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View Poll Results: What engine instruments do you have?
Fuel Level 84 52.83%
Fuel Pressure 18 11.32%
Filter Vacuum 2 1.26%
Tank Vacuum 1 0.63%
Volts 73 45.91%
Amps 107 67.30%
Oil Pressure 154 96.86%
Oil Temp 8 5.03%
Water Temp 147 92.45%
Water Pressure 6 3.77%
Tachometer 93 58.49%
Manifold Vacuum 10 6.29%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 159. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1   IP: 199.173.224.31
Old 10-18-2010, 09:17 AM
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What instruments do you have?

I am curious as to what instruments people have.
Note that filter vacuum is a gauge between the filter and fuel pump and tank vacuum is a gauge on the input side of the pump.
Voltmeter is a voltmeter in the engine panel, not just a voltmeter anyplace on the boat.

Last edited by Administrator; 03-22-2011 at 07:09 AM.
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  #2   IP: 24.136.77.31
Old 10-18-2010, 09:27 AM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is online now
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Thumbs up Guages

In the cockpit I have an electric oil preassure guage, ammeter, and water temp. I have a control panel at the nav station which is visable while motoring and/or working on the engine there I have a volt meter tied to the power panel, a tach and a vacuum guage for the manifold. In the box I have a static oil preassure guage and a static fuel preassure guage at the carb with a shut off valve. I have it laid out this way so when I need to know something while diagnosing something going amiss it is all visable while working on the beastie.
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  #3   IP: 199.173.224.31
Old 10-18-2010, 01:06 PM
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I am more than surprised to find 2 water pressure gauges!
What do they usually read?
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Old 10-18-2010, 02:36 PM
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My boat is an older boat - 1968 - so it's pretty basic compared to modern boats. It has an engine hours gauge which no longer works, water temp, oil press, tach and amps. No fuel gauge - my fuel gauge is a high-tech organic fuel gauging device, a/k/a a 1/4" birch dowel that sticks into the tank.

The knotmeter is long dead and I plan on yanking the little paddlewheel and through-hull out over the winter and also pulling out the gauge and doing something else with the hole left behind. The wind direction and speed indicator also is long dead, so that probably will go too. I have a standard windex on top of the mast that does the job for me.

My brand new Garmin chartplotter shows speed over ground, so I don't miss the knotmeter at all. It also can show wind speed and direction, but that obviously requires the proper device at the top of the mast. Maybe I'll do that someday.
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  #5   IP: 71.118.13.238
Old 10-18-2010, 03:16 PM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is online now
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Thumbs up Water preassur guage

Joe, I use them on a few things especially my big outboards. The guage will read low if the pump is getting weak or the intake side is getting plugged and if it goes up you have a restriction building in the system. It is a great warning device if you pay attention to it.

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Old 10-18-2010, 03:26 PM
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I have seen them on outboards. You need to see the water pressure with a jacking plate so you don't raise the engine too far. I have yet to see one on an inboard though. I wonder what the normal reading for an A4 is?
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  #7   IP: 216.115.121.253
Old 10-18-2010, 06:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILikeRust View Post
The knotmeter is long dead and I plan on yanking the little paddlewheel and through-hull out over the winter and also pulling out the gauge and doing something else with the hole left behind. The wind direction and speed indicator also is long dead, so that probably will go too. I have a standard windex on top of the mast that does the job for me.

My brand new Garmin chartplotter shows speed over ground, so I don't miss the knotmeter at all. It also can show wind speed and direction, but that obviously requires the proper device at the top of the mast. Maybe I'll do that someday.
Don't chuck that wind speed transponder 'til you are sure it is junk.
It might be able to send NMEA 083 sentences to you new Garmin. Not as fast a sample rate as the Garmin network proprietory stuff, but it might work.
Stranger things have been done.
A case in point(in theory):
I have an old pre-GPS-era Raytheon radar that will acept NMEA 083 Loran C sentences via a cable to display the Lat-Lon on the old crt. My Garmin E-trex will output those fake loran C sentences to a simple two-wire data cable. All I gotta do is hookem up poor boy style.(I think)
With the cost of nav instruments, I look at everything

Russ
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  #8   IP: 70.91.138.225
Old 10-18-2010, 06:28 PM
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Birch, oil pressure, water temperature, amperes and tach. I'd like to add an engine hour meter because I never remember to look at the clock when starting and stopping the engine and my log notes are estimates only. The GPS monitors volts.

The other gauges probably have their uses but I think I'd be asking for trouble trying to add them by fiddling with fuel, oil and water systems that date from the first Nixon administration. I can eyeball the water exiting the exhaust and the oil probably isn't going to scorch without the water temperature gauge noticeably rising and the oil pressure gauge getting funky.
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Old 10-19-2010, 05:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILikeRust View Post
My brand new Garmin chartplotter shows speed over ground, so I don't miss the knotmeter at all.
This is another of those endless debates, like whether to carry a sextant or use paper charts (I have both, so having declared myself you know where this is going). I like the knotmeter for checking engine performance. I also like to know current for navigation, which means knowing speed through the water as well as speed over the ground. But without a knotmeter, for navigation purposes I guess one can always "see" current by watching the GPS breadcrumb track trend, and for engine monitoring purposes, one can always check speed/rpm curve on a calm day at slack water.

