1999 Bayliner Capri 1850 Electrical/Guage pannel question

[Isaacm1986]

I have a 1999 bayliner capri 1850. I bought it last year with none of the guages working. We ran the boat all summer without issues. Last Febuary I took it to the shop to get the guages working. After a day of diagnostics the shop told me I needed a whole new pannel. Can this be accurate? I am hoping for a second oppinion before I drop the money on it. None of the guages work at all, But neither does the horn, bow lights, or radio. It really does not make sense to me that all the guages and most of the electronics just quit working. Any advice on places to look would be great.

 

[sam am I]

Unless the thing is like melted/chard mess of goo and wires behind the dash, doubt it needs to be replaced. Assuming it's all stock still, looks like the gauges are all discrete analog type and they feed off the same 15 amp fuse that runs to the ig(red/purple wire). Probably just a broken wire at the gauges then since the ig works eh?. Radio, horn and lights probably all have issues in and of themselves and I bet aren't related to dash by the looks of the schematic....

Got a picture of it from behind?

 

[AndyHUK]

99.9% certain your dealer has no idea what the fault is and will throw your money at the problem until they eventually hit on the cause by mistake. Looking at your wiring diagram I would start looking at the fuse box area first, all your problems seem to start at a common point of power or ground. The problem you have is relying on a main dealer who probably has less of an idea about electrics that a moose. I can give you pointers but you will need a basic knowledge of tools and multimeters. If that's ok then get back in touch and I will run you through the tests and area's to check.

Regards
Andy

 

[tpenfield]

Next 'shop' please . . . Replacing the entire panel is their way of saying that they have no idea what's wrong.

 

[Isaacm1986]

99.9% certain your dealer has no idea what the fault is and will throw your money at the problem until they eventually hit on the cause by mistake. Looking at your wiring diagram I would start looking at the fuse box area first, all your problems seem to start at a common point of power or ground. The problem you have is relying on a main dealer who probably has less of an idea about electrics that a moose. I can give you pointers but you will need a basic knowledge of tools and multimeters. If that's ok then get back in touch and I will run you through the tests and area's to check.

Regards
Andy

I know a little about electrical systems. I have all the electrical tools. A walk through or some pointers where to look would be great!

 

[Isaacm1986]

Unless the thing is like melted/chard mess of goo and wires behind the dash, doubt it needs to be replaced. Assuming it's all stock still, looks like the gauges are all discrete analog type and they feed off the same 15 amp fuse that runs to the ig(red/purple wire). Probably just a broken wire at the gauges then since the ig works eh?. Radio, horn and lights probably all have issues in and of themselves and I bet aren't related to dash by the looks of the schematic....

Got a picture of it from behind?

This is what I thought. I will take some pics from under the dash. Thanks guys for the help.

 

[AndyHUK]

Ok. I would start at the obvious, looking at the diagram i would first check the 15 amp Fuse. After that first check then if its ok and you have power to both sides (fuse is good and has power from the +ve rail. Then check you have power on terminal B (R-PU) on the diagram. If ok then move to the other side of that unit and check power is there to the gauges. If yes then check the ground wires are ok where they all join.

Next if that is all ok, i would be looking at the fuse box itself, check the rail where the +ve red wire joins at the back of the fuse block.


Let me know how you get on

 

[NYBo]

If that's one of the infamous VDO integrated gauge sets, the shop is closer to correct than you might think. These units are notorious for failing, but they can sometimes be repaired. Rather than replacing with an identical panel, I would use separate gauges.

 

[sam am I]

If that's one of the infamous VDO integrated gauge sets, the shop is closer to correct than you might think. These units are notorious for failing, but they can sometimes be repaired. Rather than replacing with an identical panel, I would use separate gauges.

Oh Joy!! Sorta feared that based on the shops quip answer and perhaps having cracked traces and the like......... Like I said above, by the print, they "looked like discrete" type. Will a photo from behind the dash, if OP posts one, perhaps give/show us this million dollar answer? I assume they're somewhat fairly obvious to the trained eye

 

[glenn property of pam]

if it was just the panel then I might agree that it has a problem but when lots of things have a problem then the first place to look is the ground wires. Run a temp wire from battery ground and hook that to where all the black ground wires meet.
once you decide its broken then well you carn't make it any worse so its time to pull the panel and then the fun with a volt meter starts. Check the plug in connector as one pin has to be ground and another has to be power (12vdc+) if you can find a wiring diagram for the plug that will be a bonus but wiring color code should be standard as black is ground and what ever color ignition hot is on you motor. most panels can be opened so you can get to the board at which point you look for damaged contacts, bad joints, failed components.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Ok guys. Sorry i have not gotten these sooner. I have been slammed with work. Here are some pictures from under the dash. The previous owner installed a sub under the dash, and I have not removed it yet. I will need to remove it if I am to work under there.

