1997 Johnson gauges

[ekospb]

Hi all,

Last weekend I purchased my first boat. It is a 97 Stratos 268FS, with a 97 Johnson 115hp V4 (mod. J115TSLEUAhttp://www.boats.net/parts/search/BRP/JOHNSON/1997/parts.html). I am having trouble with the tachometer and the trim indicators on the dash.

The trim indicator works fine until I start the motor, then the needle goes all the way up as soon as the motor starts running.

On the tachometer, with everything off, the needle is in the "red zone", when the ignition is turned on it goes to zero, and after starting the motor it does not register any rpm, just hangs between 0 and whatever the top digits are (at around 6 o'clock position). First time I had the boat on the water, it seemed to work just fine. Checked the wiring at the power strip and the gray wire is connected to the yellow/gray wire from the rectifier (which has a red, yellow, and yellow/gray wires).

All gauges are manufactured by Faria, I am assuming all are original to the boat.


Any insight is welcome - I really want to make this boat perfect ))

 

[ekospb]

Forgot to add - charging system is ok, 12.7V on the battery when not running and around 14 when the motor is on.

 

[Docksidemarineservices]

Give the tach a good sharp smack while the engine is running and see if it comes back down. It may just be time to replace the gauges.

 

[haffiman37]

Looks to me like you may have a ground problem. Try pulling a separate ground cable and disconnect the ground from engine wire harness. I suspect you may have a positive 'leak' into your ground cable which might be from the tach signal (gray) wire.