Hey! THANK YOU! You just saved me in our short Swedish summer. Didn't get the wiring, went to UA-cam, found you and now know how to get a working fuel gauge. Thanks bud!
I have never run out, but I question the accuracy of my current system. This video is a great starter for getting to the truth. Thanks for your videos!
#gasgauge I purchased a used center console w/ a 225 hp Yamaha 4 stroke. The gas gauge read 3/4 of a tank. I ran out of gas! My 1st time in my entire career of boating 45 years!! I did bring extra fuel as I’m learning about this VERY USED UNCARED FOR BOAT. Bring out another thousand or a few more and she will be Bristol!! Thank You for your video!
Thanks for the info!!! I had put new batteries in and separated the motor from the lights and gauges. that doesn’t work. Would never have found it without your video thanks really appreciate it, gas gauge working great now!!
ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS information on the WEMA sender!!! With Your information I was able to troubleshoot my issue of my Smartcraft gauge from counting backwards when engines are started.
In 2011 I bought an F350 from marathon Florida , rear tank gauge never worked right , factory replacement for unit was almost $400 , got a Marine sending unit ($30) and bent the float lever around to make it work backwards , stuck it in the tank and it worked ... wasn’t perfect because the ohm range wasn’t exactly the same but it worked
Haven't even had my boat on the water yet (just got one) but when I turn the key the gauge jumps around.. I should be able to sort it out now, thank you
Very good instructions and great camera work. I’ve been having this problem on my boat for several weeks now and you help me solved the issue. Thank you.
There are senders out there that are opposite in resistance. The sender resistance of a European style sender, such as a VDO brand, is opposite to the U.S. type. You'll see the different senders listed as either a 10-180 or 240-33 in the description. The range for senders are: 240 to 33 Ohms for U.S. style (Empty reads 240 Ohms) 10 to 180 Ohms for European (Empty reads 10 Ohms) The gauges will have to match the senders. I found this out when we had a hailstorm (hail the size of my palm) which smashed all of my gauges. I purchased a U.S. Evinrude gauge to replace a VDO gauge and discovered that the fuel gauge moved towards empty when I filled up and moved towards full when consuming fuel. This was concerning until I rotated the gauge 180 degrees as a temporary solution. It's not accurate being different resistances (I have ordered a 240-33 sender unit). Knowing this info will save you money and get you the correct matching part. There is also a device for around $40 that corrects mismatched tank senders with different gauges. That would be handy when you get a custom tank and don't want to replace your expensive gauge. #gasgauge
That's the problem I have now. When I move the sender up towards full, the new gauge goes towards E. I bought a new sender and still have the same problem
Excellent video! Can those long sending units be used for Automotive purposes? I have a gas tank in my 1964 Ford falcon that has been modified with a sump at the bottom due to the installation of an external electric fuel pump. I was wondering if I could get one of those senders that would reach the bottom of the sump for accurate reading of the amount of fuel in the tank and then wire it to an external fuel level gauge.
#gasgauge I never have run out of gas but I did have to be towed in because I did not understand how the primer bulb worked and couldn't figure out how to hold the bulb to get fuel to the engine. Newby fail. Thanks for another great video.
Have you noticed the Yamaha digital gauge you used in this video showing a wrong fuel level compared to where the sender should be? I have a ton of issues with that same Yamaha gauge not giving me accurate fuel tank readings even when gas tank is full
Thank you for the video... just a word of advice.... I would discontinue the practice of taking a shit ontop of the fuel tank 4:28 ... it tends to smell and there is a possibility of contamination.... other than that... a great video
I have run out of gas, but, I have a sailboat, so it’s never been a problem ;) my gas gauge stopped working last year when I accidentally connected my battery backwards (I crossed the negative and positive). The battery was in a very hard to reach place and when I hooked it up, I had it backwards. I fried my vhf and the gas gauge stopped working. I was never really sure how to troubleshoot the #gasgauge . Thanks for this excellent explainer on how to troubleshoot your #gasgauge much appreciated!
So I just bought a boat a few days ago, the fuel gauge was on empty when I was inspecting it before purchase. I went and filled it up took 20 gallons to turn off and the gauge says full now. I’ve spent probably four hours out on the water and the gauge has not moved from full. Whatcha think?
What's the best way to fix stripped fuel sender fuel tank holes? Nothing like the smell of gasoline in the bilge in the morning, not to mention riding on a floating bomb.
have a bad swing arm style sending unit. Is there a way to convert to the straight rail float that you are using here? if so, how do I know what one to actually purchase. This appears to be a very shallow tank as its in a bass boat.
Thanks so much for the video. I sent you the idea on your website two weeks ago and you have come through big time !!! Legend ! For the record my problem was the wrong sort of resistance for my mercury gauges. I had the euro type 170 - 0 ohm not the USA type 240 to 30ohms #gasgauge !!
