Overheated! |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Posted: July-22-2017 at 12:01pm |
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Hey guys! So I took my 1985 Ski Nautique 2001 w/commander engine out on the lake yesterday. It ran like a champ for about 3 hours and then suddenly the temp gauge spiked up to 250! I let it idle for a couple minutes and then shut it off. It started up fine in about 15 minutes but it was still hot and the gauge needle was acting strange and bouncing around. I was able to idle back to the boat ramp. I keep a pretty good eye on temp and oil pressure while I'm in the water. What should my first step be in trouble shooting? By the way I put a new impeller in last year that probably only has max of 10 hours on it. Thanks for the help.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Is it overheating or a problem with the gauge? If unknown, the first step would be to confirm the temp with a IR thermometer.
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OldSchoolBlue84
Gold Member Joined: December-02-2012 Location: Valparaiso, IN Status: Offline Points: 814 |
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Check you strainer gasket and then all of your hoses are tight with a socket. Mine overheated due to a crack strainer gasket.
Good luck |
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Kostas
1984 Ski Nautique 2001 |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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I will definitely check with an IR temp gauge. Where is the best spot to put the gauge on? I tightened all my hoses before going out. I'll check the stainer basket gasket as well. I have a sneaky suspicion it might be the gauge just by the way it was jumping around erratically. I did hit a wake pretty hard and my stereo shut off. I guess it's possible it shook something loose on the gauge.
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bb12
Senior Member Joined: March-24-2009 Location: Kansas, USA Status: Offline Points: 355 |
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Hit it with temp gun at the sender on the top of the intake manifold (front starboard side). The fact that it ran fine for 3 hours and then all of a sudden started reading erratically leads me to suspect gauge/ground issue at the dash.
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1989 Ski Nautique 2001
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
You want to check the temperature next to the temp sender which is next to the T stat housing. Regarding the gauge, check and clean all you wire connections including the harness plug(s) at the engine. Check to make sure you have a decent 12 volt nominal at the gauge. |
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MrMcD
Grand Poobah Joined: January-28-2014 Location: Folsom, CA Status: Offline Points: 3610 |
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When the temp hits 250 it is past time to shut off and get towed back. If you lost the ability to cool the engine can be damaged at idle or while under power in just a couple minutes. Just running would kill the engine. The fact that you made it back to the dock under power points to some other issue. At 250 you would have smelled it, your exhaust hose would have most likely collapsed making your engine run poorly. An inner wall in the exhaust collapses when no water is going through with your exhaust gasses.
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Hollywood
Moderator Group Joined: February-04-2004 Location: Twin Lakes, WI Status: Offline Points: 13512 |
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A hot engine won't cool that rapidly sitting there either. Other than the erratic gauge I don't see any real symptoms of an actual overheat yet.
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Thanks for the responses. I checked all the wiring the best I could. Everything seems to be in great condition. All of the connections at the gauge appear to be fine along with the wires. No cracks or cut sheath. I traced the sending unit wire as far as I could and that looks fine as well. I am waiting on my IR temp gun from Amazon to check the temp. As far as I know nothing on the engine appears to be damaged. Exhaust pipes appear fine and I didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. It started and ran fine after what appeared to be an overheat. Other than the temp gauge, I also have a warning light on the gauge cluster and don't remember that lighting up. What purpose does this light serve and is it tied to the gauge. Thanks.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
Don't forget:
If the alarm light didn't light up, there's a good chance the alarm system was disconnected. They are know to be problematic and common to be disconnected. |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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I checked the voltage with just the key on and it was around 9v. Does the engine have to be running? I will double check when I get a chance.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Not good! Again, I suggest cleaning all the terminals/connections and not just checking them. You should have close to nominal 12 volts when the engine isn't running. You are loosing it someplace. Start at the gauge and trace the voltage all the way to the battery posts to find the resistance that's dropping the volts. |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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So I finally got my IR gauge gun. I ran the boat at idle and the IR gun read about 168 degrees at about 600 rpm. I ran the boat at about 2000 rpm and the IR gun read about 158 degrees. The gauge on the boat was always about 30 degrees hotter that the IR gun. First of all is this a normal temp with the IR gun? It is obvious the gauge isn't reading the temp correctly but is this a safe operating temp?
