Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

[Ed R]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

Wow! all gauges are linked together with a common ground and a 12volt power supply ,so if you had a open ground [bad ground] , turning on any light, pump, etc. would make all gauges jump pin etc. Their are resisters in some aftermarket gauges such as volt, and trim, that if defective, would effect that common link! water must had did its damage.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

Wow! all gauges are linked together with a common ground and a 12volt power supply ,so if you had a open ground [bad ground] , turning on any light, pump, etc. would make all gauges jump pin etc. Their are resisters in some aftermarket gauges such as volt, and trim, that if defective, would effect that common link! water must had did its damage.

assuming that is the case (which it probably is) what do i do

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

Did you actually try the ground wire test I suggested earlier? If not, why not? We are trying to help. Try helping yourself? Every gauge on your instrument has a ground connection on it. While those ground connections on the gauges may be ok, the ground connection at the ground bus may not be. That's what we are trying to get you to test. Do it! We can't do it for you.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

I am sorry i did not exactly understnad i was honest in saying i know absolutely nothing about electronics, i do not know what i am testing or what to look for. Sorry if this irratates you, i just dont know. I will have to read on the side or take it to the shop, i do not know how to "test" a ground, sorry

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

A warped plate or an internally broken post in the battery will also cause the symptoms described.

Are the gauges analog or digital? A floating ground is much more serious if they are digital.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

A warped plate or an internally broken post in the battery will also cause the symptoms described.

Are the gauges analog or digital? A floating ground is much more serious if they are digital.

They are all analog

how do i test the battery for the issues you described, it is only 3 weeks old

 

[Ed R]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

DOES the gauges [go crazy] when you put on any switches?

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

DOES the gauges [go crazy] when you put on any switches?

Yes, any switch activity will result is gauge changes, they all drop in one of the directions when i turn on the bilge pump, etc

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

I think your problem will be a pretty easy one to fix and the problem won't take long to determine. You either have to do the tests that I suggested or or some of the ones others have. If you can't do these yourself, you are going to have to ask the help or pay for the help of someone who understands the troubleshooting methods we are describing. Posting on here won't solve your problems.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

To check the battery take it to a store that sells automotive parts and have them load test it.

It does sound like you need some hands on help.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

I am sorry i did not exactly understnad i was honest in saying i know absolutely nothing about electronics, i do not know what i am testing or what to look for. Sorry if this irratates you, i just dont know. I will have to read on the side or take it to the shop, i do not know how to "test" a ground, sorry

Er, Silvertip gave you an excellent test.
quote "Get a length of wire long enough to reach the battery from the dash. Touch one end to the ground terminal on ANY gauge. Have a buddy touch the other end to the NEGATIVE (I SAID NEGATIVE - NOT POSITIVE) terminal of the battery. If the gauges and accessories come to life, you have a ground issue as was pointed out above. Since you mucked with things in the vicinity of the speedometer, look for a ground connection that you accidentally mucked with when you mucked with the speedometer. The cause of lights or electrical items that act weird is almost always a bad ground connection" quote

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

A small spool of 14 gauge wire is a couple of bucks at any auto store. Stretch it out, get a buddy to help and BOTH of you look at the battery. The battery has two big terminals on it. One of them is marked POS (positive) and the other is marked NEG (negative). Put your finger on the one marked NEG. If both of you point to the NEG terminal you passed step 1. One of you MUST get under the console and concentrate on just ONE of the gauges. That gauge will have a ground wire on it. The gauge may even be marked "G" (ground) "GRD" or "GND". Turn on the key, tell you buddy to touch the wire to the NEG terminal while you touch your end to the GROUND terminal. You will probably need a third person or your buddy to tell you if the gauges now read ok. If things remain the same you DO NOT have a ground problem. I cannot make this test any simpler than that. This will be the 31st post and have proven nothing to this point so you either need to get help from someone who can troubleshoot basic 12 volt wiring, or head to a shop.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

I understand how to do the test now, thank you

If it is a ground problem, how do i fix it, if it is not what is the next step?