Hello ..my gauge always read half!!! no matter if keep putting more gas , keep stuck in half. Any idea? I have the same gauge and same sender you showing in the video..!!!
on wiring gauges never send battery to the sender it is resistance only dont confuse neg for light as neg for gauge you can test your conn.before you install in tank moving magnetic float up and down will move gauge empty and full the batt and gd for lights on gauge
I got a rod style for my aux truck tank when the resistant was at the bottom it show tank was full when I slid it to the top showed tank was empty. I even switched wires around
Great Channel. I have you Bookmarked!!! 3 weeks ago I bought a boat with 60 HP 4 stroke mercury on a Bass Trakcer and my fuel gauge doesnt work. Go figure I gotta track down wires through the wiring harness? Before I get into that.... I measured resistance of the sender at 86 ohms with it installed in the gas tank, which sounds right as Im estimating about 1/3 of a tank. (im not saying the sender is working though).... With the key on, the Fuel Gauge does nothing when touching black and pink wires together just as you say with a Mercury . Next - With the key on, I measure 6.7VDC between pink and black at where they connect to the sender. b (I was expecting more voltage there but Im no expert). Next - I measured voltage at the gauge with key on at 10.1VDC. hummmmm...... any idea if there might be a voltage regulator knocking down the voltage at the sender? According to voltage drop calculator, there is way too much voltage drop for about 8 feet of wire, hummmm..... head scratching. Im inclined to go ahead and just replace the sender and cross my fingers. BTW...Im not asking you to help me fix it... I'm just rambling maybe for the sake of others. Edit. 11-28-2021 I fixed it. The gas gauge now works and Im a happy camper. I replaced the fuel sender on a wing and a prayer and now I have a spare fuel sender . That didnt fix anything . After some tedious wire tracing I discovered the ground wire on the sender circuit was hooked up to the wrong battery. Likely happened when the previous owner put in new batteries.
This is awesome! Well presented information... 👍 Stuck in Captiva with a Guage that's not working, I'm gonna try these troubleshooting steps. Thanks a lot!
Great video as always! Love the depth of knowledge! While you are on the subject of gauges I have an analog tachometer on a 3 cylinder johnson 70 that seems to intermittently work only while using the engines trim button on the throttle arm. Trimming up or down will make the gauge come to life. Maybe you could do a tachometer related video in the future? Thanks for the great diy content!
Sounds like you've got an issue with the power or ground going to the gauge. Try and check for that battery voltage at the gauge with the key on just like we did for the fuel gauge. See if that gets you any more information
On my old boat it’s took me soooo long to figure out that the wrong sending unit was used on my boat. I ran out of fuel several times thinking it was engine problems. Gauge would read half when it was completely empty. #gasgauge
@@dewey66904 actually of you have a regular analog gauge it doesn't go to the engine it goes to the gauge. Mercury gauges get the info from the engine, so the sender wire goes to the engine with those systems
Good video I have a question how hard is it to change the prop shaft seal because I drained my lower unit oil from my port engine and it had water in it thanks
Hello and thanks for the great videos. What would this sending unit read if the donut fell completely off the end? My tank reads full all the time, i took this unit out of the tank and there's no donut on the shaft!!
@@BornAgainBoating Thanks. Didn't know if it was from a specialty supply shop. I made me some 20' test leads to do voltage checks but this looks much more convenient
hello, I bought the float on aliexp... once connected to the fuel meter the needle works upside down, you have an idea. do i need to change the meter? it is an original Mercury vdo
@born again boating can someone please help explain why the fuel gauge doesn't show a reading when its just directly connected to the battery from the positive and negative terminals because doesn't this complete the circuit for electrons to move? Why is it that the sending terminal on the gauge has to be connected for the arrow to move?
AT 3:32 you were talking about portable tanks and the float switch. i am a noob so please forgive my ignorance, but i have a 12 gallon removable tank and i want to hook up to a fuel gauge to my dash in my boat. i am currently redoing a boat and have a blank canvas because of the age and probably size of my boat there were no gauges just 2 6 gallon metal cans. i would like to know: 1. if i can put a fuel gauge in my dash? 2. what parts would you suggest i use? or just use smaller tanks and fill them each time i go out? thanks for you time.
Oddly, on my old fuel sending unit and my new sending unit I'm not getting any ohm readings, when the unit is off the boat. Also my trim gauge which is next to the fuel gauge on the dashboard, isn't functioning either. I suspect a bad ground.
Had a 4stroke 250hp yamaha leaking fuel from the right side latch...block it to get home....would like know the reason for that fuel line on the latch.. Thanks
It's the vent for the VST. The float and needle in the VST has probably failed or something is stuck in it. You'll need to pull the VST off and check it out, usually you have to change out that seat and needle assembly :)
My boat fuel gauge always on full, thankfully I noticed before getting stranded somewhere. I pulled the sender unit out and put a new exact type on and its still the same. Actually, when you move the sender arm to the full position it goes the opposite way on the gauge, essentially working backwards. Wiring looks good to my level of understanding. Could it be that my gauge is not compatible? Its a cheap three prong gauge i bought from Autozone.
