another centurion avalaunch/melcruiser question

hishy · Criminal Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 83 City: Bahrain

hi all,,

just wondering... what does the light on the dash that says (dont run Vdrive if light is on above 1200RPM) indicate? is it ok if that light just turns dim while running? or does it really have to be totally off??

i was driving my boat last night and noticed the light only getting dimmed while above 1200revs and not totally off... it was my first time to drive my boat at night,, so im not sure if that was the case when i was driving it during bright day light.

this does sound like a silly question,, but there is no dealer here and i never had an inboard before.. i dont even have an owners manual.

thanks for replying in advance

snowboardcorey · Posted: Apr 11, 2007 7:38 am Post subject:

You might want to call a dealer to get the full scoop on this as it could be pretty important. Could be a couple of things but low oil pressure comes to mind first.

I am not sure exactly what it is, but call a dealer somewhere to find out the full story.

wakespeak · Newbie Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 42 City: Austin

Should be off above 1200 rpm. Check oil level. If ok, might be a short with the oil pressure sender. Take to dealer.

grapic · Outlaw Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 192

That light is controlled by a pressure sender on the walters v drive, check the fluid level in the v drive, check the wires coming off the pressure sensor, they are easy to knock off or break when working on the center ballast pump or changing v drive or transmission fluid. The pressure switch is normally open and closes when oil pressure increases with speed. You can check the wiring by using a volt meter to see if voltage comes up when the speed increases.

hishy · Criminal Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 83 City: Bahrain

thanks for all that guys, but what puzzles me is that the light doesnt go out,, it just gets very dim.

oil level is good,, and the pressure seems to be ok too.. as the engine sounds ok also.... its just that damn dim light.

anybody had the same problem? and how it was dealt with?
i'll have a look again tomorrow at the back of the engine and see if any wires are loose.
will keep posting

thanks

oshensurfer · Posted: Apr 12, 2007 7:09 am Post subject:

hishy, I think grapic is trying to tell you to check the transmission fluid also and ensure you don't need to add. If you don't know when the last tranny service was done, you might want to replace it.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

CDawg · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2005 Posts: 130 City: Bellevue

I had a similar issue and the folks at Walter (the V-Drive manufacturer) are very helpful with troubleshooting. It's very possible that your v-drive is just low on fluid - they take SAE 30 oil, and you can find that at just about anywhere, even drugstores and grocery stores. In my case, the pressure sender unit died, and I was able to replace that myself very inexpensively - about $35 or $40 if IIRC. The senders don't fail all of the time, but it's not unheard of, and an easy fix.

And according to the Walter guys, it's way less likely, but you could also have an issue with the fluid pump on your v-drive. The fix on that one isn't cheap, so let's hope that's not it. Basically, check the fluid, fill it if it's low, and if it isn't low, change the sender. And if the light is still acting weird after that, then it's probably time to let the experts handle it.

oshensurfer · Posted: Apr 12, 2007 10:54 am Post subject:

Um. yeah. That read weird, sorry. Embarassed

Thanks chavez.