Like MarkS, I added an engine hours clock too.
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  #10   IP: 71.168.64.77
Old 10-19-2010, 06:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rigspelt View Post
This is another of those endless debates, like whether to carry a sextant or use paper charts (I have both, so having declared myself you know where this is going). I like the knotmeter for checking engine performance. I also like to know current for navigation, which means knowing speed through the water as well as speed over the ground. But without a knotmeter, for navigation purposes I guess one can always "see" current by watching the GPS breadcrumb track trend, and for engine monitoring purposes, one can always check speed/rpm curve on a calm day at slack water.

Like MarkS, I added an engine hours clock too.
I like having a paddlewheel knotmeter in addition to gps speed.
It allows me to monitor forward speed independent of bottom speed
which is useful when combined with RPM to monitor engine speed
thru the water .Helps detect dirty bottom,amount of current fighting.
Most recently bought a Moor knotmeter, works well. $200 vs$600 for
DMI.

Regards

Art
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  #11   IP: 75.67.88.37
Old 10-24-2010, 12:32 AM
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Fuel level, volts, oil pressure, 2 water temp (in cabin and at steering station-Don found me a special sender that would feed appropriate signals for two heads), tach (my favorite instrument for the engine- I am used to what the A4 should sound like at each rpm level. For example, I get suspicious if it sounds like it is laboring at 1800 rpm. Prop nasty, whatever.) gps and through-hull knotmeters for comparison. Lastly, two depth meters, one of which is a nifty one that transmits depth to a carry-arond puck and whose transmitter is immersed in mineral oil in a short pvc tube/reservoir glued to the inside of the hull.
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  #12   IP: 68.126.191.98
Old 03-02-2011, 07:34 PM
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My engine instrument is a hammer.

Last edited by domenic; 03-03-2011 at 10:53 AM.
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  #13   IP: 24.136.67.99
Old 03-12-2011, 12:40 PM
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Hammer?

Perhaps if you learned about tools and gages your A-4 would have less dents and run smoother.

I just couldn't resist!

Dave Neptune
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Old 08-31-2011, 01:01 PM
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I have to admit I actually don't know for sure which gauges I have. I do know I have oil pressure, temp and tach. I know I have a couple more, but I don't recall what they are. It's been so long that I've actually had the engine running in the boat, plus half of them didn't work anyhow. I'm going to be replacing them with new soon anyway, so I'll take stock of what I've got then.
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Old 09-13-2011, 01:55 AM
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hehe. What instruments do I have, or what instruments do I have...that work?
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Old 09-13-2011, 08:24 AM
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Hehe! Good point!

My boat "has" a knotmeter. Well, it has a round thing in the bulkhead with a cracked piece of glass or plastic in it, with a round black surface behind it with numbers and and a pointer on it. The pointer never moves. It might as well be painted on.

I plan on replacing it with a speaker for to listen to some tunage whilst sailing.
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Old 09-13-2011, 01:43 PM
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Smile

Exactly what I did Bill, I use my speed reading off the chartplotter. I don't have significant current here so it really makes no difference. Also have speakers in the cabin bulkhead in replacement.

I will say buy decent speaker though as mine are garbage and I actually use my satellite radio / boombox thing from inside the cabin...certainly puts out much better sound than the stereo /speakers. That was a waste of money. The stereo CD can't take the constant motion either - the CD lasted about a month...so it's an all an ornament although the radio works.
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Old 09-06-2016, 09:04 PM
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Question Is there a way to see or update my reply?

I have added some instruments and I seem not to be able to change my initial reply to this poll, or know how I "voted". Yes, I am from Chicago and we all know Chicagoans are known for voting "early and often" --well, not really--just want to change my vote. Is there a way here?

Mary
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Old 09-07-2016, 07:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HOTFLASH View Post
I have added some instruments and I seem not to be able to change my initial reply to this poll, or know how I "voted". Yes, I am from Chicago and we all know Chicagoans are known for voting "early and often" --well, not really--just want to change my vote. Is there a way here?

Mary
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If you tell me what you want added/subtracted, I think I can manually edit the totals.

Bill
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Old 09-07-2016, 04:39 PM
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I still seem to have the only fuel filter vacuum gauge. I know mostly diesels use these, but you can find problems that otherwise would drive you insane
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Old 09-07-2016, 07:45 PM
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All new wires under this bad boy also!!

I actually just finished rewiring my A4 this week and ran all the wires to the helm where I built a nice instrument cluster and cup/wine bottle holder.
I also have a volt/amp meter on my electric panel in the cabin so I can see exactly what I am drawing with each item I am using.

Last edited by Flyingmike; 09-07-2016 at 09:29 PM.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:52 PM
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Until I voted a few days ago, I was surprised to see more manifold vacuum than fuel pressure.
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