I am really ticked off. The guy that owns the place i bought the boat from on consignement blew me off. He promised to meet me at my dock at 6:30 to test the grounds, I called him at 3 to confirm and he said he will be a little later but would be there by 7. I went down to replace the battery terminals before he got there and at 8:15 he was still a no show. He even said he had the truck loaded with his meter, the wire, etc and said "i want to make sure the boat is perfect for you"

I called, no answer of course. I went down to his shop and it was closed and he was gone (I wanted to make sure he was ok)

I cannot understand why he did not just call and say he got tied up and we would look at it in the next few days.

I did not have a wire to run from the battery but i did reconnect the battery and checked to see if my night lights worked to know if i would be ok to meet up with friends at a restaurant tomorrow night, they do but i noted that when i turn the lights on the trim guage is dead, the motor still trims but the guage sits at the bottom. When i turn the lights off the guage will move albeit still out of calibration (See above) what could that all be about??

I went under the dash again and tracked all of the grounds and tightened each post as at least i had hand tools, no difference

I am really ticked, if anything above (like the light symptoms) triggers any further thoughts.

I'd be more than happy to throw in $100 and dinner to anyone that cares to help me fix this in all seriousness, i need to learn and want to get it fixed without the marina sc$#wing me. I live in Denver NC off of lake Norman in Sailview



Thanks again for all the help,
Robert

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

You are still doing lots of complaining but not following directions so I'll make one more stab it this and then I out of here.
#1 -- If you understand the ground test, then spend the $2.00 for a small spool of wire at any auto store and do the test. Then and only then have you eliminated grounding as the problem or proven that it is the problem. I, and others are not going to spend hours talking you through issues that "might be the cause of the problem" since that's not the way troubleshooting is done. We have other folks to help.

#2 Study the diagram below. Note that the ground wire starts at one gauge, goes to the next and the next etc. The issue we are trying to explain to you is the connection from the first gauge backward to the gound buss (which is normally on the fuse panel) ultimately connects back to the NEG terminal on the battery. You probably pulled that connection loose when you messed around under the console. Concentrate on the area around the speedometer. On the diagram, follow the black wire from Battery Ground and you will see what we are calling the ground buss which is where all of the ground wires connect on the fuse panel. Check to make sure all of the wires are in that area are connected and look for any that hanging loose. One of the wires on that ground buss will go the first gauge in the string. This is the link we are trying to get you to test. It involves a simple length of wire.
Help us help you.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

Gary NC from this forum came all the way to my house to troubleshoot it and I learned a lot and it is now all fixed

Thanks a million Gary.

He is a real stand up guy, he drove 100 miles round trip to come help me at my dock to fix it. You don't find many people these days with that kind of character.

It was a corroded ground connection, it was fixed in less than an hour and everything is back to perfect

Thanks again Gary, I cannot tell you how much i appreciate the help

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

So you see -- just looking at connections does not mean they are good connections and had you done the simple test that was suggested, you would have proven the bad ground. Instead, it took 33 posts and Gary making a long trip to solve the issue.

 

[Ed R]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

All these guys are right to track, you have an open ground thats just jumping from one gauge to another . they are trying so hard to help you understand the theroy of operation. [you guys are great !] don"t give up. E.R.P.

 

[Robertpel9]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

So you see -- just looking at connections does not mean they are good connections and had you done the simple test that was suggested, you would have proven the bad ground. Instead, it took 33 posts and Gary making a long trip to solve the issue.

It actually read fine on the multimeter and took a little more diagnosing then it may seem. Gary seemed happy to help and i am very appreciative of that. I tried my best with the info the was posted here. I am going to take the high road and not type what i am thinking other than to say please keep your condescending thoughts to yourself moving forward

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Gauges are going CRAZY, please help!!!

It actually read fine on the multimeter and took a little more diagnosing then it may seem.

More than likely, it read fine on the multimeter without loading the circuit. In the future, measure the circuit in the mode where its failing to read the true voltage drop. Good that you had some help to show troubleshooting techniques.