#gasguage - i never ran out of fuel, but it was close once, and i was able to talk my wife into driving a couple towns over to meet me with 10 gallons at a boat ramp... she's the best.
Dude, if my wife doesn't do this for me without questions asked, then she is a wrong one to be in marriage. I go extra mile in everything she needs, but it is a must for her to go every time I need it, this is called marriage
When I turn the key, the fuel gauge shows full, when I turn the ignition off, it shows empty. Tested sensor with measuring instrument it has the correct Ohm value. It is both a wema and a wema instrument. Has worked before and also not replaced anything previously. When I disconnect the sensor's 2 cables it still shows full. what do you think is wrong then?
Great info,,,,installed a new sender, new wiring harness in my restoration pickup,,old willys,,,sender is new, and worked on the bench. In the tank it registers full but the tank is empty,,,could it be a ground ,,new paint on frame and may not be getting a good ground,,,running a ground wire and see what happens,,if the sending wire is disconnected it goes to empty,,,any ideas? Wala,,,,found the issue,,the gauge went south from bench to tank,,,go figure,,why it was so hard to locate,, wired up a good gauge on the frame, (out of the tank) tested both,,the one still goes to full the other works correctly , the one in the tank won't do nothing but read full when hooked up,,,
And that's a really good explanation of how the fuel gauge system works and ways to test/troubleshoot it. up till now never stopped without fuel haha. Awesome vid. #gasgauge
I'm a bit confused the sending wire goes from the sending unit to the gauge ,but your showing a neg. black wire coming from the battery ,the important thing I need to know in detail ,after I connect the ground from the sending unit to the guage,on the same connection,do I run another wire to my negative bus.?
Great video. I'm trying to estimate the amount of fuel is below my sender's ability to detect. I have a 15" KUS S5U sender. How high does the fuel need to be before it starts reading non-zero? Guessing the float size at around 2", does it start to rise up after 1" of fuel?
Very helpful video. But, what is at fault when the gauge reads around 3/4 on a FULL tank and reads around 1/8 when boat is off. Bad gauge? Sender? Both? Cheers and thanks!
Fix your current gauge properly, and rig second fuel gauge as a precaution, if you ever ran into running out. Having two gauges ensures you won't run out. Definitely won't run out ever again, and would be interesting to happen to watch, if any difference pops between both fuel gauges showing. This will wake you up to investigate. You would be on alert mode then, and would investigate whether you got a bad gauge, or empty tank. If you find you got sufficient fuel in tank, your gauge will automatically earn a bad gauge diagnostic. All in all you will be very aware, not guessing, and definitely not needing a dealer service to figure out things
Hi there from OZ! My digital fuel gauge fluctuates widly once the fuel level drops. It did the same with the old analogue system. Do you have any suggestions please? Cheers.
I'm testing on the bech. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong unless I have an unmatched guage/sender ohm operating scale. I will buy a matching guage since I can't find its operating ohms. My problem is that I can get the guage to spike, but not read when correctly wired. Same condition with 2 sending units, same guage. This is when bench testing out of the boat. Kinda frustrating. Suggestions?
OK! problem solved. If you have a gauge that only reads full and you are sure that you wired it up correctly, do yourself a favor and go buy a matching ohms gauge and be done. I cant confirm weather or not my gauge was different resistance or not, but it was defiantly the issue! Advance auto bosch gauge and sending unit and gauge and Pow! done.
#gasgauge. My present gauge is bad. Left me out about a mile out on Lake Erie, and had to be towed. That’s also the last time I trust my buddy after he said, “yeah, I filled it when I was done with it.”
What do I do if I have a good gauge and a new sending unit but my gauge says full unless I his a pump switch and put a draw on the system then it reads the right fuel reading?
You might have bought an inverted fuel sender for a different countries boat :) they are common, try reversing the sending wire and ground wire at the sender and see if that helps
#gasgauge I have run out of gas due to weather though. We birned more fuel than we expected and ended up being 2 miles short of Matheson hammock in Biscayne bay. Luckily we got a tow back from a passing boater and passed over a couple Mahi fish for the tow.
#gasgauge used to run out of fuel all the time when I had 2 6 gallons cans in my whaler. Run as far as 1 tank would let me, then switch over to the 2nd
My 2000 Xpress X21 has a fuel sender in the most awkward of spots that is basically requiring me to remove the entire top deck to get to it. Its read at fuel for a year now. I tested the connections and believe it to be stuck in the up position. Any ideas how to get it to fall back down naturally?
Nope, unfortunately you probably need to change it. Try and just bend it when you pull it out to get it out. Also pull the access and try to cut a section of glass that can still be covered to get the new one in
Born Again Boating it’s an aluminum bass boat and there is no “access” for it. I can see it from a compartment at an angle. I was worried about that. Oh well I guess estimated my runs and distance is all I’ve got !! Thanks for the reply!
I have Cascadia freighter 2013 Model. It has no 12V at the fuel gauge where we basically plug in at fuel sensor. It has only 5V . I checked there is no fuse for that. Please help me to solve this issue.
