Couple of questions, temp and alt.

[Slippery When Wet]

Let me start with a little bit of info. I bought my boat (details in sig and profile) last August. It has about 400 hrs on it. Last month when it broke down on me (Fuel sensor), the service mgr said the tech ran it and noticed my temp guage was reading about 10 degrees high, but the engine was running at the proper temp, approx 160 degrees, gauge was reading about 170. He asked if I ever get any alarms, I don't. He then said not to worry about it, so I didn't. I assume they never ran it much above idle speed. Well, I wasn't worried about it, but I did start to watch the gauge more. Lately I notice that at idle speed up to about 1300 RPM the temp gauge stays just a hair above 170, just like he told me. But at cruising speeds, it climbs to about 190-195. I do not get any alarms, but now I am a bit nervous. I do not recall if the PO told me if/when he had ever changed the impeller. Does this sound like a potential impeller issue/pending issue? Or is this normal? Am I being paranoid?

Next question....We spent the night last night anchored after watching fireworks and headed back (about a 20 mile drive) early this morning. My Voltage gauge has always worked fine, but this morning it was not working at all, needle was sitting at "0" (on it's peg). I was a bit nervous as I had no idea if the if was the gauge or if my charging system was not working. Then, about 1/2 way home (I was taking my sweet time at 1200 RPMs the whole way home, no hurry). It started working again and was about 14 Volts the rest of the way. Any thoughts or opinions? Gauge? Intermittent Charging system issue?

I am going to call on Tuesday (assuming they are closed tomorrow) to see what they say and I am thinking I will play it safe and have the impeller replaced and the charging system checked. But I just wanted to get some opinions here first.

Thanks!

 

[Big Pete]

Just have a check on your electric contacts, there could be a dodgy earthstrap or something..

And just watch the temperature closely for a while ,that could even be a earthing problem to the sender and gauge maybe ?

 

[Firerooster]

I am betting it's a ground issue too

 

[Slippery When Wet]

Thanks for the responses, but how about the rise in temp at cruising speeds? Is that normal? I always assumed that a liquid-cooled engine should run at a nearly constant temp at all RPMs/Loads. Could this be a thermostat issue? Or a weak impeller? Or me being paranoid?

 

[Firerooster]

Possible failing impeller, keep a close eye on it. May as well get a spare now. Cuz u know it'll fail on a Sunday and you cannot get the parts

 

[tobnpr]

Ditto on the ground- you might consider running a separate ground jumper directly from the battery (temporarily) to the panel gauges to see if it solves the intermittent problem.

As far as gauges, they're often not dead-on accurate. An IR gun is a great addition to the toolkit- they've really come down in price and can be had for fifty bucks or so. You can take readings off various areas of the engine (particularly the t-stat) to confirm your gauge readings. If the t-stat is easily accessible, it would be worth an inspection and change-out. Could be it's not opening fully and is restricting water flow.

 

[Slippery When Wet]

UPDATE:

Voltmeter worked fine on Monday, not going to worry about that. Likely an intermittent gauge issue.

I talked to the service mgr and he said they checked my water flow when they fixed my boat last month and it was normal, however, I still have no clue about the age of the impeller. So, I am having it changed and am also having them replace all of my zinc anodes since they are in poor condition. Parts and labor for the impeller and the zinc anodes is $305. No charge for taking my boat out to do the work.

Am I getting screwed? Seems high to me, but what can I do? I dont wanna do it myself cuz I would have to do it on the weekend and those days are precious boating days.

Do they have to replace the lower unit lube to do the impeller?

 

[Premier15]

Digital TV reception

Has anyone installed a digital converter on their TV? Any simple solutions for reception?

 

[Firerooster]

Not sure about the gear lube question. Don't know what drive you have. If it's a bravo drive then no. Alpha I have no idea. As for the anodes impeller and labor. Price is about right

 

[Slippery When Wet]

Not sure about the gear lube question. Don't know what drive you have. If it's a bravo drive then no. Alpha I have no idea. As for the anodes impeller and labor. Price is about right

Thanks Firerooster. It is an Alpha 1.

I guess a few hundred dollars is worth the peace of mind knowing a crucial PM item is taken care of. Breaking down 7-10 miles upriver really sucks.

 

[AKBASSKING]

If you are replacing the impellers, go ahead and also replace the t-stat as a preventive maintenance issue. I have seen temp gages climb and then go down in temp readings indicating that the t-stat has opened. It could be that the t-stat is not opening fully or you have a 195f stat. instead of a 165f stat.

 

[Slippery When Wet]

New update:

I finally got ahold of the PO of my boat and he confirmed that he indeed did change out the impeller every 2 years.

Luckily for me, the marina did not get to my boat last week. So, I will be cancelling my appt to have the impeller changed. I will just do it at at the end of the season during normal annual maintenance.

That just saved me $300. :smt038

 

[JVM225]

I have twin Alpha 1's on my boat. It has to be out of the water to change the impellers. They say to do it every other year around here. I do it every year since the boat is out of the water anyway, that way I know they're good.
Servicing the Alpha 1's isn't difficult. Plenty of information online on how to install new water pump (impellers) in them and replace the oil. I think there are a couple of videos on Youtube that will walk you through it too.
Taking the drives off the boat gives you the chance to take a look at the bellows and gimble bearings too.
You can buy the kits online for a decent price, do it yourself if you have the time, and save yourself a couple of hundred bucks.