Official 280 Sundancer Thread

Regarding the inverter/charger, I purchased another Progressive Dynamics, model PD2130. The 30 in the model number is the amps rating. What I had in the boat was the PD2030, in 16 years time they changed the part number, and added a small display screen in place of the gauge. Everything else about it is identical, so they say, which means I will be able to mount it exactly as present unit, and just reconnect.
I replaced mine with the same thing, PD2130. Its was an easy fix.
 
I replaced mine with the same thing, PD2130. Its was an easy fix.
Easy fix, yes. I like the fact that you can see what the charger is doing and what the batteries are at. You know what your starting with before heading out for a few nights on the hook. Now its my hot water heater that stopped working, wife kept turning the damn thing off, I turn it back on. Think it burned out from the heavy cycling. Cant find a breaker or re-set.
 
My LCD display on my Lowrance 3500 Depth finder gauge isn't working very well anymore. Anyone know if there is a place that repairs them? Or where to find just a new or refurbished gauge?

Worse case, could I wire in a different one w/o having to replace my transducer? I just had the boat pulled so the transducer could be re-sealed as it was leaking. Then this happens. Never ends.

How easy is it to undo the wires behind the gauge so I could send it in (assuming there is a place that could repair it)?

Ok, so I figured what the heck and sent my gauge to Gaugesaver.com - here is what he found out:

"Everything looks fine to me. The LCD is nice and dark with no LCD fade, the PCB board caps look to be in good shape, and the LCD is hard wired to PCB so cant be removed to clean connectors, etc. There is no corrosion evident in the unit.

It tested fine here. I was, however, able to duplicate 'missing segments' by dropping the voltage to the unit. Here's 2 sets of pics taken at the same screen with the different voltages being sent to it. Is there a chance you might have a bad ground to the device? The butt splice appeared to be in good shape.

Do you have a chartplotter or another gauge that displays voltage? Have you noticed any other voltage issues to your console?

I think it would be worth trying to replace the connectors to this unit, and cleaning or replacing the power/ground terminations, wherever they may be."

The above in quotes is from GaugeSaver.com - I was very impressed with them.

I don't have a chartplotter and haven't had any other gauge issues - my voltage gauge is analog. So, I figure I'll check with my multimeter how much voltage I'm getting to the wires that feed the Depth Finder gauge and see if I need to reconnect them in a different manner. I think the ground/power is tied to all the other gauges in the dash if I remember correctly?

Any other thoughts?
 

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Ah, that’s good news, sort off? Is there anything in there write up that covers the sonar function both in the head itself and the transducer? Obviously if you didn’t send them the transducer, they can’t check it, but they could read the output and test the reception function. It sounds like the display function is good, but not clear on the sonar functions. If the head does not send power/signal to the transducer, or if it can not sense the signal coming back there’s nothing to display. Did they check any of that in the parts you sent them?

Does anyone have any idea how to test a transducer?
 
I didn't send them anything transducer related. That's still mounted in the boat. Pretty sure the head/gauge sends power to the transducer.

Ah, that’s good news, sort off? Is there anything in there write up that covers the sonar function both in the head itself and the transducer? Obviously if you didn’t send them the transducer, they can’t check it, but they could read the output and test the reception function. It sounds like the display function is good, but not clear on the sonar functions. If the head does not send power/signal to the transducer, or if it can not sense the signal coming back there’s nothing to display. Did they check any of that in the parts you sent them?

Does anyone have any idea how to test a transducer?
 
That’s correct. The transducer contains piezoelectric crystals. When current is applied to it vibrates, likewise when the crystal gets struck it creates a current. In its simplest form the head sends a pulse that gets converted to a physical pulse creating a wave in the water. The physical wave travels travels to the bottom and bounces back. The reception side of the transducer gets “struck” by the returning wave and creates an electrical charge that goes back to the head unit. The head unit takes the timing between transmission and reception, and other stuff like the nature of the pulse received, does the math and comes up with a depth. Fishfinders take that to a whole other level, but operate on the same basic principle.
 
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The first I understand, the second I would have thought would be helpful. I guess it's time to find a method to bench test a depth transducer. At this point the only other thing to do is into plug it in, check all the connections and hope for the best.
 
Hi - I have a 2005 single engine 280/315 sundancer Can anyone tell me what Hydraulic ram/kit was fitted to lift the engine hatch - as we know they're quite heavy and I am thinking of retro fitting one

Jon
 
Hi - I have a 2005 single engine 280/315 sundancer Can anyone tell me what Hydraulic ram/kit was fitted to lift the engine hatch - as we know they're quite heavy and I am thinking of retro fitting one

Jon

Hi Jon,

I can't help with the ram info. There are some folks here who are better equipped to answer that. You might contact member Lazy Daze. He has worked in a Sea Ray dealership and might be able to give you the info.

I can help with the electrical. The Helm switchpads have controls for the hatch lift and lower built in. In the aft EIM located port side above the batteries you will see the breakers for the lift mechanism. The lift ram is located on the port side stringer roughly also in line with the batteries. This makes wiring very simple. You have to look in your wiring diagram it will give you the pin locations for the connection to the eim. There may even be wire stubs (short pieces of wire 2 foot ish) already on the EIM output plug at the inout locations that you would splice your up, and down power to. As you might guess I also researched doing it.

In the meantime you can use a loop from a dock line around the tee handle for the hatch. This will you allow you to lift the hatch without being bent over. The hatch should only be needed to be lift about 8"-12" after which the gas pistons should take over and lift the rest of the way. If this is not happening you may have gas pistons that are worn out. Best of Luck.
 
Henry, a while back you and another guy on here helped me locate where to buy the bulb for my spot light. I feel bad I can't remember who the other guy was, but thanks so much to both of you!! Its been a crazy past few months and I finally uncovered the boat and put it in.....much appreciated!!
 
Has anyone had their cabin door tracks replaced by a mechanic? How much is this job on average? I really want to get mine working again but not really willing to tackle the job of removing the entire helm!!!

Adam
 
Henry, a while back you and another guy on here helped me locate where to buy the bulb for my spot light. I feel bad I can't remember who the other guy was, but thanks so much to both of you!! Its been a crazy past few months and I finally uncovered the boat and put it in.....much appreciated!!

Thanks from myself and Guy. It’s nice to be appreciated and all. But it’s what we all do here at CSR to help fellow Sea Ray owners (and former ones too).
 
Hi - I have a 2005 single engine 280/315 sundancer Can anyone tell me what Hydraulic ram/kit was fitted to lift the engine hatch - as we know they're quite heavy and I am thinking of retro fitting one

Jon
Hey Jon, I have been thinking about doing the same thing. I found the part# for the factory lift. See item# 17 of the attached image. I got this from a parts manual I found online. Here is the link. Pages 73-74. https://manualzz.com/doc/34024878/parts-manual-2008-280da-sundancer

If you install one, please be sure to share with everyone some pics and what you did. I have read a few posts on this thread of people saying they are thinking about adding the electric lift, but no one has posted they actually did.


hatch lift #17.png
 
Drain Water Heater
On a 2001 280 DA with standard 6 gallon water heater configuration, can I drain just the water heater by opening the lower faucet and pressure relief valve on the face of the water heater?
I am concerned by doing this, I will also be siphoning the water from the entire system, including the tank. See photo.
 

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