#gasgauge Luckily I've never run out of fuel on my boat! Also, my VesselView 702 display for my Mercury Verados show me how much fuel is in my tank. Is the VesselView fuel gauge have a different way of operating than the analog gauges?
Benji Gans from what I see in the video, it looks like the signal from the Sender goes to the motor’s computer and is converted into the Mercury comm network and is displayed on the screen. NMEA2000 is the open network com protocols that multifunction displays use to display information. most of the newer, bigger engines use some form of CAN network for their internal engine com networks. In a nutshell it is the same type of CAN network you find on new vehicles (past 15 years) for communication and control. Some can check to see if you blown a speaker on you car stereo now.
0:57 The sending unit's ground wire should be returned to the gauge and not to the battery. Otherwise voltage drops between gauge ground and sender ground would affect the reading.
Thank you for your question! Please post it in our Born Again Boating Community! Go here and scroll down to access - it’s free: www.bornagainboating.com/
That could get sticky. You don't want to mess it up and not be able to seal it. But generally, you want to get as many bolts out as possible and then drill out the ones you can't. Try to just drill off the heads and see if you can get the screws out with vice grips. Then if all that fails, rotate the new sender and drill and tap new bolt holes. If it's a plastic tank, there isn't a fix for it sadly :(
Mr Burns still alive, old and skiny. He is teashing Diesel 1 and 2 Farley in the other heand is teashing Volvo penta, and lower units. From MMI. 👍Nice Video.
just a word to the wise if you order a reed switch sender and you have a steel tank measure depth of tank minus 1/2 in to order the correct length it 33ohms full 240 ohms empty but still a little left in the tank 1/2 inch the reason is this the steel tank will hold magnet down showing empty in a full tank so order 1/2 inch short for correct reading also best to run 2 wires to the gauge do not use metal boat as gd wire 14 ga. wire is best been use one for years cost is about $75 .00 (sender and gauge on line ) they come in all lenghts
I think my grounds are bad, both my fuel gauge and trim gauge which are next to each other on the panel aren't functioning. The temp gauge and volt gauge which are directly below the fuel gauge and temp gauges are functioning. So I think it's a bad ground. On the fuel gauge and trim gauge.
Hey! THANK YOU! You just saved me in our short Swedish summer. Didn't get the wiring, went to UA-cam, found you and now know how to get a working fuel gauge. Thanks bud!
I have never run out, but I question the accuracy of my current system. This video is a great starter for getting to the truth. Thanks for your videos!
#gasgauge I purchased a used center console w/ a 225 hp Yamaha 4 stroke. The gas gauge read 3/4 of a tank. I ran out of gas! My 1st time in my entire career of boating 45 years!! I did bring extra fuel as I’m learning about this VERY USED UNCARED FOR BOAT. Bring out another thousand or a few more and she will be Bristol!! Thank You for your video!
BEST Channel on UA-cam IMHO Thanks for these videos.Owning two boats I feel like I owe you something you have helped sooooo much!
Great to hear!
Thanks for the info!!! I had put new batteries in and separated the motor from the lights and gauges. that doesn’t work. Would never have found it without your video thanks really appreciate it, gas gauge working great now!!
ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS information on the WEMA sender!!! With Your information I was able to troubleshoot my issue of my Smartcraft gauge from counting backwards when engines are started.
In 2011 I bought an F350 from marathon Florida , rear tank gauge never worked right , factory replacement for unit was almost $400 , got a Marine sending unit ($30) and bent the float lever around to make it work backwards , stuck it in the tank and it worked ... wasn’t perfect because the ohm range wasn’t exactly the same but it worked
Thanks, I have ran out while beating into the wind,not following the 1/3 out 1/3 back 1/3 reserves. On plane it’s very different.
Haven't even had my boat on the water yet (just got one) but when I turn the key the gauge jumps around.. I should be able to sort it out now, thank you
Very good instructions and great camera work. I’ve been having this problem on my boat for several weeks now and you help me solved the issue. Thank you.
You're welcome :)
Love your hands on knowledge!! But the explanation is always over the top!!
There are senders out there that are opposite in resistance. The sender resistance of a European style sender, such as a VDO brand, is opposite to the U.S. type.
You'll see the different senders listed as either a 10-180 or 240-33 in the description.
The range for senders are:
240 to 33 Ohms for U.S. style (Empty reads 240 Ohms)
10 to 180 Ohms for European (Empty reads 10 Ohms)
The gauges will have to match the senders. I found this out when we had a hailstorm (hail the size of my palm) which smashed all of my gauges. I purchased a U.S. Evinrude gauge to replace a VDO gauge and discovered that the fuel gauge moved towards empty when I filled up and moved towards full when consuming fuel. This was concerning until I rotated the gauge 180 degrees as a temporary solution. It's not accurate being different resistances (I have ordered a 240-33 sender unit).
Knowing this info will save you money and get you the correct matching part.
