Gas gauges not dropping evenly - 320 DA

[radiojon]

Just bought our first SeaRay a couple of weeks ago - a '05 320 DA. I had the transport driver stop just before the marina to top off the boat's fuel tanks before slipping her at her new home, so I know we started at 100% full. After a few trips on the water, I've noticed that the fuel gauges aren't dropping evenly; my starboard tank is now showing around 68% full, while my port tank is closer to 95%. I've only cranked up the generator once, and that was just for about 10 minutes to test everything out.

Could this be an instrumentation/sensor problem, or will one tank normally drain faster than another on a 320?

- Mark

[Brite Idea]

What does your Smart Craft say? Check the fuel burn rate, most twin engines burn at a different rate. It could be a sticky float.
Rob

[radiojon]

I haven't reset any of the SmartCraft gauges since buying the boat ... and I'm not sure the original owner ever reset them either. As a point of reference, when we filled up the tanks at the gas station a few weeks ago, the PORT tank actually took in a little more than the starboard -- about 31 gallons for the starboard tank and 38 gallons for the port tank to get them 100% full. I just cranked up the engines at idle and stepped through the SmartCraft screens -- here's what they read:

TOTAL HOURS = Port - 358 / Starboard - 356
TOTAL FUEL USED = Port 1837 gal / Starboard - 1895 gal
REMAINING FUEL = Port 97% / Starboard - 66%
PORT FUEL = 99 gal
STARBOARD FUEL = 58 gal
GPH = Port 0.9 / Starboard 0.9

So that means that the starboard engine has used about 3% more than the port over the life of the boat, which isn't a huge difference. But it's probably a little more than that when you factor in the use of the generator, which would pull from the port tank (even though there's very little total use on the generator). So it sure seems like the starboard is using more fuel, but could it really be as drastic as the current fuel level suggests?

Even if it were a problem with the starboard float, I still can't fathom that my port tank is still 97% full after 3-4 trips on the water in the past couple of weeks. So that would suggest something goofy with both gauges.

Could it be that the SmartCraft needs to be re-calibrated? Or something else?

THANKS for the help.

[ZZ13]

Highest probability is the cheap aluminum hinged sender is the problem. I replaced mine earlier this summer with Royce senders. See this:

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php...420#post606420

[skolbe]

It is the senders - they don't drop evenly. It also has some to do with the tank placement being staggered. But they will even out fine. Ultimately the sensors by Royce are better. Mine drop unevenly, but over time they do drop to the same levels.

[Vince_nj1]

I have the same issue with my 320. I just filled up and took 165 gallons. That leaves 35 in the tanks. Sitting at the dock, my smart craft told me I had 3 gallons in one tank and 12 in the other. Once I got on plane it showed about 30 gallons. It has been a slight annoyance, but I haven't had the time to try to fix it.