Voltage and Trim gauge not working on 2007 280 EC

TomEkenes

Hi

I have problems not getting any readings on the voltmeter, nor the trim gauge.  Fuel, oil and temp as well as background light on gauge are working, but not the volts. The trim gauge also have lights, but not responding when trimming the engine up or down.


Found a wiring diagram on the forum I assume is for my model


It seems to me that the Voltmeter is connected to the trim gauge.

Im not experienced in troubleshooting problems of this sort. Not knowing where to start. Have taken out the gauge and looked behind it, but not sure where I should start investigating. Is it most likely that the gauge with volt needs to be replaced or am I looking at the wrong place.

Appreciate for any suggestions on how to proceed with solving this.

Br Tom (Norway)

reneechris14

I would assume the gauge is bad as it takes a reading from the ignition  (purple wire) and other gauges have power. Trim gauges are always problematic but can be tested with an ohm meter there are bullet connectors in the harness back buy the disturbitor.most likely water intrusion on the sender's on the out drive.

howardrams

Using a hand held multimeter, which are inexpensive if you don't have one, check the voltage across the wires going to the boat's voltmeter at the meter.  If you get voltage on your multimeter when the ignition is on, then the boat's voltmeter is bad.  If no voltage across the wires, then there is a wiring issue.  (loose connection, bad ground, etc.)  On the trim gauge, the switches/sending units  on the sides of the outdrive may be corroded, but with your multimeter you could read across the trim gauge wires and look for the reading to change as you move the drive up and down.  If you get the reading from the wires, the gauge could be bad.

Cableguy Greg

Here is the diagram for the 4 in 1 gauge.

Cableguy Greg

Here is the thread with the complete 280EC wiring diagrams.

http://rinkerboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/3038/280-ec-wiring-diagram#latest

Cableguy Greg

It looks like the purple wire is the VDC gauge. There is a molex plug in the dash that has the VDC wire and the trim sending wire. It is a 9 pin connector that only has 8 wires in it. The white wire with a purple tracer is the trim signal wire from the engine room. I suspect that the plug in the dash could have come loose.

TomEkenes

Thank you very much for your insight and helpful suggestions. Yesterday I tried to measure both gauges with a voltmeter. I printed the wiring diagram, and had my opinion on what to expect, but didnt manage to draw a concluion based on the results I found. It might be that I have done something wrong, or most likely that my wiring knowledge is not there, yet.

I measured the connectors going into the gauges. Don`t know if the gauges can be measured in a way?.

However, the results I found starting with the Trim gauge:

A: Against C, ignition on measured 5,6
B: Against C, ignition on, switch on measured 12,73
C: Ground
D : Against C, Ignition on and tilted measured range 0,01-0,04. Turned on engine and tilted measured range 0,10-0,11

I expected D to be higher, so my though is that the problem with the trim gauge is somewhere else not sending signals to the connector?.

Going to the 4 in 1 gauge:

a: Against c, ignition on measured 12,3 (ignition pwr)
b: Against c, ignition on, switch on measured 5,6 (panel lights)
c: Ground
d: Against c, ignition on measured 0, engine on measured 0,04 (Oil pressure, gauge is working and giving correct readings)
e: Against c, ignition on measured 0, engine on measured 0,04 (Temperature, gauge is working and giving correct readings)
B: Against c, ignition on 0,01 (Fuel tank, gauge is working and giving correct readings)

Now Im confused since I expected readings on the Oil, temp and Fuel readings, so I assume I went wrong somewhere here. I have measured at least 3 times on all connections giving the same results as presented here.

What I still dont get, what are giving signals to the voltmeter?.

Also attaching the connectors and have "dotted" the ones I assume is OK with GREEN based on the electrical readings, and RED on the ones I didnt get the reading I expected. I dont know if it is helpful:

Connector 7 and 8 are OK it seems:


Connector 9 is strange based on the readings.


My problem right now is that im not able to conclude since I dont understand the results I got. 

Since you have been helpful I wanted to present the results, hoping someone with a better knowledge about electrical wiring can draw some conclusion and point me in a direction. I also wanted to post the results as a feedback since you invested time in my post.

Br Tom 

TomEkenes

PS. The smiley appearing on the Trim diagram, is supposed to be D measured againt C.

TomEkenes

Hmm. seems my post with a lot of information regarding using the voltmeter has vanished.

Trying once more:

Starting with the Trim investigation:


I measured the following: (Not saying I have done it correctly, but here`s what I did and the results:

A: Against C, readings where 5,6 with ignition on
B: Against C, readings where 12,73 with ignition ON, and turning on panel light switch
C: Ground
D : Against C, reading when ignition on 0,01-0,04 running the Trim up and down. Also tried with the motor running, the readings where 0,10-0,11 when running the Trim up and down.

Should I have gotten higher readings in the connectorplug? 

TomEkenes

Then the 4-1 in gauge


a: Against c, readings 12,3 with ignition on (Ignition?)
b: Against c, readings 5,6 with ignition and switch on (Lights)
d: Against c, readings 0,00 with ignition on, engine on 0,04 (OilP, working in the gauge though)
e: Against c, readings 0,00 with ignition on, engine on 0,04 (Temp, working in the gauge)
B: Against c, readings 0,01 with ignition on (Fuel, working in the gauge)

So Im a bit confused since I was expecting to get readings on the fuel, oil and temp, since they are working perfectly.

Still dont understand where the Volt should be coming from or how to measure if it gets signal.

Based on the results and lack of knowledge I cannot conclude if the gauges are faulty or the wiring needs to be looked at further.

Also showing the connectors where I have noted my finding with green dots for the ones that seems OK, and red dots for the ones that either doesnt work properly, or I havent measured correctly

Connector 7 and 8 are used in the wiring diagram

and

Connector 9 and 12, where 9 is the one with the red dots.

reneechris14

When measuring oil ,fuel and temp the gauges work off resistance so you need to use the ohm set on the volt meter, and it's the resistance between the pins, hard to do they are small,voltage is is just power, 5.6 is ?, 12.7 is right. Trim is also resistance  I think 167 ohms to 0 omhs,up and down,

TomEkenes

Ok, Thanks, I'll do another messurement with Ohm. Didn't know that:-).
5,6 was voltage on panel light switch on both gauges.
a on Trim and B on 4-1 Gauge. Not sure why is has such low voltage there.