There is also a device for around $40 that corrects mismatched tank senders with different gauges. That would be handy when you get a custom tank and don't want to replace your expensive gauge.
#gasgauge
That's the problem I have now. When I move the sender up towards full, the new gauge goes towards E. I bought a new sender and still have the same problem
@@kendrickbannister5025 New guage it is then
@autostyling5901 I'm good now. My original gauge is working now. I bought another sender and rewired. All good.
Excellent video! Can those long sending units be used for Automotive purposes? I have a gas tank in my 1964 Ford falcon that has been modified with a sump at the bottom due to the installation of an external electric fuel pump. I was wondering if I could get one of those senders that would reach the bottom of the sump for accurate reading of the amount of fuel in the tank and then wire it to an external fuel level gauge.
Great in-depth video! Just got a used boat and the fuel gage doesn’t work. know I know how to fix. I don’t want to run out of fuel in the boat!
Excellant video. My boat has never had fuel gauges. It does now. Thanks
Great video. My sending unit has three wires. Ground, sending wire and I’m not sure if third. Any thoughts?
Best explanation ever watched like 3 videos and didn’t learn anything but this video had everything I had to know thank you!!!
#gasgauge I never have run out of gas but I did have to be towed in because I did not understand how the primer bulb worked and couldn't figure out how to hold the bulb to get fuel to the engine. Newby fail. Thanks for another great video.
Have you noticed the Yamaha digital gauge you used in this video showing a wrong fuel level compared to where the sender should be? I have a ton of issues with that same Yamaha gauge not giving me accurate fuel tank readings even when gas tank is full
Thank you for the video... just a word of advice.... I would discontinue the practice of taking a shit ontop of the fuel tank 4:28 ... it tends to smell and there is a possibility of contamination.... other than that... a great video
I have run out of gas, but, I have a sailboat, so it’s never been a problem ;) my gas gauge stopped working last year when I accidentally connected my battery backwards (I crossed the negative and positive). The battery was in a very hard to reach place and when I hooked it up, I had it backwards. I fried my vhf and the gas gauge stopped working. I was never really sure how to troubleshoot the #gasgauge . Thanks for this excellent explainer on how to troubleshoot your #gasgauge much appreciated!
#gasgauge Great video. Moves fast good that you can pause and rewatch. I have run out of gas but it had nothing to do with the gauge
So I just bought a boat a few days ago, the fuel gauge was on empty when I was inspecting it before purchase. I went and filled it up took 20 gallons to turn off and the gauge says full now. I’ve spent probably four hours out on the water and the gauge has not moved from full. Whatcha think?
What's the best way to fix stripped fuel sender fuel tank holes? Nothing like the smell of gasoline in the bilge in the morning, not to mention riding on a floating bomb.
have a bad swing arm style sending unit. Is there a way to convert to the straight rail float that you are using here? if so, how do I know what one to actually purchase. This appears to be a very shallow tank as its in a bass boat.
Thanks so much for the video. I sent you the idea on your website two weeks ago and you have come through big time !!! Legend ! For the record my problem was the wrong sort of resistance for my mercury gauges. I had the euro type 170 - 0 ohm not the USA type 240 to 30ohms
#gasgauge !!
Hello ..my gauge always read half!!! no matter if keep putting more gas , keep stuck in half. Any idea? I have the same gauge and same sender you showing in the video..!!!
any idea?
on wiring gauges never send battery to the sender it is resistance only dont confuse neg for light as neg for gauge you can test your conn.before you install in tank moving magnetic float up and down will move gauge empty and full the batt and gd for lights on gauge
I got a rod style for my aux truck tank when the resistant was at the bottom it show tank was full when I slid it to the top showed tank was empty. I even switched wires around
Great Channel. I have you Bookmarked!!! 3 weeks ago I bought a boat with 60 HP 4 stroke mercury on a Bass Trakcer and my fuel gauge doesnt work. Go figure I gotta track down wires through the wiring harness? Before I get into that.... I measured resistance of the sender at 86 ohms with it installed in the gas tank, which sounds right as Im estimating about 1/3 of a tank. (im not saying the sender is working though).... With the key on, the Fuel Gauge does nothing when touching black and pink wires together just as you say with a Mercury .
Next - With the key on, I measure 6.7VDC between pink and black at where they connect to the sender. b (I was expecting more voltage there but Im no expert).
Next - I measured voltage at the gauge with key on at 10.1VDC. hummmmm...... any idea if there might be a voltage regulator knocking down the voltage at the sender? According to voltage drop calculator, there is way too much voltage drop for about 8 feet of wire, hummmm..... head scratching.
Im inclined to go ahead and just replace the sender and cross my fingers.
BTW...Im not asking you to help me fix it... I'm just rambling maybe for the sake of others.
Edit. 11-28-2021 I fixed it. The gas gauge now works and Im a happy camper. I replaced the fuel sender on a wing and a prayer and now I have a spare fuel sender . That didnt fix anything . After some tedious wire tracing I discovered the ground wire on the sender circuit was hooked up to the wrong battery. Likely happened when the previous owner put in new batteries.
This is awesome! Well presented information... 👍
Stuck in Captiva with a Guage that's not working, I'm gonna try these troubleshooting steps. Thanks a lot!
Ten tons of great information in a ton of time! Thank you!...
Hi, I´m troubleshooting my gauge right now. Is the connection the same for all gauge brands?
Great video as always! Love the depth of knowledge! While you are on the subject of gauges I have an analog tachometer on a 3 cylinder johnson 70 that seems to intermittently work only while using the engines trim button on the throttle arm. Trimming up or down will make the gauge come to life. Maybe you could do a tachometer related video in the future? Thanks for the great diy content!
Sounds like you've got an issue with the power or ground going to the gauge. Try and check for that battery voltage at the gauge with the key on just like we did for the fuel gauge. See if that gets you any more information
On my old boat it’s took me soooo long to figure out that the wrong sending unit was used on my boat. I ran out of fuel several times thinking it was engine problems. Gauge would read half when it was completely empty. #gasgauge
I was wondering how the vesselview could give me my Fuel information. Not installed yet but this helps alot. Way to go Aaron.......
Just through the engine via that boat harness :)
I had a regular fuel gauge. I Didnt know the signal went to the engine as well.
@@dewey66904 yup :)
@@dewey66904 actually of you have a regular analog gauge it doesn't go to the engine it goes to the gauge. Mercury gauges get the info from the engine, so the sender wire goes to the engine with those systems
Good video I have a question how hard is it to change the prop shaft seal because I drained my lower unit oil from my port engine and it had water in it thanks
ua-cam.com/video/QNvpgs9_5r4/v-deo.html
This should get you going in the right direction:)
Hello and thanks for the great videos. What would this sending unit read if the donut fell completely off the end? My tank reads full all the time, i took this unit out of the tank and there's no donut on the shaft!!
It should read empty without the float! Sounds like you have more than one issue :/
Where did you get those retractable test leads? That looks like a great help troubleshooting electrical issues
EBay or Amazon ;)
@@BornAgainBoating Thanks. Didn't know if it was from a specialty supply shop. I made me some 20' test leads to do voltage checks but this looks much more convenient
Thanks you. I was on the right track, though this video removes any doubt about how to proceed.
hello,
I bought the float on aliexp... once connected to the fuel meter the needle works upside down, you have an idea.
do i need to change the meter? it is an original Mercury vdo
@born again boating can someone please help explain why the fuel gauge doesn't show a reading when its just directly connected to the battery from the positive and negative terminals because doesn't this complete the circuit for electrons to move? Why is it that the sending terminal on the gauge has to be connected for the arrow to move?
AT 3:32 you were talking about portable tanks and the float switch. i am a noob so please forgive my ignorance, but i have a 12 gallon removable tank and i want to hook up to a fuel gauge to my dash in my boat. i am currently redoing a boat and have a blank canvas because of the age and probably size of my boat there were no gauges just 2 6 gallon metal cans. i would like to know:
1. if i can put a fuel gauge in my dash?
2. what parts would you suggest i use? or just use smaller tanks and fill them each time i go out?
thanks for you time.
Oddly, on my old fuel sending unit and my new sending unit I'm not getting any ohm readings, when the unit is off the boat. Also my trim gauge which is next to the fuel gauge on the dashboard, isn't functioning either. I suspect a bad ground.
Had a 4stroke 250hp yamaha leaking fuel from the right side latch...block it to get home....would like know the reason for that fuel line on the latch.. Thanks
It's the vent for the VST. The float and needle in the VST has probably failed or something is stuck in it. You'll need to pull the VST off and check it out, usually you have to change out that seat and needle assembly :)
@@BornAgainBoating Thanks for the info...I will let yamaha repair personal maje the the repairs.....
I'm not sure
@@BornAgainBoating Thank you for the information...greatly appreciated
Great videos always like watching these videos I can't wait till the next one comes out just grateful little tips
My boat fuel gauge always on full, thankfully I noticed before getting stranded somewhere. I pulled the sender unit out and put a new exact type on and its still the same. Actually, when you move the sender arm to the full position it goes the opposite way on the gauge, essentially working backwards. Wiring looks good to my level of understanding. Could it be that my gauge is not compatible? Its a cheap three prong gauge i bought from Autozone.
I want to ask you if fuel Sensor resistor is linear ?. My is not. Gauge show it by step 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 4/4 only.
#gasguage - i never ran out of fuel, but it was close once, and i was able to talk my wife into driving a couple towns over to meet me with 10 gallons at a boat ramp... she's the best.
Dude, if my wife doesn't do this for me without questions asked, then she is a wrong one to be in marriage.
I go extra mile in everything she needs, but it is a must for her to go every time I need it, this is called marriage
#gasguage I need to replace my sender next season. I've never run put of fuel.
When I turn the key, the fuel gauge shows full, when I turn the ignition off, it shows empty.
