NHGuy
Captain
- Joined
- May 21, 2009
- Messages
- 3,631
Hey, not that every weird gauge issue will yield the same result. But here is what happened to mine.
My boat is an 89 Baja Sunsport 196, it is powered by a 5.7 litre Mercruiser with Alpha 1 sterndrive.
When I went to un-winterize this spring I found that when I turned on any electric dash switch the gauges would pin to the right and the dash lights would all come on. So I did some reading on the forums, checked my fuses and connections, verified as many grounds as I could. While doing these checks I found no stern light when the navigation lights were on. This condition was there last summer too.
I zeroed in on the dash navigation/anchor light switch and found a fault in it, there was always ground present on one of the positive switched terminals, even off the boat. For that reason I purchased a replacement switch. However, after installing the new switch I still had an inoperative bow light and I still had the gauge craziness.
So I did a dielectric grease treatment on the main plug where the boat wire harness connects to the engine harness.
Boom, fixed. Now maybe it will warm up enough to go out for a little ride.
Note to all, if your old school analog gauges pin full (right) you may be getting a sensor-to-ground connection where it does not belong.
My boat is an 89 Baja Sunsport 196, it is powered by a 5.7 litre Mercruiser with Alpha 1 sterndrive.
When I went to un-winterize this spring I found that when I turned on any electric dash switch the gauges would pin to the right and the dash lights would all come on. So I did some reading on the forums, checked my fuses and connections, verified as many grounds as I could. While doing these checks I found no stern light when the navigation lights were on. This condition was there last summer too.
I zeroed in on the dash navigation/anchor light switch and found a fault in it, there was always ground present on one of the positive switched terminals, even off the boat. For that reason I purchased a replacement switch. However, after installing the new switch I still had an inoperative bow light and I still had the gauge craziness.
So I did a dielectric grease treatment on the main plug where the boat wire harness connects to the engine harness.
Boom, fixed. Now maybe it will warm up enough to go out for a little ride.
Note to all, if your old school analog gauges pin full (right) you may be getting a sensor-to-ground connection where it does not belong.
