General
 

Hi Everyone, Wondering if anyone can help me out? I have a 2001 Diablo 181 with a 4.3 Mercruiser. The boat has only done 103hrs and is still in fantastic condition, however, I have 2 issues.

1) Rev counter is not working...Is there anyway to test or trouble shot what the problem might be?
2) Depth gage, This is intermittent and sometimes works then other times it doesn't have a reading....I have tried playing with the modes and resetting it but it doesn't resolve the problem...Once again, is there any checks that i can perform before i take it to a shop?

Also - Does anyone know of anyone in the UK that makes swin Platforms for this boat, or anyone selling a second hand platform in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

Re: General
 

Hi Ross, and welcome to the board.

1. Your tach may need to be checked out by a service shop. If it's behaving erratically, (ie reading much higher than it should, or bouncing around) you can service it yourself, but as far as anything else goes, I'd get it checked out. Faria, the gauge manufacturer has a warranty on their products and they will send you a brand new matching one for a small fee. Keep that in mind if the service shop tries to sell you a replacement.

2. Sounds to me as if your depth gauge transducer has come loose from the epoxy it was mounted with. I've had the same issue before. The transducer is a black "hockey puck" mounted inside the hull under the engine in the bilge area. If you can get access to it, and it moves around freely, then that's your problem. You will need to remount it using slow-cure epoxy. Search around on here for more detailed instructions, it's a fairly common problem.

Good luck, hope this helps, and keep us updated.

Re: General
 

Hi Shabah and thanks for the reply.

1)The tach doesn't move at all, stays at zero with no fluctuations.....Do you know where this would be plugged into the engine just in case it has come undone? Thanks for the info on the warranty, i wasn't aware of this and could’ve cost me.

2)I will look into this tonight and if its loose i will order some epoxy as you recommended...as well as look on here for more info as to solve it.

Thank you very much for the information and i will be sure to keep you posted.

Re: General
 

Hi Ross, from a fellow UK Diablo owner :wink_thumbup:
if your transducer is mounted in a ring like the one in my boat then it may be an oil bath transducer.
if so just add some oil insider the ring. (about half full) then screw the transducer back in and it'll work fine...

Re: General
 

Thanks Andy, I checked the transducer last night and the epoxy has come away a little and i can tilt it to one side where it has come unstuck so presumed this is the issue, however, your suggestion has me thinking :-)

With regards to it being an oil bath transducer, i have never heard of this before until you mentioned it...i will have to check again tonight to see if it unscrews but from memory it look sealed. As Shabah has mentioned previously the transducer i have looks like a hockey puck stuck to the boat with a smaller tube coming out of the top with a wire. If it does need more oil and it unscrews, what oil can i use?
Thanks again Andy

Re: General
 

your welcome Ross
oil bath transducers do seem to be quite rare! i'l have to shoot up some pictures of mine.
BTW where about's in the UK are you?

Re: General
 

A picture would be good to see, Hopefully the epoxy i ordered will arrive tomorrow and i can have a go at sticking in down.
I am in Essex and a member at Home - The Stone Watersports Club, they can also be found on Facebook. We go out on the River Blackwater.
Where are you based in the UK?

Re: General
 

Just outside Southampton on the edge of the New Forest.
I do most of my boating in and around the Solent

Oil bath transducer
 

Here's the pictures of my oil bath transducer,
Took the opportunity to re slick the ring down today as it's been leaking away the oil and I keep forgetting to top it up until it starts flashing 0.0 :shakehead:

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...721_154354.jpg

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...721_154420.jpg

Re: General
 

I have the same problem im going to look into this, thanks for the pics

Re: General
 

Great, thanks Andy. This is the same as mine which i took a look at yesterday and found that the epoxy had come lose and all the oil had gone. I tested the Transponder in a bucket of water and found that the alarm sounded on the dash because of the depth and when taken out the depth finder flashed 00 with no noise. I have re-stuck it down and filled the void with water as a temporary solution....just need to take it out on the water to test now.

Re: General
 

I've stuck it down with sikaflex.

Gear oil seems to work best for mine. Don't know why???

I've put motor oil in there and sometimes it takes a little while to settle/find the depth.
I put gear oil in (because it was what I had to hand) and it Finds depth straight away.

Re: General
 

I noticed you mentioned "flashing 0.0" Andy. Mine just flashes 0.5... Was that an issue you've had?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

Re: General
 

No that's not something I've seen before.
if mines out of oil it just flashes 0.0, no alarm just flashing numbers.
if it's working then the alarm comes on at 2.0m which is a real pain!
as it can't be set any lower than that...
Hopefully now I've resealed the ring down I won't have to keep topping it up with oil :wink_thumbup:

Re: General
 

Hello everyone, just to let you know that I finally got round to fitting my Transponder securely and filling it with Mineral oil….works perfectly now so thanks for your help.

I do have another question though, the rev counter is not working now….I am sure it was working but can’t be sure. Any advice.