Engine temp and why gauges are not standard

[TopShot25]

It kills me to not know what temp my engines are operating at. I have had other Yamaha owners tell me that the sensor and alarm are more then adequate. Well I can’t take it any more so I’m looking into installing gauges. Anyone else do this and what do I need. I see Yamaha sells temp gauges, one comes with a sensor and one without. It obliviously already has some kind of sensor. Do I need another sensor or is this a simple hookup.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have twin F150’s

 

[gw204]

Not sure what Yamaha requires but when I repowered my old boat with a new Merc, I added both temp and water pressure gauges. All the necessary fittings, tubes and wires were built right in to the engine and wiring harnesses. I just needed to buy the gauges and a little bit of tube to run from the water pressure gauge back to the engine.

I agree with you that these motor are far to expensive to rely on a stupid little buzzer to tell you when something is wrong...

Good luck!

 

[DaleH]

Engine temp gauges are sorta standard, between types - inoard motors to outboard motors. There is a gauge for each type as these 2 motor types run at different operating temps, with outboard generally running cooler.

The key difference is the sender that goes on the block, as these can be specified to your motor. Teleflex is the leader in this field. I have had great luck looking @ their stuff on the www.go2marine.com website, search for the temp senders.

I'd say you do needs the sensors, as your warning horn/alarm system is only a wire that 'opens' at a certain temp, it does not read the temps at all. You will need a gauge and sender per motor.

You know ... if your OB picks up a plastic bag over the water inlets ... the powerhead will FRY long before the temp alarm goes off or you even notice the temp increase per the gauge. I went with a water pressure gauge too, in addition to the temp gauge. Thing is ... you need to watch this gauge like a hawk too. Make it a routine to monitor your water pressure gauge ... I try to scan this gauge every time I do a quick look-around the boat while running and I monitor this gauge MORE than anything else.

They do make lower unit temp alarm sensors, for lack of water flow, but they are $600+ per motor.

 

[TopShot25]

Thanks for the input guys.

I agree I’m not sure it’s going to help me with a plastic bag a full cruise. From my understanding the engine will sound an alarm and start misfiring to help alert and avoid major meltdowns. I had my temp alarm go off the last trip and I just slowed down and reversed to clear whatever was there, and off I went again, no problem. I have talked to a few people out here and they seem to agree that the temp sensor is very quick to let you know of any heat problem. Now it may very well be that most of the problems are not total blockages like a plastic bag may be. If that’s the case I sure hope I never find out.

The two biggest reasons out west for temp gauges, at least for me, would be for letting me know when my motors up to temperature and sometimes we run across kelp while cruising. If you run over a piece of kelp you can just keep an eye on your temp gauge to see if any is stuck on you lower unit. That way you don’t have to stop to clear the drive unit for no reason.

 

[Outta Here]

"Water pressure vs. water temp" can be debated ad naseum. My 2 cents...I have a water pressure guage, feel like it can be an indicator of water pump impeller condition.