Tested sensor with measuring instrument it has the correct Ohm value.
It is both a wema and a wema instrument. Has worked before and also not replaced anything previously. When I disconnect the sensor's 2 cables it still shows full. what do you think is wrong then?
Great info,,,,installed a new sender, new wiring harness in my restoration pickup,,old willys,,,sender is new, and worked on the bench. In the tank it registers full but the tank is empty,,,could it be a ground ,,new paint on frame and may not be getting a good ground,,,running a ground wire and see what happens,,if the sending wire is disconnected it goes to empty,,,any ideas?
Wala,,,,found the issue,,the gauge went south from bench to tank,,,go figure,,why it was so hard to locate,, wired up a good gauge on the frame, (out of the tank) tested both,,the one still goes to full the other works correctly , the one in the tank won't do nothing but read full when hooked up,,,
My fuel gauge just went out. I have a tracker pro 170. How can test the fuse or sending unit?
And that's a really good explanation of how the fuel gauge system works and ways to test/troubleshoot it. up till now never stopped without fuel haha. Awesome vid. #gasgauge
I'm a bit confused the sending wire goes from the sending unit to the gauge ,but your showing a neg. black wire coming from the battery ,the important thing I need to know in detail ,after I connect the ground from the sending unit to the guage,on the same connection,do I run another wire to my negative bus.?
Yes, the pink sending wire goes to the guage, then you also need a black negative wire from the sending unit to the ground system of the boat :)
Thanks
why not have a small 2-5 gal tank as back up if you think you may run out????????
#gasguage awesome video, yet again! See you next week!
Great video. I'm trying to estimate the amount of fuel is below my sender's ability to detect. I have a 15" KUS S5U sender. How high does the fuel need to be before it starts reading non-zero? Guessing the float size at around 2", does it start to rise up after 1" of fuel?
Just for the record, any thumbs down pushers will not be eligible for next week's give away. Or ever for that matter!!
Very helpful video. But, what is at fault when the gauge reads around 3/4 on a FULL tank and reads around 1/8 when boat is off. Bad gauge? Sender? Both? Cheers and thanks!
Thank you, probably the Guage is bad, youll have to run the tests in the video
What does "boat is off" mean?
@@niratocco4709 engine not running
Ran out of fuel yesterday. I have same Yamaha Speed and Fuel gauge on video…
Super clear and easy to follow with all of the hardware laid out. Thank you!
I ran out last summer,, installed 2 new tanks,new sending units, new gauges
I did remain without fuel last week, gauge was reading just below half .
Fix your current gauge properly, and rig second fuel gauge as a precaution, if you ever ran into running out.
Having two gauges ensures you won't run out.
Definitely won't run out ever again, and would be interesting to happen to watch, if any difference pops between both fuel gauges showing. This will wake you up to investigate. You would be on alert mode then, and would investigate whether you got a bad gauge, or empty tank.
If you find you got sufficient fuel in tank, your gauge will automatically earn a bad gauge diagnostic.
All in all you will be very aware, not guessing, and definitely not needing a dealer service to figure out things
Doesn’t ensure you won’t run out if the problem is something other than the gauges.
Well said and explained thank you!
Hi there from OZ! My digital fuel gauge fluctuates widly once the fuel level drops. It did the same with the old analogue system. Do you have any suggestions please? Cheers.
I'm testing on the bech. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong unless I have an unmatched guage/sender ohm operating scale. I will buy a matching guage since I can't find its operating ohms. My problem is that I can get the guage to spike, but not read when correctly wired. Same condition with 2 sending units, same guage. This is when bench testing out of the boat. Kinda frustrating. Suggestions?
OK! problem solved. If you have a gauge that only reads full and you are sure that you wired it up correctly, do yourself a favor and go buy a matching ohms gauge and be done. I cant confirm weather or not my gauge was different resistance or not, but it was defiantly the issue! Advance auto bosch gauge and sending unit and gauge and Pow! done.
6:49 Truck... Just saying. Nice video btw, really helped me diagnose my fuel gage issues on my 1992 Thompson.
Great info! Especially for my project boat build when I re-install the fuel tank and need to make sure I wired it up correctly.
#gasgauge
Thank you for sharing this video it was some good tips when helping me figure out my fuel sending unit problem.
#gasgauge.
My present gauge is bad. Left me out about a mile out on Lake Erie, and had to be towed. That’s also the last time I trust my buddy after he said, “yeah, I filled it when I was done with it.”
I've installed new fuel sender on my boat. The gas tank is full but fuel gauge needle shown at the 3/4 mark. How could that be?
It could be that your fuel tank is not level.
What do I do if I have a good gauge and a new sending unit but my gauge says full unless I his a pump switch and put a draw on the system then it reads the right fuel reading?
You might have bought an inverted fuel sender for a different countries boat :) they are common, try reversing the sending wire and ground wire at the sender and see if that helps
#gasgauge I have run out of gas due to weather though. We birned more fuel than we expected and ended up being 2 miles short of Matheson hammock in Biscayne bay. Luckily we got a tow back from a passing boater and passed over a couple Mahi fish for the tow.
Helped me out a lot! Thank you!
Awesome video bud. Everything was explained great thanks for your help
My boat is sure wired up funny. Lost something somewhere and I think my culprit is the ground I hooked back up to
#gasgauge used to run out of fuel all the time when I had 2 6 gallons cans in my whaler. Run as far as 1 tank would let me, then switch over to the 2nd
My 2000 Xpress X21 has a fuel sender in the most awkward of spots that is basically requiring me to remove the entire top deck to get to it. Its read at fuel for a year now. I tested the connections and believe it to be stuck in the up position. Any ideas how to get it to fall back down naturally?
Nope, unfortunately you probably need to change it. Try and just bend it when you pull it out to get it out. Also pull the access and try to cut a section of glass that can still be covered to get the new one in
Born Again Boating it’s an aluminum bass boat and there is no “access” for it. I can see it from a compartment at an angle. I was worried about that. Oh well I guess estimated my runs and distance is all I’ve got !! Thanks for the reply!
I have a palm beach and have no idea how to get to my gauge. A mechanic said I need to go to a fiberglass guy. WTH?
I have Cascadia freighter 2013 Model. It has no 12V at the fuel gauge where we basically plug in at fuel sensor. It has only 5V . I checked there is no fuse for that. Please help me to solve this issue.
You'll need to disconnect the power going to the gauge and redo it like it is in the video :) 5V isn't right
My #gauge never shows empty it will show full, when I turn the key off it will move to empty
#gasgauge Luckily I've never run out of fuel on my boat! Also, my VesselView 702 display for my Mercury Verados show me how much fuel is in my tank. Is the VesselView fuel gauge have a different way of operating than the analog gauges?
Benji Gans from what I see in the video, it looks like the signal from the Sender goes to the motor’s computer and is converted into the Mercury comm network and is displayed on the screen.
NMEA2000 is the open network com protocols that multifunction displays use to display information.
most of the newer, bigger engines use some form of CAN network for their internal engine com networks. In a nutshell it is the same type of CAN network you find on new vehicles (past 15 years) for communication and control. Some can check to see if you blown a speaker on you car stereo now.
Thanks for making a great video that actually explains everything. I got it!
0:57 The sending unit's ground wire should be returned to the gauge and not to the battery. Otherwise voltage drops between gauge ground and sender ground would affect the reading.
Thank you for your question! Please post it in our Born Again Boating Community! Go here and scroll down to access - it’s free: www.bornagainboating.com/
Very helpful. Thank you so much!
What do you do if the sending unit is corroded onto the fuel tank? I can’t even turn the bolts lose to pry it out
That could get sticky. You don't want to mess it up and not be able to seal it. But generally, you want to get as many bolts out as possible and then drill out the ones you can't. Try to just drill off the heads and see if you can get the screws out with vice grips. Then if all that fails, rotate the new sender and drill and tap new bolt holes. If it's a plastic tank, there isn't a fix for it sadly :(
Have a tritoon that stranded us. No gas. Fuel gauge showed half tank, then pegged full. Guessed wrong on taking a chance.
#fuelguage
I'm looking for a good used engine so you have any for sale ?
No, sorry.
one other issue,,,in my boat the gauge is always empty,,but if I cross the + sending wire to the ground it works,,,what's up with that??
The sender you have is probably an EU sender, some senders operate inverted like that, just cross your wires like you said and it is what it is :)
You are the man bro evertime I'm stumped I'm come to your videos and they are so damn helpful
fuel gauge reading backswords. Empty is full full is empty. even with a new gauge and a new sender. Any thoughts?
Mr Burns still alive, old and skiny. He is teashing Diesel 1 and 2 Farley in the other heand is teashing Volvo penta, and lower units. From MMI. 👍Nice Video.
Hmmm that's definitely a change from when I was there! Lol
You have a lot of experience. I can read a schematic but you obviously have done this for a while.
had to fix the #gasgauge last year when it failed, and ended up replacing sender and gauge
just a word to the wise if you order a reed switch sender and you have a steel tank measure depth of tank minus 1/2 in to order the correct length it 33ohms full 240 ohms empty but still a little left in the tank 1/2 inch the reason is this the steel tank will hold magnet down showing empty in a full tank so order 1/2 inch short for correct reading also best to run 2 wires to the gauge do not use metal boat as gd wire 14 ga. wire is best been use one for years cost is about $75 .00 (sender and gauge on line ) they come in all lenghts
I recently ran out gas due to a bad gauge. The gauge was actually ready a fourth of a tank when I really was empty. #gasguage
thanks last weekend I ran out of gas on my boat
I think my grounds are bad, both my fuel gauge and trim gauge which are next to each other on the panel aren't functioning. The temp gauge and volt gauge which are directly below the fuel gauge and temp gauges are functioning. So I think it's a bad ground. On the fuel gauge and trim gauge.