i went with one larger to the junction block and ran the smaller wires from the block to the to actual accesorries. Due to the limited amount of space to run a wire harness up through the side of the boat panels. That was how my dads boat was wired with many more things hooked up then waht i have done.