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No Volts showing on the gauge..
J3ff
Member Posts: 4,062 ✭✭✭✭✭
Little tiny thing that bugs me, the voltmeter doesn't work on the gauge.. any ideas on how to diagnose that? When the replaced the engine last season they also couldn't figure it out, makes me wonder if it's a dash problem vs a problem in the engine bay..
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if it's digital it's a lot more reliable and accurate. it will feed off your PCM, but can also feed off your alternator- I'm not sure about mercruiser PCM's, but... many PCM's manage the alternator's charge as opposed to a controller on the alternator, so... you may soil your drawers when you see the charge holding at 15.5vdc (full out alternator capacity uncontrolled) instead of a controlled 13.5vdc (maintenance voltage for fully charged batteries) or 14.5vdc (full out charge mode for recovery), which means you'll have to intercept the PCM's controller line if you don't buy one with the proper connections.
all that said...
you can likely just tap into a hot line behind the dash with either, and be certain you've located a post controlled line. i installed a shielded bus bar on mine for ease of management (ran 2 new 1/0 hotline to separate batteries). the bus bar is a clean way to connect. it would work in your circumstance for certain, so long as you've tapped the starting battery and not the aux battery (won't matter if the switch is in 1+2 position, but will if you're running 1/-2 or 2/-1)...