Time to upgrade my gauges?
rasbury
Member Posts: 8,381 ✭✭✭✭✭
So.......brought the 270 home on the way home from work...truly the best time of the year for "cruizing"...I'm getting things organized below, tiddy up a bit- no music? Ah, forgot to turn the key- and still nothing. Dang, someone steal the batteries? Raised the hatch ( plugged in at home) they are there...what next? I turn my head, the whole dash/guages removed, wires all cut . So, I HOPE ther are plugs further down the harness so I can plug in and upgrade?
Comments
So...
What do I want to look at for vessel view? Are there older versions available at a cheaper price?
This has to be merc wiring for the most part...I'm sure I can find the diagram- they are now aprox six inches to short- I can see if there is a loop in the harness..I would think the proper repair would be to add a plug to the wire ends and then make a jumper harness with a plug at the other end- I've never done this, what is the degree of difficulty 1 to 10? I will do a little searching as I'm sure I'm not the first to deal with this- and I want to give our insurance a real out to as well. The yard I store it at does not have any security but it is fenced and gated well in a very visible area. What really pisses me of is you know it was stolen by some crack head who thinks they have something of value- 2006 Faria gauges can't be worth that much...
Tips for making the pattern to cut out the new panel? Cutting out the other panel rocker switches? Material?
First place to look is GLS. Is this the panel for your boat?
https://www.greatlakesskipper.com/rinker-boat-blank-instrument-panel-206601b-270-faux-woodgrain
Moving over to Mercmonitor and NMEA2k was more straightforward. The issue was then how to deal with items such as depth, trim, fuel, trim tabs etc...that arent run through the engine. Each one needs its own sensor. Either way this isn't terribly easy. There is a lot of homework, documentation and wire tracing. Not having the old connections just makes it that much more fun.
I just redid the guage cluster on my new boat this weekend. Eliminated the old analog guages and put in a vesselview and 9in Garmin MFD. I kept the old guages for depth and outdrive trim but have some troubleshooting to do. Looks like they aren't getting power. The one thing that i have that i am VERY lucky to have is a full detailed schematic. A quick look showed me that they were tied into the other guages. Likely for lighting but could of also been the negative connection. So I have some wire tracing and trouble shooting. Without that wiring diagram i would be sitting out there very carefully tracing wires.
Where will I find a diagram for my boat? Maybe by next summer I will have it figured out...
I have insurance through geico and I started a claim...we will see how this works out.
@diggin2day1 posted good info here including pics:
https://rinkerboats.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/82916#Comment_82916