I recently noticed that my temperature gauge on my Admiral's Panel was not working (reading 200ºF when the motor was off!) so I pulled it. The PO had the Admiral's Panel installed in 2004, and it had been wired so that the gauge illumination was on anytime that the key was "ON." Looking at the gauge, I believe that my trip down the ICW last fall (6-10 hour days of motoring) caused the incandescent bulb to overheat the gauge and melt the insulation. There is a slight discoloration of the housing near the bulb, and the housing of the gauge where the bulb twists in was broken and brittle.
My plan is to replace ALL the gauges with new ones. The price from Westerbeke is ridiculous, so I will be using Faria Marine Instruments instead. The NEW gauges will be Faria (~$30/ea); 12812 (coolant), 12803 (oil press), 12821 (volt). These appear to be equivalent to Westerbeke (over $70/ea) 37601 (coolant), 37603 (OP), 37605 (volt). I will also wire the gauge illumination to only come on when I power the running lights circuit. I am further considering switching the illumination to LEDs.
The coolant temperature gauge arrived today. While it seems to be SLIGHTLY smaller in diameter than the Westerbeake, I am certain that it will fit. I may put a perimeter of electrical tape on the gauge to make sure that it is snug and waterproof.
Below are front and rear pictures of the Faria gauges and the mounting bracket.
I hope this helps someone!
My plan is to replace ALL the gauges with new ones. The price from Westerbeke is ridiculous, so I will be using Faria Marine Instruments instead. The NEW gauges will be Faria (~$30/ea); 12812 (coolant), 12803 (oil press), 12821 (volt). These appear to be equivalent to Westerbeke (over $70/ea) 37601 (coolant), 37603 (OP), 37605 (volt). I will also wire the gauge illumination to only come on when I power the running lights circuit. I am further considering switching the illumination to LEDs.
The coolant temperature gauge arrived today. While it seems to be SLIGHTLY smaller in diameter than the Westerbeake, I am certain that it will fit. I may put a perimeter of electrical tape on the gauge to make sure that it is snug and waterproof.
Below are front and rear pictures of the Faria gauges and the mounting bracket.
I hope this helps someone!
Attachments
-
477.2 KB Views: 154
-
825.8 KB Views: 143
-
920.5 KB Views: 153
-
244.3 KB Views: 184
-
216.2 KB Views: 170
Last edited: