Tachometer not working - alarm sounding

[efrickle]

I have an '06 24Ve with Faria(i'm pretty sure)gauges. Last night my Tach quit reading engine rpms and the little digital screen stopped working as well. It did't go black, it just completely lit up. Every area where there could be a digit or symbol was completely on. Along with this problem came the alarm. The engine still functioned fine. This has happened once before in the evening when I turn my navigation lights on. Is there a possible correlation? I tried turning the lights off and re-starting the engine, but the problem did not go away on it's own. I would appreciate any advice!!

[efrickle]

Started the engine in the driveway today and miraculously the tach works, no alarm. Now I'm even more mind-boggled. Any thoughts??

[chpthril]

Did you make any electrical connections to the under helm B+ and/or B- BUSS? Outside of a failing gauge assembly, I would look for a loose or corroded connections that feeds the helm buss bar.

[laserfish]

I have had that happen and it was a loose ground wire. Thing is, it was away from the tach, so check them all. Not a bad routine maintenance item to check yearly as the electrical takes a beating with moisture and vibration.

[efrickle]

I have had that happen and it was a loose ground wire. Thing is, it was away from the tach, so check them all. Not a bad routine maintenance item to check yearly as the electrical takes a beating with moisture and vibration.

Thanks for the help guys! I believe I have checked every ground. Where was your loose ground that was causing the issue for you? Do you know where the tach gets the rpm signal? Is it plugged into the coil and could this be causing it?

[efrickle]

Well...it is definitely an intermittent thing. I took the boat down to the launch because the problem went away last night. Got in the boat, said my prayers and of course, the problem was back. Pulsing alarm with no tach. The backlight wouldn't come on in the tach, so I'm leaning towards a bad gauge. Does this sound logical? I checked every ground I could find, short of re-crimping all the connections one by one. Everything seems non-corroded and tight. Another weekend down the drain....

[chpthril]

If only the Tach side of the gauge was not working, I would look down stream and work backwards, but since the LCD screen is also going out, I suspect the gauge itself or the B+/B- that feed its operation.

[efrickle]

If only the Tach side of the gauge was not working, I would look down stream and work backwards, but since the LCD screen is also going out, I suspect the gauge itself or the B+/B- that feed its operation.

Thanks! Does the B+ & B- feed anything else? If the tach gauge is not working, would that cause an alarm? I wired in a switch to the alarm horn I found under the dash in hopes that when it goes off, I don't have to listen to it while driving back to the launch. This isn't the alarm that is going off, it sounds like the noise is actually coming from the tach.

[efrickle]

Tried it in the driveway again and the tach works. Anyone have any ideas on how having the boat in the water would change the situation? I can't get a response from Faria. At a loss and don't want to sit at the launch dock with a broken boat again!!

[dom w. forte]

The fact that the screen went strange would lead me to believe gauge failure , suggest check power and ground at gauge and continuty of sender wire, if all is good send gauge in for repair check.

[efrickle]

The fact that the screen went strange would lead me to believe gauge failure , suggest check power and ground at gauge and continuty of sender wire, if all is good send gauge in for repair check.

Thanks! I think it's the gauge too. Does anyone know if I can take the gauge out for repair and use the boat without the tach?

[efrickle]

The tach is out and will be off to Faria to repair for $145. I hope this solves it! I will post when I get it back and install. Oh yeah....the boat works just fine without the tach!

[efrickle]

I guess the speedometer doesn't work without the tach. Anybody know how I can get it to work while I am waiting 4 weeks for my tach?

[Captainkurk72]

What was the final solution to the problem?

My 05 22v is doing the exact same thing except it’s not intermittent. I boated all summer with no issues. Drained the engine after the last run of the season (in case I couldn’t make the 4 hr drive before a freeze). Came back in November to winterize, put the plugs and knock sensor back in, started it up and got the alarm. tach didn’t work, all the digital display characters were on. Engine ran good. I pulled the plug from back of tach and engine still ran fine and alarm stopped.

I did replace the knock sensor at beginning of season. I had alarm and I was able to find a similar knock sensor at O’Reillys. It worked and it still looks like new.

Any help or thoughts. I am headed to boat this weekend and will try some diagnostics.


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[h2o-ski]

All of my gauges did that, both the speedo and eventually the tach. I just unplugged them both and relied on perfect pass to give me my speed and rpms. When I sold my 22i the tach had just gone out and the new owner has used the boat all summer with no issues to report.

Faria used to rebuild them for a few hundred dollars, however their site no longer list the gauges as an option to rebuild.