Waste tank sending unit

DanW

DanW

Active Member
Apr 3, 2013
246
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Isleton, CA
Boat Info
Former boat: 1988 340 Sundancer
2002 Rinker 342 FV
1998 Regal 2100 LSR
Engines
Sea Ray - Mercruiser 454
Regal - Volvo 5.0Gi w/ Volvo-Penta outdrive
Hello,

My waste tank sending unit no longer works and I’d like to replace it. I have an extra sending unit for a fresh water tank that was on another boat. Can I use that? Are sending units universal or do I need to match up with the gauge brand?

Thanks,
Dan
 
Doubt it will work......Are you sure the existing one isnt just gummed up with.......well, ya know
 
Take it out, clean it, put it back in.
 
Ididntdoit said:
Doubt it will work......Are you sure the existing one isnt just gummed up with.......well, ya know
Click to expand...

I think it’s dead. The gauge doesn’t read at all. However, if I connect the wires at sender, I get full on the gauge. Doesn’t that indicate a bad sending unit or am I testing it wrong?
 
The senders are just switches and usually need to be cleaned as the floats get stuck. The boards do fail, and one of the guys on here can repair fairly easily.

First thing is to pull sender and clean.
 
Last edited:
DanW said:
I think it’s dead. The gauge doesn’t read at all. However, if I connect the wires at sender, I get full on the gauge. Doesn’t that indicate a bad sending unit or am I testing it wrong?
Click to expand...
When you say "doesn't read at all" do you mean it's not even showing empty? Or is it showing empty all the time?
If it reads empty all the time, it's the sender all fouled up.
 
Here's what the sender looks like... the're similar to magnetic reed switches.

0709-Dometic_0167.jpg
 
JimG said:
When you say "doesn't read at all" do you mean it's not even showing empty? Or is it showing empty all the time?
If it reads empty all the time, it's the sender all fouled up.
Click to expand...

The gauge reads fresh water or waste tank depending on the button pushed. Then 5 lights light up for 3 seconds or so to indicate level. Fresh water works fine. But waste tank blinks empty when the button is pushed. Because the fresh water tank never blinks like this, I guessed that the rapid blinking on empty indicated the gauge was not getting a signal from the waste sending unit at all. I will try cleaning it and see if that changes anything. Thanks!
 
DanW said:
The gauge reads fresh water or waste tank depending on the button pushed. Then 5 lights light up for 3 seconds or so to indicate level. Fresh water works fine. But waste tank blinks empty when the button is pushed. Because the fresh water tank never blinks like this, I guessed that the rapid blinking on empty indicated the gauge was not getting a signal from the waste sending unit at all. I will try cleaning it and see if that changes anything. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Interesting setup. Most Sea Rays have a fresh water tank gauge system and a separate head gauge system. The water tank reads Empty, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full. Is this a stock system?

Do you have a panel that looks like this?

Capture.PNG
 
dtfeld said:
Interesting setup. Most Sea Rays have a fresh water tank gauge system and a separate head gauge system. The water tank reads Empty, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full. Is this a stock system?

Do you have a panel that looks like this?

View attachment 71867
Click to expand...

No, it’s not original. Previous owner changed it at some point. Next time I’m at the boat I will have to get the brand.
 
Find the brand and model number...impossible to diagnose otherwise since not the OEM version.
 
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