Has anyone got any idea how the speedo/sensors work??

[Minnetonka4me]

Glad to hear you got it working...and we all learned a heck of a lot in regards to that stupid pickup!!

 

[seadoosnipe]

Right on....

No, they all work off voltage that varies but that is considered the "pulse" which is the rate that it alternates between two voltages. The newer style will vary between 8.5V and 5.5V with every 1/8 turn. The older style varies between two different voltage readings, can't remember what they were but I do remember the test to check the older style was a resistance check between the black, red, and yellow wires but there are diodes in the sensors so when you test resistance one direction it will be an open circuit and reverse the leads and it will be like 3M ohms resistance. To test the newer style, you check the voltage while it is still connected and slowly turn the paddle wheel and you'll see the voltage alternate.

No, the speed sensor with the blue wire is the older style and will not interchange with the newer purple/yellow wire on the newer speed sensors. I've tried it before just to see what happens and it appears to work for short times but will also act erratically and jump all over the place.

You've def got a handle on the speedo's. The one in my GTX crapped out this past season. Your instructions here are also what the manual calls for on troubleshooting. For me, I found the resistance test failed. I replaced my paddle wheel and it works now. I have another friend who has the same model GTX that I have and his problem was different. The info gage showed the speed but the analog speedo did not. The wire for the speedo on the GTX runs from the paddle wheel to the info gage, then cascades the signal to the analog gage. He replaced the round analog gage and it now works.

Any problems, follow his guidelines and you should be able to identify your problem; whether it's the sensor, power or speedo gage itself.

Great work!

 

[Biffitis]

Boy am I glad you guys did all this research. :thumbsup: I need to replace the speedo on my Challenger (97) but can't find an exact match. So, I'm looking at one from a PWC instead. Again, the wiring is slightly different from Jet boat to PWC. Surprise surprise...

One question - the blk or blk/org wire on the speed sensor goes where? On my boat both wires go into the gauge, on the PWC's only 1 goes in. So, is the blk or blk/org just a ground?

 

[LouDoo]

There are two connectors coming out of the gauge, the one has two connections, that has pu and bk, the pu is +12v. and the bk is ground.

The other connector, which has three connections, or at least the way I did it connects directly to the speed sensor, its pu, bk, and pu-yl. On the newer models it actually runs through the MPEM, mine did originally, but you can just make a direct connection to the speed sensor. The only problem doing it this way the speedometer on the info. gauge won't work, but I figured I didn't need two speedometers anyway.

BTW, I used an "analog" type gauge from a 97GTX, it's also has an oil light, which I connected, also connected the temp. sensor to the same light, so now it shows, low oil and high temp.

Lou

 

[Biffitis]

Gotcha! So the purple wire powers up the gauge, the black wire grounds the gauge, and the purple/yellow & black (or black/orange) wires are the pulsed signal (on-off-on-off...) from the sensor.
One other thing I just thought of (unfortunately) is that if I get a gauge from a PWC it won't have a light in it...

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Theres a few boats being parted out...check the classifieds.

 

[blown1993]

anyone still viewing this post

Is anyone still viewing this post? does anyone still get emailed when somone posts here? I noticed this is quite old, but I have some questions that I am in serious need of help for.

thanks alot everyone

Theres a few boats being parted out...check the classifieds.

 

[blown1993]

are you still providing help? I found your posts very helpful but I have a few specific questions.

THanks so much

Patrick

 

[LouDoo]

I'm pretty sure that everyone on this thread is still active. I'm going to bed but I'll be glad to answer your question tomorrow. What's the question?

Lou