Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Good news and bad news..<br /><br />Good news is that I got the temp sensor hooked up to the head, very solid contact and I sanded the contact area completely smooth and put thermal transfer grease between the two.. worked great and it looks factory.<br /><br />bad news is that the first head bolt I tried to get out snapped off. I was sooo pi$$ed off when that happened.<br /><br />but I also found the buzzer, and I know why it wouldn't work too, it was hidden in the controller under all the wiring, (its fairly small) and it was full of rust and rubbish..)<br />cleaned it out and it worked, but not very well.<br /><br />I am planning to run a loom out of the control box and into the dashboard, and to that I will hook the ignition wire into a relay and use it to power all the guages and stuff in the dash.. and fuse protect the lot.<br />(I have already bolted a huge fuse block under there to do the power for everything, nav lights, fishfinder, internal lights, stereo and everything else.<br />I plan on putting a fullsize car horn under the dash as well. rig it up to both the motor, and feed it a negative with a push switch so it can second as a normal horn as well, and as an added benefit, it makes a quick test to check if the motor warning system works, (ie test the horn) I just gotta press the horn button. (that make sense?)<br /><br />I worked in car audio and security (stereos's and alarms/central locking, as well as auto electrics for many years before getting into programming, so I know my way around a relay very well thanks.. I can work it out from here, and I usually always diode protect relays regardless of wether I need to or not. Its a practice I just got into once upon a time and never stopped.<br /><br />Do you have any tips for getting the broken head bolt out?<br /><br />Also, while I had the controller apart, I noticed a grey wire not connected to anything, but it had a connector on the end of it.. (one of the screw tighting ones) so it was hooked up at one stage..<br /><br />Any idea what that was?<br /><br />Thanks for all your help mr Schematic..<br /><br />much appreciated.<br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Incidently, a tip.<br /><br />I went looking for something to use as a bracket for the temp sensor..<br /><br />and I found something that worked really well and was really easy to adapt.<br /><br />because I fit auto alarms for years, I had heaps of mounting brackets for bonnet switches, one of them was for jags or other cars with backwards opening bonnets, you screw this bracket to the firewall and the switch bolts through the bracket.<br /><br />one little bend and I had the perfect sensor bracket. (its just like the Z sensor in the pdf) and its solid and the holes were already there.<br /><br />worked great.<br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Careful on the car horn idea. You best use the temp switch in head to supply ground for a relay. The temp switch is not capable of much current. (bosch headlight relay is a good choice)The car horn draws high current, and produces a large spike when de-energized. I'd also put a diode across the relay contacts as well. Be sure to install in proper direction or.....smoke. (Piezo horns draw much less current)<br /><br />I think grey is the tach wire. I don't have a schematic in front of me.

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Hi again Mr Schematic..<br /><br />I would never have wired a car horn up without a relay anyway, thats a given.<br />and all the relays I have here have diodes built in.. so I'll probably use one of them. We used to use them (two of them.) to wire up to car alarms so we can put one central locking motor into the drivers door and not worry about the rest of the central locking kit. (big wiring loom and module.)<br />Those relays should be perfect for the job.<br /><br />If the grey wire is the tacho wire, then it will at least be easy to get hooked up once I get one thats designed to do it.<br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />frank

 

[sonnie]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

yes the grey is for tacho. comes from rectifier. (according to clymer)

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Cool, thats for verifing that..<br /><br />wonder why it was just hanging loose in the controller.. <br /><br />is there an easy way I can test this to see if it is, and if its working? (I have a digital multimeter.)<br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

set voltmeter to A/C and check for voltage while idling...5 volts or better is a good tach signal. I believe thats what they did with the tach wire on some (let it sit unused inside)

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Cool, I'll check that tomorrow.<br /><br />I have looked on australian ebay and didn't find any tacho's at all for marine applications, and only 3 for cars, so this could turn into something of a search for me.<br /><br />I am thinking of ordering one online from USA, but don't know what condition it would be in when it gets here, and it will cost me over 100 bucks AU by the time I get it in my grubby little hands..<br /><br /><br />oh well, wasn't spossed to be easy..<br /><br />Actually, I just realised something..<br />There is a tacho in my dash already.. (its never been hooked up so I forgot it was there.) its a proper marine job.<br />its called an AQUA METER.<br /><br />on the back it has 4 terminals. one of which has a yellow wire that runs into the unit..<br /><br />any idea if this one is an option?<br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

is there a selector switch on the rear?

