Fuel gauge sender replacement?

[scjerry]

Fuel guage on my 2006 195CC went dead this season. Popped the rear deck over the tank to reveal the sender and tank.

More than a little annoyed that this happens on a 2-year old boat, but that's life.

I'm waiting for my dealer to get back to me with a replacement cost and availability. In the meantime, I'm shopping around.

Does anyone know the make of the sender?

I assume that it's just a float hooked up to a rheostat.

Thanks

[Putershark]

Are we sure it is the sending unit and not just a broken lead going to the unit? Reason I ask, is that there have been several of them (inculding one on my old 210) that we brought back to life by just repairing the wires where they connect to the sender

[scjerry]

So far, I get infinite resistance across the sender at the unit (open circuit) , but still experimenting, since I don't know about my assumption that the sender is simplly a variable resistor attached to a float.

Haven't taken it out yet, since the tank is full and the hole exposes the tank to the elements.

The two wires, black and pink have bullet connectors at the unit and I'm doing a continuity check on the pink one back to the accessory fuse block inside the console. I assume the black is to boat ground.

But it's raining now so will do it tomorrow.

Thanks for your suggestion

[pamarine]

Infinite resistance could be an indicator of a bad sender. If it is a mechanical sending unit though (the float and rheostat kind), the only way to really test it is to move the float through its full range with a ohmmeter attached. You should get low resistant (almost none) when the float is at the top of its range and it should increase as the float lowers. If it's an electronic sender (which I doubt) it uses capacitance to measure the fuel level, and it would be cheaper to just assume its bad.

[scjerry]

Ah-ha! I found the culprit. It was me, myself and I. I finally determined that the sender was, indeed, not faulty. It measures about 30 ohms with a full tank. However, the ground wiring in this boat is a kluge, with, get this, a separate wire with a ring terminal that I missed when the batteries were re-installed this spring. Rather than a single ground bus, connected with a single ground cable to the battery, there are about 3 separate small ground wires that require a connection to the batttery ground.

For future reference, the sender unit is a WEMA SSS unit. See S5U Series Fuel & Water Sending Unit by WEMA USA, Inc.

[OspreyVic]

Yes, I can feel your pain. It really hurts when we have to admit to oursekves that we did not cover all the bases. Glad we had a happy ending without the added pain of spending more money.

YES, we have done the same type of thing to many times to admit,

[scjerry]

When I contacted the boat yard where I purchased my 195CC and my regional sales manager, they could not point me to a source of Triumph technical support. I have asked for a wiring diagram...not forthcoming. I asked for specs and mfg. of the sender unit...not forthcoming.

Anyway, this situation may exist with other boat manufacturers, maybe even with Boston Whaler, Triumphs direct competitor. The irony is that I can buy a Chiltons or Haynes manual for my Subaru, but nothing comparable for my Triumph. I can buy a manual (very complete) and a parts catalog for my Merc Optimax, but not my Triumph.

I think the problem is that there is a bit of a collusion with Triumph regional sales and boat yards, who make their money charging by the hour. Here in the northeast that can be fairly substantial (try $1.50/minute) . So the less technical info to guys like me who DIYs, the more dependence on the boat yards with high hourly rates, who understandably need to support their staffs.

Just an observation, but maybe I'm off base with this. Let me know.

[pamarine]

Sounds like you just got a bad experience with a bad dealer. Most manufacturers are willing to supply wiring diagrams, provided they have made them (They all have production schematics, but not all have diagrams for public distribution that most people can read). Also, the sender can vary from one year top the next, or even during the production cycle depending on parts inventory and reliablity standards, so while a car manuifacturer can trace parts based on serial number to a particular VIN, most small boat manufacturers don't have this level of inventory tracking. If they do, they need your HIN to track it. Again, something a quality dealer would be willing to do. Also, I would bet had the dealer been willing, he could have figured most of this out without ever needing to contact Triumph. It generally takes me about an hour or two to trace compnent parts to a manufacutrer. Odd ball things that are old or out of production may take longer.

As for the labor rate, $90 buck an hour is about what you'd pay a dealership to work on your car, I wouldn't be surprised if a boat yard charged more than that. Ours charge $100+. I charge $75. It's expensive to operate when you have to deal with insurance, the EPA, and the tax man.

The manuls are another thing. Again, automobiles are very homogenous from one car to the next. It's easy for a company to tear one apart and make a maintenance manual for mass distribution. About the only thing on a boat that is this uniform are the engines. And SELOC make manuals that even include the Sieraa after-market Part number. However, boats are predominantly (sic) hand assembled, which means that there are variances from one hull to the next. It's just not cost effective to make a "Haynes"-type manual for a boat. But luckily, there are sites like this that are willing to help you out for free.

I am just disappointed to hear that a bad experience with a dealer has made you doubt the company that made your boat. There are plenty of people in this business that just want to make a quick buck without giving the customer a quality product (be it a good or service), but fortunately, the folks at Triumph aren't among them. Just on man's opinion.

[fridaysoff]

SCjerry,
I second Franks post. I've had nothing but good experience dealing with Triumph. All you have to do is go to their website and contact them. I can't imagine them or any boat company going to the expense of printing a wiring diagram for the public when they change each year. Fuel guages and sending units are probably the most inaccurate measuring device on a boat. Most sending units are generic in that the lenght is about all you need to know in order to purchase a replacement. I've had minor problems with two Triumphs that I've owned. Luckily I've got a great dealer and Triumph has always stepped up to the plate and backed their products.
John D.

[scjerry]

I didn't really intend to impune the dealer. The dealer is actually pretty good. And I'm not denying that $90/hr. is a fair rate. It is fair.

It's that when I can do the work myself, I'd like adequate info. It's not clear the dealer has access to the info either. Certainly there is no parts list, nor on-line Triumph database of technical specs on components used for a specific hull number.

I appreciate your point about the reason for a lack of manuals, but a few-page work list of component data compiled during outfitting the hull is not onerous. It is also true that I'm probably not the boat-owning norm in performing stuff myself. But given the rising cost of boat ownership, I really have no alternative.

Finally, I love my 195CC, so I'm not down on Triumph, and may buy another one. Triumph, through their regional sales manager, took my boat back to NC to attempt to solve a deck drainage problem. I couldn't have asked for better service. They installed an extra drain with a grating between the console and seats. I'm not sure whether this mod made it into production, though, since as you are probably aware, deck drainage appears to continue to be a common complaint on this list. I, like mahy others, keep my boat in the water for the season, another reason for doing stuff myself, since travel time for a boat yard technician adds significantly to the cost.

Thanks for your comments.