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Hollywood
Moderator Group Joined: February-04-2004 Location: Twin Lakes, WI Status: Offline Points: 13512 |
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Gauge and IR gun should be far closer than 30 F. I feel like mine are usually closer to 5.
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Hey guys I am still trying to figure this issue out. Is 158* at idle and 168* at 2000 rpm normal? If not it looks like I may have a electrical/gauge issue and possible overheating issue. I am trying to trace down the electrical but I am kind of stuck at this point. Some more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
Are the above temp readings from the gauge or the IR? Are you still 30 degrees off between the two? |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Above readings are from the IR and yes about 30* difference from IR to gauge.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
I just happen to have run into the same problem over the weekend with a friends 2001. He had been trying the typical fixes like tighten hoses and replace the RWP impeller. His gauge was also not matching his IR gun. He called and ran through what he had done without any results. I suggested he start checking the boats electrics for bad connections and corrosion in the engine harness plugs plus get some readings with the VOM. He called me back about half way through my recommendations and mentioned he had turned on the nav lights. The load caused all his gauges to bounce around abnormally. He is now in the process of upgrading the electrics to and from the dash with heavier gauge wire. many here have done the same since it's a notorious problem. BTW, I don't feel those readings you are getting with the IR are showing a true cooling problem. They are in the normal range. |
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
Looks like we are back to this:
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Ok thank you. I will continue to troubleshoot the electrical even though it is not my forte. Do they make harnesses to replace the current electrical wiring in these boats. I know they do for old cars.
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Bri892001
Grand Poobah Joined: September-27-2008 Location: Boston MA Status: Offline Points: 4947 |
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It's a little bit more of a do your own. Skidim does have a harness that will run from the engine to the dash, but from there, you'd have to do some cutting and splicing. It's not plug and play like a car would be.
If turning on your lights, beeping your horn, or turning the blower on and off, cause your gauges to move, that is a little bit of a hint that the issue is more electrical. |
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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So I finally had a chance to do some troubleshooting. With everything hooked up I was getting around 9V at the temperature gauge. I disconnected the daisy chain that goes from gauge to gauge from where it originates at the post on the rear of the ignition switch. With it disconnected I had around 11.6V at the ignition switch. I reconnected the daisy chain and then unplugged all the connections at the rear of all of the gauges. At the end of the daisy chain I still had around 11.6V. As I start to plug each gauge back in, I notice the voltage drops more and more after each one until I finally get the last gauge plugged back in resulting in around 9V. I hope this makes sense. I am kind of stuck at this point. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Think of it like it's a garden hose. You put on a sprinkler (a gauge) and you get so much water,keep adding sprinklers (gauges) and eventually the end ones are not getting very much water. Easiest way to fix it is to get a way bigger hose. You need to run larger gauge wires,ground and positive and separate wires to each gauge instead of daisey chained. If you do go this route use marine tinned wire and you'll never have trouble again.
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Bchboy33
Newbie Joined: June-04-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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Thanks guys. Looks like I will be doing some rewiring. Is 16AWG ok? Any suggestions or tips on a clean simplified way to do this? Thanks.
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Greg,
16 is too light. The gauge really depends on the load that comes off the dash. I would go 10 gauge but again what loads are on the electrics? have you added anything like a sound system? |
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geecee
Senior Member Joined: September-06-2013 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 206 |
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Have you checked that everything is grounded properly.
As for new cables, as mentioned it all depends what auxiliary items you have running and the load they pull, especially if you have some amplifiers etc. |
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1983 Ski Nautique '2001'
-Chev 350 Mercruiser -Custom Wake Tower -Custom Interior |
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