Gas Gauge not working

[Gon'Fishing]

I have an 1974 Aquasport 222 with 165 OMC stern drive engine and the gas gauge on the tank is not working. I assume that it is a float type and may just need to be cleaned up or repaced. Before I dissassemble it , what trouble can I get into by taking it apart? There is a port in the deck that allows me access but is there enough room to remove this gauge or do I need to remove the deck panel that covers the tank?
Thanks for any help.

[seabob4]

Faria's TS guide for gauges...http://faria-instruments.com/site_manua ... Gauges.pdf

[MarshMarlowe196]

It's been so long since I replaced my sender in my tank, I can't really remember for sure... but I think there was a plexiglass window in the hatch over the tank gauge.  Mine didn't work either when I bought the boat.  Do you have access other than this window?  Can you post a picture?

When I removed my mechanical gauge, it was tricky.  One of the mechanical arms of the gauge assembly actually broke off and sank to the bottom of the tank.  I ended up pulling the tank and draining it before I could find it.  I might go as far as to recommend pulling the hatch ... both to avoid this happening to you, and to inspect a tank as old as yours probably is.  The tank is almost assuredly original if you have the mechanical tank mounted gauge.  It's not uncommon to find tanks like ours full of pitting and possibly leaking.

[gran398]

After you get the gauge working...load up the sender connections with thick diruelectric grease. That area is notorious for corrosion.

[Gon'Fishing]

It is definitely the original tank with the mechanical gauge. I have filled the tank and have not seen any gas in the bilge or smelled any fumes. I will send photos later but will not attenpt to remove the gauge until I can find a picture of what one looks like or where I may be able to find a replacement. With a 60 gal tank, it just means topping up after each trip, no big deal. I just don't want to open it up and not be able to get it resealed  :( . I'm thinking it is just a straight up and down type float on kind of a cork screw type guide or hinge type like in the photo

[gran398]

Tank discussion is a recurring and ongoing topic here at the club.

If you are not smelling gas ....you're good for this season.

Depending on how your boat was used/stored with regard to latent bilge water/moisture/seepage/wetness...so goes your original tank.

Regardless, you will need a new tank if the tank is a 70's original. Nothing lasts forever.

Safety first.

[MarshMarlowe196]

I just don't want to open it up and not be able to get it resealed  :( . I'm thinking it is just a straight up and down type float on kind of a cork screw type guide or hinge type like in the photo

Best I can remember, the old mechanical gauge was more complicated than the one you have pictured.  It had some kind of scissor arm attached to the float and had more moving parts.

I thought about buying the same gauge you have pictured as a replacement after the old one came apart/stopped working.  The hard part about replacing the tank mounted gauge with another mechanical gauge or a sending unit like Gran mentioned is finding one with the same screw pattern as the original.  

My tank is original like yours.  I pulled it, drained it, examined it thoroughly, and had it pressure tested and was good to go. I went with a sending unit over a new mechanical gauge because I just didn't like the idea of looking at the floor to see how much fuel was in the tank.  Of course I couldn't find a sending unit with the same screw pattern as the old mechanical gauge, and the tank itself is just too thin to effectively drill and tap a new screw pattern.  so...  I had a 1/4" Aluminum ring welded over the old screw holes and tapped into this to install the new sending unit.

[GoneFission]

Hey GF - the other GF here...  Rather than just replace the mechanical guage with another, you may want to consider putting an electronic gauge on the dash.  You can get a sender and a gauge for about the same price as a mechanical gauge, and it's a lot easier to read it on the dash versus in the deck.  The screw pattern is the same, so you just take the old mechanical out, adjust the sender for the depth of the tank, run a sender wire to the dash and hook up the gauge on the dash.  

[MarshMarlowe196]

If your mechanical gauge has 5 screws, then it is likely the standard SAE 5 hole pattern, in this case you can replace it with an electric sending unit. My gauge was mounted with 4 screws, so this was not possible. Some other classic boats of this circa fitted with mechanical gauges also used the 4 hole pattern. I've seen the same 4 hole mechanical gauges on old Boston Whalers too.

I agree with CJ - go w/ the electric sending unit

[Gon'Fishing]

Thanks guys for the suggestions and help. I'm leaning more to the electronic gauge as a replacement as most here have suggested. First I will try and make a template of the existing holes and see if I can match up a sending unit with similar hole pattern or put a patch over the existing location like  MarshMarlowe196 did for a remount. Sounds more like a late fall or early spring project.

Here is what the gas gauge looks like now.


Just did a google search of Rochester Gauges Inc. and found they are still in business.

[HIFLUTIN]

I hate gas gauges on boats never right or broke
Replace with a garboard drain plug & use a stick with sharpee marks
never breaks

[Capt. Bob]

Well you have just about every conceivable fishing device on your craft, now would be a good time to move up to a true fuel management system. A number of them on the market. I have been using the same "Flow Scan" model since 1996.

Use one for a while and you'll wonder why you ever had a gauge/stick/prayer to monitor fuel.

If you go the new sender/gauge route, here's what many of us use now.
http://www.wemausa.com/

PS.... yes I have both.   Came with my new tank and works well my old Yamaha gauge system. Will work with both analog or digital.

Good luck.

[Gon'Fishing]

Looks like a good system and I found a supplier in Canada that supplies them.
http://www.pridemarine.com/index.cfm?ca ... 3692060927