TexasFlyer
Cadet
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2009
- Messages
- 9
First, the background...
I have a 2001 Four Winns Horizon 180 with a 5.0L Volvo Penta GL/SX. Since I bought the boat, the engine temp seemed to be high and I had posted a seperate thread documenting all I had done to remedy this issue (with a lot of help from those on this forum). Turns out, after buying an infrared thermo gun and thoroughly checking the engine, it wasn't running hot at all. The highest temp I could register on the engine was about 165. After more research, I found that the VDO cluster in 99-01 Four Winns is a known problem, so I just lived with the issue for the past two seasons.
After the first trip of the season this past weekend, the issue is getting worse. Now, the fuel gauge will intermittently drop from full to empty, setting off the low fuel alarm and light while all the other gauges appear to indicate erratically. Checking online, I learned that the issue is most likely caused by a bad ground to the cluster. Four Winns even put out a Customer Service Bulletin on the issue (see the first link below).
More online research revealed that there are a few options for fixing this issue. One, buy a new instrument cluster to the tune of anywhere from $600-$800, a little pricey for my blood. Two, pull the cluster and send it to CDI Electronics, where they'll install a dedicated ground wire for around $250 (sounds a little expensive to add a single wire). Lastly, and the option I'm most interested in is to install the new ground wire myself. I've only been able to find two links that offer any assistance with this.
Here's the first...
http://www.cdielectronics.com/downloads/FourWinnsDash.pdf
On page 13, it shows a CSB from Four Winns discussing the issue but offering only an overview of how to install the new ground wire.
The second is from another forum...
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=833&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15
The 9th post from the top shows how someone opened the cluster and installed the dedicated ground. There are other posters who posted links to photos of how to do the job but none of the links work now.
Now that I've written a novel on this issue, my question is this. Has anyone on this board had the same issue and tackled this project themselves? This seems to be a common issue but most of the info I can find on the web is fairly dated. This forum has been a great source of information and any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 2001 Four Winns Horizon 180 with a 5.0L Volvo Penta GL/SX. Since I bought the boat, the engine temp seemed to be high and I had posted a seperate thread documenting all I had done to remedy this issue (with a lot of help from those on this forum). Turns out, after buying an infrared thermo gun and thoroughly checking the engine, it wasn't running hot at all. The highest temp I could register on the engine was about 165. After more research, I found that the VDO cluster in 99-01 Four Winns is a known problem, so I just lived with the issue for the past two seasons.
After the first trip of the season this past weekend, the issue is getting worse. Now, the fuel gauge will intermittently drop from full to empty, setting off the low fuel alarm and light while all the other gauges appear to indicate erratically. Checking online, I learned that the issue is most likely caused by a bad ground to the cluster. Four Winns even put out a Customer Service Bulletin on the issue (see the first link below).
More online research revealed that there are a few options for fixing this issue. One, buy a new instrument cluster to the tune of anywhere from $600-$800, a little pricey for my blood. Two, pull the cluster and send it to CDI Electronics, where they'll install a dedicated ground wire for around $250 (sounds a little expensive to add a single wire). Lastly, and the option I'm most interested in is to install the new ground wire myself. I've only been able to find two links that offer any assistance with this.
Here's the first...
http://www.cdielectronics.com/downloads/FourWinnsDash.pdf
On page 13, it shows a CSB from Four Winns discussing the issue but offering only an overview of how to install the new ground wire.
The second is from another forum...
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=833&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15
The 9th post from the top shows how someone opened the cluster and installed the dedicated ground. There are other posters who posted links to photos of how to do the job but none of the links work now.
Now that I've written a novel on this issue, my question is this. Has anyone on this board had the same issue and tackled this project themselves? This seems to be a common issue but most of the info I can find on the web is fairly dated. This forum has been a great source of information and any help would be greatly appreciated.
