Islandia fuel gage stopped working

[philinhouston]

June 22, 2009
I have a 2001 Islandia with 109 hours. The fuel gage stopped working (gage pegged to the "E"). When I turn the ignition on the little red oil light blinks. There is electric going to the gage. Seadoo wants $269.00 for a new gage. There are 6 wires going to the gage. 1. Black (common) 2.light blue shows 11 volts. Purple shows 12.5 volts. The other 3 wires have no voltage going to them. One is a Blue Wire and the other two are lavender. (One has a black strip)
Question is how I check if it is a bad gage. P.O I disconnected the connection at the gas tank and checked for voltage t the two lavender wires. No voltage reading.
I could use some suggestions to confirm that the gage is not working. Thanks Phil
philinhouston@yahoo.com

 

[rookie101]

Here is a quick run down on what the wires should do.



Black .... ground for the gauge
Purple .... power for the gauge
Blue .... gauge lighting
Light Blue .... from the oil level sensor
Pink/black and Pink both go to the fuel level sender

First check for a good power and ground to the gauge. If that is good. with the key in the on position, one of the pink wires should have power going to the fuel level sender (diagram does not state which one). If there is no power going out you most likely have a bad gauge, but you can quickly check the resistance of the sender to verify that it is working.

With the sending unit unplugged connect your multimeter between the pink/black wire, and the pink. Full tank should read 28-33 ohms, half tank about 103 ohms, and empty 240-245 ohms.

Hope that helps.


Aaron:cheers:

 

[philinhouston]

Islandia Fuel Gage not working

June 23, 2009
O.K. I followed your instructions. There is 12.5 volts between the black and Purple wire. Between the Pink & the Pink/Black there is 0 volts. I unplugged the sending unit wires at the gas tank and there is a 0 resistance between the Pink and the Pink/Purple wire going to the sending unit. I did a continuity test of the wires going from the fuel gauge and the sending unit (when it was unplugged from the sending unit), it was Zero. I pulled out the sending unit. It is just a tube with a filter screen at the bottom. I turned upside down and I could hear the float moving. Any other suggestions. Phil

 

[rookie101]

If you have 0 ohms in the fuel sender that sounds like your problem. When you have it out on the bench, hook your multimeter up and when you tilt it back and forth the resistance should read within the parameters that I gave you.

Also when you check for voltage on the pink wires do not check between them. Instead check one at a time to the black wire.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[philinhouston]

Fuel Gauge not working

June 24, 2009
O.K. In summary. 1st. You had mentioned that if there is no voltage coming from the fuel gauge to the sender unit through one of the two pink wires, then the fuel gauge is bad. I have no voltage reading. 2nd. When I put an ohm meter to the pink wires going to the sending unit I get no reading. You had mentioned that its probably a bad sending unit. Do you think that it is possible that both the fuel gauge and the sending unit to fail at the same time? What do you think is the most probable? Phil

 

[rookie101]

No it's unlikely that they are both bad. Possibly if the gauge is sensing no resistance from the sending unit is not supplying any voltage to it. You absolutely must have the resistance values that I gave you for the sending unit though.

When you have it out of the tank, connect the leads of your multimeter between the pink/black and the pink going into the sender. With it upright (empty) you should get 240-245 ohms, and when you tip it upside down (full) you should see about 28-33 ohms. When you tilt it back and forth, you should see the resistance move between these to specs as the float moves inside the tube. 0 ohms is dead.

For a quick check on the gauge, with the sending unit unplugged it should read below empty, and with a jumper connecting the pink/black and pink it should read above full.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[philinhouston]

Bad Islandia Fuel Gauge

June 25, 2009
Thank you for all your help and patience.
This is what I did. 1st. The easiest was to check the fuel gauge. I disconnected it at the sending unit and jumped the pink and the pink/black going to the gauge. Turned the key on and the fuel gauge still did not move off the Empty position.
2nd. I took the sending unit out and put the ohm meter on the pink & pink/black wire and again no continuity. I turned it upside down several times nothing. I took it apart and took out the float and cleaned the contacts on the float. The float is fairly simple. The float rests on two ½” tubes and moves up & down in the housing. The contacts (2) seem to touch a thin plastic board. (Similar to a circuit board) This movement of the float on this board seem to give the fuel gauge its reading.
I’m lost now. The price for the sending unit is $160.00 and the gauge is $269.00+ tax. That’s really expensive when your retired and on a fixed income. Any other idea or options that I can try? What should I replace first. Your recommendation count. Thanks Phil 281-804-5859
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Maybe you have an answer for a question that I presented to the SeaDoo dealer years ago and to the Seadoo repair shop. No one ever got back to me with an answer. That’s scary. On the 2001 Islandia to get to the engine you must pull a latch release handle to open the engine lid door. The question is that if the latch release cable broke how would you ever open the engine lid? I thought that if the cable broke that the latch would fail safe to the open position. The thing is when the release handle is not pulled it’s the same as the cable being broken. I just can’t image how you will get in the engine compartment if the cable broke. Any ideas. Thanks Phil

 

[rookie101]

I hate to say it, but it does sound like both may be bad.........

I'd start with the sending unit and go from there. Take it out and take it with you to the dealer and have them verify it with a resistance test. With the sender out they should be able to do that for no charge. The gauge it's self, hold of on. I'm taking off for a week and a half or so, and when I get back I will unplug mine and test it in order to give you a more definite answer on it.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[philinhouston]

Fuel Gage stopped working

Hi Aaron, The last time we corresponded you were taking off for a week or so and I have been gone for a while too. Unfortunately, I returned to the same problem. I will be were the boat is for a short time and then I will have to leave again for a few weeks. Did you happen to unplug your unit to test it to give me a more definite answer as you stated in your last reply? Phil

 

[rookie101]

Man after a week of holidays you forget about everything..............:rofl:

I totally forgot about this thread, but I have made myself a note to bring my multimeter home from work on Monday, and I'll let you know what the results are.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[Jared]

Hey philinhouston,
I had the same problem a while back and bought a new fuel gauge on ebay. When I got it I realized it was for an islandia. Don't know what year though. The part number is 204470604. As far as I can tell it is brand new. If you think it will work I will sell it for cheap.

 

[rookie101]

OK, I'm back. Sorry this took so long.

The resistance on my in tank sending unit is 102ohms at half a tank. Dead on the specs in the manual. Bad news number one, it sounds like your sending unit is in need of replacement.

Next the gauge. No voltage on the pink/black. Just over 7 volts on the pink (roughly half of battery voltage). Bad news number two, it sounds like you really do need a gauge as well.

Hope that helps, but sorry about your situation.

Aaron:cheers: