Vetus poop gauge not moving

[ronnietucker]

After an emergency pump-out I've discovered that the Vetus gauge in my boat is either stuck, or broken. It's definitely not moving. The tank was almost bursting while the gauge was saying nearly empty.

Is there anything I can do to fix this?

[BEngo]

Find the level sensor and check that it is in working order, not clogged with sh!t.

Check all the electrical connections are OK.

Measure the voltage to ground/negative at each of the gauge terminals and the sensor terminals and post them here.

 

N

[Slim]

Firstly it depends on the design. Mine, badged LeeSan, is basically 12" tube with a float surrounding it. The float 'floats' up and down but It doesn't really as it gets clogged up with ????. Sometimes a sharp bash with a hammer can result in a reading but can I be sure it's accurate! Presently it's indicating about half full but I had a pumpout yesterday. Accuracy would also depend on how far into the tank the sensor reaches. Since my tank is about 18" deep even in a perfect world it wouldn't start to give a meaningful reading until the tank is 1/3 full. Still, the gauge fills a hole in the instrument panel. 

[ronnietucker]

18 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Find the level sensor and check that it is in working order, not clogged with sh!t.

Check all the electrical connections are OK.

Measure the voltage to ground/negative at each of the gauge terminals and the sensor terminals and post them here.

 

N

 

Thanks for the replies folks.

 

I've had a looksy and from the sensor are 4 wires; 2 red and 2 black. A red and black goes to the 14V and the other pair goes to the 5V. The 5V line goes to the sensor.

 

Should it be 5V? I'm not sure.

 

Can't get to the wires at the sensor due to where some plonker put it.  

[robtheplod]

We had similar problems. Had to remove the sensor from the tank and clean it... sounds horrible, but wasn't too bad.... had a build up of crystals on slider (didnt want to dwell too much what it was but assume its similar to a prostate problem?).  Manually use a ohmeter to check the resistance as you move the float up and down and the resistance should change.

Edited September 23, 2021 by robtheplod