intermittent nav lights and fuel gauge problem?
07-07-2014, 01:08 PM
#1
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intermittent nav lights and fuel gauge problem?
1999 Donzi 26ZX new to me with new motor and having a few gremlins..... nav lights work about 1/2 the time as well as the fuel gauge. I was able to find the ground wires on the fuel sensor and on the tank itself and there was quite a bit of corrosion I sanded off.... I also removed the ground block in the engine compartment and sanded off all the connectors to a shiny brass color! There was also quite a bit of corrosion there as well.
I changed my gauges around a bit and removed the non-working speedo and installed a spare Furuno GPS chartplotter I had and it all works fine. I did notice another power block and ground block behind the gauge panel and there was some corrosion there. I am thinking this is a grounding issue and will clean the front grounding block and see what happens....... anybody else have a similar problem? This boat sat for 2 years with no engine and I wonder if the main engine plug might be a factor here? All grounding points on the engine block are clean fwiw..... TBF
I changed my gauges around a bit and removed the non-working speedo and installed a spare Furuno GPS chartplotter I had and it all works fine. I did notice another power block and ground block behind the gauge panel and there was some corrosion there. I am thinking this is a grounding issue and will clean the front grounding block and see what happens....... anybody else have a similar problem? This boat sat for 2 years with no engine and I wonder if the main engine plug might be a factor here? All grounding points on the engine block are clean fwiw..... TBF
07-09-2014, 12:00 PM
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I think it did help a little but the answer is no.... problem is still there....... I sanded down the ground on the fuel sender itself, the extra ground wire going to a tab on the outside of the tank and also the whole grounding block in the engine bay........ I will clean up the remaining ground block behind the instrument panel today. All the gauges use a common ground wire and this includes the switch for the nav lights and also the fuel gauge...... I did pull the nav light and clean up all the connections there and it bench tests perfectly....... I also had an extra switch plugged in the nav light spot and it did not make a difference so I think the existing switch is good....... I hate electrical problems..... I would almost rather change a starter than deal with this!
07-09-2014, 04:59 PM
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If you think the switch is ok, it might be time to turn on the light and start moving/wiggleing wires around to try and find one that might be broken or have loose connections.
Might need a second person, not sure, but that's what I would try after getting the grounds clean.
Might need a second person, not sure, but that's what I would try after getting the grounds clean.
07-09-2014, 09:02 PM
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If corrosion was as bad as you said. There may still be corrosion inside the connector itself causing a lack of electricity. Be careful sanding connectors they may have a protective coating on them and sanding removes that and corrosion comes right back and even worse sometimes. Maybe replace the connector all together than coat them in CPC. Keep a slight loop in the wire away from the connection area and it will help moisture run down the wire and drip off instead of onto the connection.
07-10-2014, 05:18 AM
#8
I had one engine that wouldn't start, looked everywhere, swapped modules, swapped ign. Switches with the one that did start and even at one point took to a marine mech. their suggestion was a new harness (YEA right). Brought it back home and traced each wire best I could.. Took me 3 days... Found a connector behind the dash allllll the way in the corner. Un plugged it,, looked ok, maybe just a tad surface corrosion on one pin. Cleaned it, little elec grease plugged it back in and whola, fired right up...been good ever since... Bet you have a bad plug connection somewhere, being your having lights and gage issue.. Have fun,, it sucks but proved to be a valuable lesson for me and I got to know my boat real well,,, may have cussed her out a few times too.. But we love each other again, 
08-07-2014, 12:22 PM
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Connectors have corrosion bad.... these are plastic and not shrink wrap protected..... I tried separating one and 2 wires just broke off with just lightly pulling..... looks like I found the problem! thanks fellas!