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Hi Guys, <br /><br />I fired up my motor again, (first time since I added the temp guage and flushed the gearcase with mixture..)<br /><br />The guage works, though it only records around 50 degrees at the head.. is that about right?? the needle on the guage only moves about 3 mm or so after its running, so to make sure it worked, I used my heat gun to warm the sensor to make sure it was working,, it went up to 80, so I am guessing that it does work....<br /><br />Incidently, the gearbox is also functioning perfectly as well, for once I have all 3 gear states, neutral, forward and reverse,, wonderful stuff..<br /><br />I asked the question about my AQUA METER tacho in my last post, but noone answered so I am assuming no one knows?<br /><br />I was toying with the idea of trying it out on the motor to see if it works.. (but it was off an older moter and probably not a V4, so I am thinking it will not give the correct reading.. any thoughts?<br /><br />there are 4 terminals at the back, but only two of them run to the actual coil inside the guage.. the rest are sealed in resin, so I guess there must be resistors or something behind them so that you can swap the yellow wire to different terminal at the back to allow for different motor configurations..<br /><br />any thoughts??<br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Is there a selector switch (screw driver slot possibly)?

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

nope, with the unit apart, there are two wires running to the coil...<br />one red, one black.<br /><br />the black one is the one that runs through the back of the case and is connected externally to one of the terminals. (looks like you are supposed to be able to move it to chose different configurations.<br /><br />Its hard to tell what each terminal does as the inside behind the terminal is filled with resin, presumably to water protect them.<br />I'll try to get the resin out now.(it has alot of cracks in it.) if I get it out, I can possibly tell you what components are behind it and measurements and stuff.)<br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />frank

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Hi people, <br /><br />Here is a quick wiring diagram that I drew of the components in the back of the tacho, I got most of the resin out and I think that this is right...<br /><br />any idea which terminals I have to hook up to configure it for a 4 cylinder? <br /><br />anyway, if the resistor values would help, let me know and I'll post them,( after I work them all out.)<br /><br />anyway, here is the diag.. Aqua Meter.<br />

<br /><br /><br />any help is much appreciated.<br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[dicktaber]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Hey Frank--you might give this guy an email--his name is Val, and he was selling some boat stuff on eBay about 2 months back. I bought a tach from him for about $10 (and I seem to recall him saying that he had a bunch more). Looks good (new) and has the settings on the back for # of pulses. At that price, buy one for each motor! $30 for three tachs + $30 for shipping = very affordable. His email is kvig@means.net. Good luck, Rich

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

I'd guess its a alternator tach. You can't hurt anything by trying. Connect the black to ground, the gray to one of the charging system stator leads on the rectifier. Try changing the yellow lead to each terminal until proper reading is attained. You may have to borrow a hand held tach to set the jumpers appropriately.<br /><br />Here is a handy method of figuring resistances from color codes.....<br /><br />good luck!

 

[Franki]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Thanks Knot to much, I sent him an email.. <br /><br />Schemantic, that page is excellent... very handy...<br /><br />I'll give it a quick test, see how it goes, if it doesn't look like a prospect, I'll give up and either buy one from Knot to much's man or a TinyTach...<br /><br />Thanks heaps for your help yet again. <br /><br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Frank

 

[butlp]

Re: Adding Gauges and sensors to old outboards

Hi,<br />About 15 years ago while living in the Middle East I purchased a boat with a 1983 235 Evinrude that had picked up a plastic bag and melted # 1 piston. I rebuilt the motor and installed two head temp gauges and tee'd a pressure switch into the cooling water tell tail. The pressure switch was wired into the buzzer and saved the motor a couple of times after I again picked up plastic bags.<br />I used a low pressure switch that I got from a plumbing store that was originally designed for a water pump with accumulator. The buzzer would come on as soon as you switched the ignition on and it would take a few seconds for the motor to build up water pressure before it went off. <br /><br />I found the head temp gauges read low most of the time and you had to be looking at them all the time to be of any real use. Mind you they looked good! I love a full dash of gauges!<br /><br />At full throttle a 235 hp without cooling water only takes seconds before things start to melt!!! <br /><br />Good luck.