Updated: Still need help with tachometer

[pbolden]

Hello Everyone,

Here?s the series of events. We launched our boat for the season last Saturday with about an 1/8 tank of gas (no problems). Stopped and got $100 in fuel at the marina and headed out the channel (no problems).

As soon as we cleared the channel on a heading for South Bass Island I hit the trim and the boat just stopped died. I switched from battery one to two and it started back up and we were under way again however, the tachometer is not working and the gas gauge needle is jumping sharply from empty to full back to empty then to a quarter and so forth.

Here?s what I know and don?t know. When I left the marina the gas gauge worked fine before and after refueling. What I don?t know is if the tach gauge was working. At no wake speed it would not have registered much if anything.

Additionally, the marina had just installed two new batteries sometime before launching. The next day I idled the boat for an hour to recharge battery one which it failed to do. Bad battery?

Also the next day the gas gauge is not jumping nearly as much but it is still jumping and I believe showing and inaccurate gas level of slightly less than ? tank of gas when it should be closer to ? tank.

I double checked all the circuit breakers and none where tripped. I got under the helm to check for corroded leads on the tach meter but didn?t see anything. I am not sure if the tach has a separate in-line fuse.

Hurricane SD217, Yamaha 200

If anyone has any ideas as to what happened or what?s going on it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Paul Bolden

 

[gm280]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Is your second battery connected to the same places that your primary battery is connected too? You could have a ground OR positive voltage issue between the two batteries...

 

[pbolden]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Yes, and are switchable as follows: Primary (1), secondary (2) or both.

 

[Don S]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

The next day I idled the boat for an hour to recharge battery one which it failed to do. Bad battery?

Idling an outboard for an hour will not charge up a dead battery. Especially if the charging system isn't working.

Yamaha makes several different 200's, 2 and 4 stroke and different years have different options and charging rates. Either way, you need to get the charging system checked out. If a battery gets too low on some of the 200's they will die. Just like you shut them off.

You also need to start checking and making sure all the battery cables are clean and tight. Toss the wing nuts and use regular nuts and a wrench to tighten them down.
Not only the positive cables, but also the negative. And each cable has 2 ends.

Every other engine started with a battery uses a bolt or nut, except marine batteries and for some stupid reason they think finger tight must be good enough.

 

[pbolden]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

It is a Yamaha F200TXCR 4 stroke 2004.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

sounds like you have a bad ground wire. When you used the trim it overloaded the bad joint and finished it off which is why your dash is hunting a ground path via the fuel gauge. If the battery grounds are at a buss or are using the motor as a joining point you need to find the one that is on the battery that is not charging as it sounds like that has the ground problem. Do as don suggests and bolt the cables to the batteries do not use wing nuts. Theres a chance that you could have a secondary problem but most of this sounds like a ground cable fault. Remove the cable ends one at a time and clean them shinny including the engine block mounting point for the ground then retest to see what happens or buy a meter and find the problem

 

[pbolden]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

I'll be at my boat this weekend. I'm going to follow Glenn property of pam and Don S' advice and report back.

Thanks for your help guys,

Paul Bolden

 

[pbolden]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

UPDATE: Battery number two did have some corrosion on the neg. post and jumper cable. After cleaning and reconnecting it the fuel gauge is now working properly. You guys were absolutely right about the grounding issue. Unfortunately it did not correct the issue with the tachometer which is still not working. The meter worked last fall when it went in for winter storage but did not work when it was launched two weeks ago. Any further thoughts?

Thanks,
Paul Bolden

 

[Don S]

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Re: Boat suddenly stopped, no tach, no fuel gauge

Tachs get dampness in them and corrode over the winter and they die. Replace it and go boating.

 

[pbolden]

Re: Updated: Still need help with tachometer

I replaced the tach with a new one which is working fine. Fuel gauge issues may have returned.

http://forums.iboats.com/electrical...-gauge-issues-i-think-619116.html#post4312921

Thanks

Paul Bolden