Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

[dsiekman]

I am looking into reorgainizing my dash as I have mentioned before. I was just on an offshore forum and noticed that a lot of those boats run what appears to be what I have always heard referred to as an "idiot" light. Essentially the light goes on if you exceed a set temp, rpm, low/high oil pressure, etc. The original owner of my boat pulled the alarm, and while I would not have done so, I understand that warning buzzers can be a little loud. So, I was thinking of doing a warning light next to the oil pressure and temp gauges. It would be a good quick reference and easier to tell my wife to back off the throttle if the light goes on than to try to remind her where the oil pressure and temp want to be per a specific rpm. I would like her to be more comfortable with driving the boat, and trying to watch all of the gauges on the twins can be a handful even if you know what you are looking at.

Has anyone done this? Do I need any special parts? I believe the alarm senders are still in place.

Oh yeah, 2000 Cobalt 293 with Volvo 5.0 Gi's. The gauges are Faria, I think.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

I think on an IO, if you want to keep the alarms and gauges, you need to install other sencers on the motor. They are normally open swich sencers, and when they reach there temp or pressure they will close, and complete a ground, and then the light comes on. Sorry about my spelling. We would put them in on the drag race motors, so the driver could pay more attention to his driving, then watch gauges, and we had really big lights.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

Thanks, etracer68. That is exactly what I am talking about. My thought was that since (I think) the senders for the alarm are still in place, they might be able to turn on a light. It is outside of my expertise, so I am just guessing here. Either way, it is a small block chevy, so it shouldn't be too hard to get the right setup. In fact, now that I am thinking out loud, I am going over to Jegs to see what they have.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

I have tried a light for the bilge pump and if the sun is up you don't see it, there is just too much going on driving the boat and that is why they put an audible alarm on it, the light was replaced with a high pitch alarm that you can't miss unless you are in a coma.

Get the audible one back on it, it was there for a reason adn you will never miss that it is going off.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

So someone actually pulled the alarm because it was too loud?? Great logic since the alarm is telling you something is actually wrong and the noise is not for entertainment purposes. Here is a diagram for an idiot light system for oil and temperature. It won't work for the tach. what you need is an Oil Pressure SWITCH and an engine water temperature SWITCH for a small block chevy. They are available at any auto parts store. You DO NOT want oil pressure SENDERS. In fact the senders may actually be on the engine as part of the original alarm system. Anyway, as the diagram shows, +12 volts is applied to the lights any time the key is in the RUN position. Should oil pressure drop below the threshold of the oil pressure switch (normally 5 or 6 PSI) the switch closes and completes the ground path to turn on the light. The same principle applies for the temperature switch. When temperature exceeds the threshold of the temp switch (220 or so) the switch closes thus turning on the light. Indicator lights are available at Radio Shack in any number of style. Water boils at 212 - your wife should know that. Normal and hot on a temp gauge should not be a mystery. Oil pressure on a small block chevy should be 10PSI/1000 rpm but it generally will vary from 30 - 60 from idle to wide open. While the diagram shows one light for oil OR temp, that means the circuit can be used for one or both of those functions. if you want two separate lights, you simply duplicate the light part of the circuit. Each circuit needs a switch. Temp for temp and oil for oil. Add the horn if you like. If the engine has a low oil LEVEL sensor, you can add one for that as well. Understand that OIL LEVEL and OIL PRESSURE are not the same thing.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

Add the lamps if you wish, but don't delete the audible sensors. As stated, in the sunlight (especially driving into a rising or setting sun), you'll never see them. At least if you hear the alarm, you can then focus on which light/gauge is activated.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

So someone actually pulled the alarm because it was too loud?? Great logic since the alarm is telling you something is actually wrong and the noise is not for entertainment purposes.

Yeah, real bright, huh? I like the idea of horn AND light. Thanks for the help.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

Remember -- TWO lights!!! One for oil pressure and one for temperature.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

Remember -- TWO lights!!! One for oil pressure and one for temperature.

Actually, it's 4 and 2 alarms. Twins.

 

[Firewalker688]

Re: Has anyone added a warning (idiot) light?

Hello there, It seems like the original question has been answered so I hope I am not imposing on this thread. I am rebuilding the console on a bass tracker and I am in the process of getting rid of a lot of the riveted in aluminum plate patches and cleaning up the install of the guages lights etc. There was an "idiot" light mounted on the console the pigtail of it connected to both the tach and the volt meter. It has been about 4 years since I have had the boat on the water so I am not certain of how it operated. I want to say it would come on if the engine stalled or if you ran out of gas and it killed the motor but the key was still in the on position. Does this make any sense as far as how it would be wired? I am not sure how a standard analog volt meter would send a signal to the light so I wonder if it just turned off the light when the key was "on" as long as the engine was running. There is no audible alarm on this boat and I am pretty certain when the engine is running or not. Can any of you think of what warning other than the above mentioned this could be receiving? I am trying to get rid of a rats nest of wiring under the dash and I am thinking about eliminating this light all the way around. I am not a fan of disabling safety features and I think this was added by the PO. Any input would be appreciated.

Scott