Fuse Panel


Back of guage panel (best i could get with the sub in the way)

 

[sam am I]

Ahhhhhhh, very good. Those are discrete gauges.

So It's safe to assume that you have 12V to the Ig,s "B" terminal(see schematic) else the engine wouldn't start due to two other derived paths requiring "B"'s 12V for functionality: 1 - Neutral safty("s" path) and, 2 - Emergency S.D.("I" path), agreed?

Short of jumping wires around at this point and focusing on the gauges first, a few quick and simple measurements are in order first IMO........Given that and the above, assume the 15 amp fuse and associated 12V path is good up to and including the Ig.'s "I" and "S" terminals.

So, with a volt meters "-" or negative lead to a known good ground(the engine or the battery "-" post preferred, run a temp wire if necessary to the meter ) and with the key "on", at the gauge's 12V supply(purple it appears) and ground(blk) connector's/wires, suggest doing the following........



Leaning in this (see below) direction as cause.........Certainly could(pretty much should anyway) clean this all up/un-plug and re-plug and see if it magically works afterwards. One of them thar perhaps flaky grounds certainly could be your gauge's gnd feed.

The above ground measurements/tests will pick it out thou as well, you'll see some weird voltage like 8.235V for example instead of 0'ish V when measuring the gauges grounds if its floating due to a crappy ground in this bundle.

 

[vincechig1975]

Thanks for the advice Sam ,I'll try to diagnose and test it tomorrow morning

 

[sam am I]

You're quite welcome and when and if ya can, let us know what ya find plz.

 

[kjsAZ]

+1 to the above and it looks like a good cleaning job of all contacts may be the answer. Disconnect one wire after the other and carefully clean it. Check whether the "rot" got into the wire or is limited to the crimped on connectors or the wire lugs only.
They also used the wrong style of connectors with simple sleeves instead of heat shrink..... Looks more like a DIY automotive job.
When you plug things together add a bit of dielectric grease into every connector and lug area which will prevent that it happens soon again.

Not surprised that your boat shop didn't find it. A lot of them reach their limits in electrical stuff before you even bring the boat into the shop.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Thanks for the write up. I will test it tomorrow and get back to you guys! This is very helpful!

 

[Isaacm1986]

So i begging to think some of the gauges are bad.

I cleaned all the connectors and got the trim gauge to work correctly.

The tack is working sort of, it runs backwards though. Starts at 0 and spins backwards.

The fuel is working correctly now.

I tested those wires and have 0 volts on the ground and 12v on the other.

 

[sam am I]

You're on track sounds.

The gauges that still don't work and that have proper voltage(Gnd=0V and Power=12V) could indeed be bad internally(meter movements) or just have no/broken signal/bad senders(the third wire that goes to those type gauges) or corroded connectors themselves. The dash volt meter still not working?

Any responses now from the Horn, Bow lights and Radio?

 

[NukeLaLoosh18]

Hi everyone, new to the board but like IsaacM1986 I'm having trouble with my gauges too. I have a 2000 Bayliner Capri 2050LX and none of the gauges work. Fuel, Oil Pressure, Water Temp and tach don't function. I get a 'twitch' out of the fuel gauge when I go to 'accessory'. I've checked voltage and continuity from the barrel plug to the fuse panel even disconnected the 8G red and black wires and got solid 12v connected or not. I've run new 12G ground to the fuse block but nothing works. Short of taking it to a dealership and short of the suggestions you all gave IsaacM1986 do you have any others? Thanks in advance!!

 

[GA_Boater]

Hi everyone, new to the board but like IsaacM1986 I'm having trouble with my gauges too. I have a 2000 Bayliner Capri 2050LX and none of the gauges work. Fuel, Oil Pressure, Water Temp and tach don't function. I get a 'twitch' out of the fuel gauge when I go to 'accessory'. I've checked voltage and continuity from the barrel plug to the fuse panel even disconnected the 8G red and black wires and got solid 12v connected or not. I've run new 12G ground to the fuse block but nothing works. Short of taking it to a dealership and short of the suggestions you all gave IsaacM1986 do you have any others? Thanks in advance!!

Unlike Isaac, you're here and he is gone and this thread is long dead. Please start a new thread.

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