Engine Alarm

[Rich Wilkins]

I just bought a 86 c34 and took it for it's first sail over the weekend and this eveing aswell; and i noticed the engine alarm is going off every now and again and at odd RPM'S and also the Tach seems to be a bit sporatic (sp) any help would be great.. and yes i did a search before i posted this thread.

Thanks Rich
Houston Tx
S/V Lil Tiger
Geaux TIgers    :cool:

[Mike Smith]

Sounds like an electrical short or loose connection somewhere.  One of our electrical gurus will probably have the answer.

Mike and Jan Smith
S/V Breezer
www.mikejansmith.com

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

I've started the engine before and found that none of the guages were working.  Jiggled the key and they came on.  Could be the contacts on the key switch are getting burned and will require a replacement someday (when jiggling the key doesn't work anymore)  Jiggle your key to see if it takes the flakiness out of your tach.

[Stu Jackson]

Rich

Mike and Ray have good advice.  Please note that the tach works off a signal from the alternator, so you should check the wiring not only at the key switch and behind the engine control panel, but also at the alternator.  About a year ago I was doing a regular "watch the engine" inspection when I noticed sparks coming from behind the alternator.  One of the ring terminals had gotten loose and was arching across to the diode.  Not fun, but I caught it and checked all the other terminal, including the starter and engine grounds.

Stu

[Stu Jackson]

New Boat Owner

Rich, it just occurred to me, that if you haven't read the following, it might be worth your while.  Good input for a new boat owner:

http://c34.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=329609511&f=829605811&m=972602911

Stu