Temperature Sensor

[Rock Bottom]

hey there...got questions
I had a constant alarm yesterday, Oil Pressure and Temp gauges reading well with in spec but kept getting a constant alarm for periods of time. Got back to shore and noticed the out-drive oil reservoir was almost empty. I changed the fluid and noticed that it was not the typical bluish/greenish gear lube you typically see...looked like just regular gear oil...anyway I changed it and topped up the reservoir with Quicksilver High Performance Gear Lube...hopefully that was the culprit, find out tonight...lol

What I did notice was that the Temp sensor off the thermostat housing was disconnected..??? the Temp sending on the other-side was connected...if this temp sensor was disconnected how could the gauge read properly????
Wouldn't the Temp Sensor and Temp Sender work in correlation??

This is a new to me boat this season...still working and learning its nooks and cranny's...LOL

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard

First the lube being low seems to be why the alarm sounded. Because of the color and low level I would keep a check on it was you may have a bad seal allowing it to leak out. I would crack the drain screw once in a while to see if the color changes again.

On the t-stat housing there is the temp sender for the gauge at the helm and a temp switch for the alarm. These are totally independent. I would reconnect the wire and see if the alarm sounds or not, may have been disconnected due to the switch being bad. You could also ohm the terminal to ground to see if it's open or closed, should be open unless the engine is overheating.

[Rock Bottom]

If the gauge appears to be reading approx 175F (where it should be), and everything appears to be running fine, in theory if the sensor was disconnected...wouldn't that cause a constant alarm all the time??? Maybe I'm over thinking...LOL

[mmwjr]

Nope

The alarm uses the temp switch and only sounds if the circuit is completed by the closing of the temp switch, oil pressure switch, or low gear lube.

If the wire is off the circuit to ground cannot happen.

Helm gauge is seperate wiring and has nothing to do with the alarm.

[Rock Bottom]

Thanks Mike...tonight I went back and removed the oil vent plug from the out-drive to ensure the fluid from the reservoir would flow and not become air locked....I connected the Temp sensor back together and started the old girl up....seems to run perfect on the muffs....no alarms...taking her out on the water tomorrow for test run.

Thanks for info...big help...I'm sure I'll be back with more questions...LOL

[mmwjr]

And answers from myself and other will continue.