1993 180 dash switch questions

T

taterntot

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
17
Central Massachusetts
Boat Info
1993 Sea Ray 180
Engines
4.3 v6 Mercruiser
I have a 1993 180 that I bought which hadn't seen the water since 2003. I have been able (with the help of this site) get her running, but I have a simple question that I can't find an answer to, even in the owners manual. The dash switches on either side of the gauges have no markings. The 2 on the left side are for the blower and bilge, those were easy to figure out. The right side is a different story. The top switch is more like a momentary on/off than an actual on off. It seems to do nothing. Next is what I think is the electric fuel pump (4.3 v6). Turn it on and an alarm sounds for about 5 seconds, then goes silent. Should this switch stay on the entire time the engine is running? Next is the switch for the bow and stern lights. At the bottom of the switches is a red button that looks like a reset for a circuit breaker (?). No idea what that one does. Thanks in advance
 
My first boat was a 1990 180 BR, having trouble remembering how my switches were assigned...

That red button is probably the horn?
 
the momentary switch should be the horn .................... sorry can't help with the others
 
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Momentary switch or the red button could be the horn. You should not have an electric fuel pump on your boat. Someone may have put it there for a priming pump.

Have you actually traced any of the wires from the switches to see where they go?
 
With all of the other work I've had to do to get it back in shape to go into the water, I haven't had a chance to trace the wires. It looks like something else to ad to the list, thanks all
 
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Look in the Parts Manual. I was able to get mine through the Sea Ray website and they e-mailed it straight to me. I have a 1998 180 bowrider. Hope this helps!
 
I have a 92 180 Sport with 4.3. The red push button should be the horn. The 3 switches to the right, on my boat the top switch is the depth finder. Middle is a blank and the bottom is a 3 position switch for the lights. (left position just back light,center off, right both front and back. That said some have put a momentary switch in on the fuel pump to prime it.
 
Thanks all, it looks like some progress is being made. Since the red button at the bottom is the horn, it will need to be fixed, once I can locate it. The depth finder doesn't have a switch, it's hard wired and stays on whenever the engine is running. I'm guessing the top switch does nothing, but I can't get to the backside of it easily to check for wires going to it without pulling lots of wiring apart. The middle switch is definitely a fuel pump, but probably for priming, thanks for that heads up. Does this switch need to stay on all the time, or should I turn it off once the engine is running?
 
On the 1990 I had previously, the horn was tucked away behind the Starboard side bow cushion - but I don't know if originally it was like that or something one of the previous owners did.

My 1990 sure did not have any sort of fuel pump switch.
 
The fuel/priming pump seems to have a few people puzzled, so here is a bit more info on it. There is a hard fuel line about 4" long running from the fuel water separator to it. It's a round tube, about 2" long with 2 wires going to it There is another hard line coming out of it going to the carb. When I hit the switch on the dash, an alarm sounds for about 5 seconds while it runs, then both the alarm and pump shut off. The only markings on it are SAE J1171, and the word marine. I'm still puzzled as to whether I should shut the switch off once the alarm shuts off, or just leave it in the on position the entire time the engine is running
 
Turn it off. It's for priming only. In the event of a fire you don't want power to a device that could potentially add fuel to the fire.
 
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