Volvo Penta water temp light issue

[Grundle]

hello all, i am new to this site, and hopefully some of you can offer some help. i recently purchased a 1989 Baretta Success 200. it is powered by a 1989 volvo penta 4 cyl engine and outdrive. on the dash board there are 4 gauges (fuel, oil pressure, water temp, and volts). there are also 4 yellow lights that correspond to each analog gauge. when running the boat, the water temp light comes on, however, the water temp on the analog gauge is right where it should be. i have noticed that the light comes on when i am running full throttle, then when i slow down, the light flickers or turns off. the light also comes on when i am just idling, but when i start going forward, it flickers or turns off.
what's confusing is that the gauge shows the water temp to be perfect, however, the light is going on and off.
should i believe the gauge or the light?
what should i be checking out first? water pump? electrical problem? temp sensor?

any info that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

It's probably just a bad temp switch for the light on the engine. Since Volvo didn't use lights like that, I would guess it's aftermarket or home made. Hard to say where the switch is on the engine.

Other than being a 4 cyl, what's the engine model number? Gas or Diesel?

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

hey don, thanks for the speedy response to my question.

just some quick info... the dash lights are definitely OEM installed, they are built into the dash, and have labeling that corresponds with all the other printed labels on the dash. if they are aftermarket, someone did a FANTASTIC job installing them and making the labels match everything else on the dash.

second, since i just got the boat and have been busy doing mostly cosmetic stuff, i havent dealt with the engine too much. i DO know that it runs on gas, however, i dont know what the model number of the engine is. i can check it out, and post it later tonight or tomorrow.

thanks again for the quick response!

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

p.s. .... i am getting ready to order a maintenance manual for the engine soon. hopefully that may also shed a little light on my light problems!

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

I have the OEM manuals you can download for free, and trust me, there is nothing in them about lights.

It may be an instrument panel built by the boat manufacturer and not the Volvo panel. Happens quite often.

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

hi Don,
sorry about the misunderstanding. i didnt realize you were talking about the motor manufacturer, not the boat manufacturer. it is definitely something the boat manufacturer installed.
how can i download the motor manual from you? that would save me about $40, and i would appreciate it.

also, where are you in western WA? i spent some time on whidbey island back in 1992. beautiful country out there!

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

Just let me know the model number of the engine, then I will post the link here.

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

great, thanks. as soon as i find it out, i will post it.

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

hi Don. sorry it took so long for me to get the engine model number, but here it is. Volvo Penta AQ131D i would appreciate a link to get the manual for this motor so i can take proper care of it. thanks again

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

Here is the engine manual http://www.4shared.com/file/64741910/25295432/230_250_251_131151171.html

 

[Grundle]

Re: Volvo Penta water temp light issue

Don, thanks so much for the help. hopefully i can straighten out my temp light issue