Fitting a temp gauge

[rustydiver]

How easy is it to fit a temperature gauge to a beta 35 engine with a basic controll panel.

I had a serious overheating problem this week and it would be nice to see it coming.

That combined with incorrect routing off the wiring harness over and on the engine by someone in the past.

 

Luckily after the engineer came out all seemed ok and I made it back to the marina ok.

Edited June 4, 2016 by rustydiver

[Roger Crown]

Hi

A temp gauge is really useful to monitor the engine in different circumstances, in other words to show when problems may be there when cruising say on a narrow canal at lowish revs and then giving a bit of throttle on a deep wide canal.

I'm guessing you had a quick overheat situation which caused your panel to show a warning light and buzzer to sound. In that case a gauge is of little use as it all happens so quickly, you would have to be watching the gauge very closely to see the rise in temp before the alarms went off,

 

Answer to the initial question is no, it's not difficult to fit one.

Saw you around a bit while we have been on the G&S

 

Roger N.B. Fizzical Attraction

[Iain_S]

First thing to check is the existing sender unit. If it has a "spare" spade terminal, it's the combined warning lamp/gauge sender, in which case all you need is the gauge (and some wire!).

 

When I did the same to Kelpie's Beta 38, I ran a cable from the sender to the gauge, as I couldn't work out from the various wiring diagrams if there were any spare wires in the harness. From memory, there is a different loom for the de-luxe panel, which has the gauge, and there are different configurations of the loom depending on which panel and equipment is fitted, so the extra wire was the simplest, and probably neatest, option.

[rustydiver]

Hi

A temp gauge is really useful to monitor the engine in different circumstances, in other words to show when problems may be there when cruising say on a narrow canal at lowish revs and then giving a bit of throttle on a deep wide canal.

I'm guessing you had a quick overheat situation which caused your panel to show a warning light and buzzer to sound. In that case a gauge is of little use as it all happens so quickly, you would have to be watching the gauge very closely to see the rise in temp before the alarms went off,

 

Answer to the initial question is no, it's not difficult to fit one.

Saw you around a bit while we have been on the G&S

 

Roger N.B. Fizzical Attraction

Funnily enough I was admiring your boat as you reversed into the quay at Saul this morning. I'm moored along that pontoon run. Spent the half turm running up and down getting used to the boat and gaining confidence quite new to this, it's our first boat.

We had what could have been a serious problem where the wiring harness was on the engine, I assume work by one off the previous owners, the live wire chamfered through the engine body, the engineer who came out said that the engine then acted as a electric radiator (speaking to the fire brigade yesterday, unrelated he said the same), boiling up the water quick, we was only going for under 20 mins, which in turn blew the filler cap and body off with a bang causing steam everywhere in the engine, by which time the engine had cut out.

From showing initial signs what we thought was white smoke coming out to it all going off was all in a few minutes, while going through a bridge so my eyes would have been looking where I was going.

When I go to the boat next weekend my job is to go through and reroute the main harness off the engine and sort a few cables out and any corroded connections.

Luckly enough looks like no damage has been done, we got back to the marina and moored up under our own steam.

Edited June 4, 2016 by rustydiver

[Roger Crown]

Funnily enough I was admiring your boat as you reversed into the quay at Saul this morning. I'm moored along that pontoon run. Spent the half turm running up and down getting used to the boat and gaining confidence quite new to this, it's our first boat.

We had what could have been a serious problem where the wiring harness was on the engine, I assume work by one off the previous owners, the live wire chamfered through the engine body, the engineer who came out said that the engine then acted as a electric radiator (speaking to the fire brigade yesterday, unrelated he said the same), boiling up the water quick, we was only going for under 20 mins, which in turn blew the filler cap and body off with a bang causing steam everywhere in the engine, by which time the engine had cut out.

From showing initial signs what we thought was white smoke coming out to it all going off was all in a few minutes, while going through a bridge so my eyes would have been looking where I was going.

When I go to the boat next weekend my job is to go through and reroute the main harness off the engine and sort a few cables out and any corroded connections.

Luckly enough looks like no damage has been done, we got back to the marina and moored up under our own steam.

Sounds like you have had a lucky escape, glad everything seems ok. That said it may be best to get it all checked over again when you have sorted it, no disrespect intended, (I have no idea of your skills) but your engineer guy could be invaluable to your future care free cruising.

Roger

[dor]

Bit late to the party here...

 

Ity's not the same, but I recently fitted a temperature gauge to my boat, but this is with a Vetus engine. The Mitsubishi base engine has two threaded holes in the thermostat housing, one for the warning light sensor, the other blanked off.

 

The sender was fitted to the blanked off hole, with an adapter to match the sender thread to the hole.

 

To wire it, the Vetus basic panel has a warning light for exhaust over-temperature, which is not used on inland waterways (maybe it is if it is raw water cooled). The wire for this sensdor is fitted in the harness, so it was cut, the warning lamp end sealed off and the feed to the sensor picked up at the other end of the harness and with a bit of extending, attached to the temperature gauge sender. The other end of the wire, which would have gone to the overheat light was linked to the new gauge.

 

The gauge was fitted quite easily by cutting a 50mm hole in the steel next to the instrument panel.

[mross]

If messing with senders is too difficult I can suggest an alternative. I have just bought this unit to monitor engine and diesel-generator - with audible alarm. (I have no connection with this company)

[crossley]

The wiring loom would have gone up in smoke long before an earth fault could have possibly caused the jacket water to boil.new one on me this, would take 100's of amps of fault current to do something like this,and would certainly cremate any cabling first. Two unconnected incidents and someone putting two and two together. Another case of received wisdom me thinks.

[Ray T]

Variation on a theme I fitted one of these:

 

 

 

Using an adaptor:

 

 

 

(Example from eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38mm-1-1-2-Black-Inline-Coolant-Temperature-Gauge-Adapter-by-Aeroflow-/282026396656?hash=item41aa154bf0:g:LmIAAOSwrklVJHBe

 

 

 

I did try the Kenlowe fan method but the engine vibrated too much and broke the connection to the sensing bulb. Which is now lodged somewhere in the cooling system! hasn't caused any bother though.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by Ray T

[WotEver]

The wiring loom would have gone up in smoke long before an earth fault could have possibly caused the jacket water to boil.new one on me this, would take 100's of amps of fault current to do something like this,and would certainly cremate any cabling first. Two unconnected incidents and someone putting two and two together. Another case of received wisdom me thinks.

 

Totally agree.

 

Tony