2011 185 sport temp gauge

[cdub]

First time post here. Brand new to the boating world from the drag racing world. Grabbed a 2011 185 sport with 69 hours on it.

I've noticed several people commenting on what temp their boats run at and I've noticed there are no numbers on my boats temp gauge. All I know is the needle runs less than half way at all times. I believe my 4.3 tks has a 160 degree thermostat. Does anyone have the number designations for my temp gauge?

I don't have an owners manual as I got the boat second hand
Any info would be huge and I'm glad to be apart of the sea ray family!

Corey

 

[cdub]

I found this photo of an old manual but that would mean I'm running at 140-150ish degrees that can't be right with the 160 thermostat.

 

[dvx216]

raw water standard cooling system 143 degree thermostat. Go to boat net look up your serial number to be sure but that's what I came up with.

 

[BillK2632]

I have a 1999 185 - same 4.3 engine as yours. You should have a 160deg thermostat which would be open at 160deg. With that thermostat the engine should run around 170 deg. Fully warmed up, running on plane (3krpm) mine runs at 175deg - a tick above the 170 mark on the gauge. At slower speeds it will run a tick below 170deg. I would use a temp gun to verify the gauge. 150deg would indicate a 140deg thermostat which I do not think is right for that engine - my 4.3 has the original 160deg thermostat. Now, on that engine, I don't think running at 140-150 vs 160-170 deg is going to matter much. I know my old Correct Craft has a 140 deg thermostat as I think most older raw water cooled engines did. Pretty sure these days Mercruiser ships everything with a 160deg thermostat.

 

[blaster]

Could replace the gauge if you don't like it. Or use another gauge to measure the exact temp then mark your dash gauge with a sharpie.

 

[cdub]

So looks like it's definitely confusing. It should be a 160 thermo. It runs less than half on gauge but according to the manual photo that would mean 150ish for sure. I think I'm not the only one with the same issue but maybe I'm thinking too much into it. It's more like 140 cruising and 150ish up on plane 3500 rpm basing it off the manual photo. I went out today. My friend shot the manifolds with a FLIR but those Temps aren't going to reflect the exact water temp inside. Well I will just have to realize I have a baseline temp and if it goes up from there I need to start looking into it further. Thanks for the replies. If I find out why searay cheaped out on its temp gauge and what it's supposed to be reading I will update!

 

[BillK2632]

So this is what I would do:

1. Use a temp gun (I think you already did) to verify what temperature the engine is actually running at. Check it around the thermostat housing, not the manifolds. Then you will know if the problem is the gauge or the thermostat.

2. If the temp (via the temp gun) is low (< 160 warm at idle, < 170 at speed) then you either have the wrong thermostat or a faulty thermostat - put in a new 160deg thermostat.

3. If the temp is ok via the gun, then you have either a faulty sending unit or a loose / corroded connection between the temp sender and the gauge. Check/clean the connections and / or replace the sending unit.

4. Highly unlikely the gauge is bad, all it is is a rheostat that measures the voltage going to it from the sending unit - you can test it by grounding the "hot" lead of the sending unit - if the gauge is ok it will peg to hi.

I bet if you clean the connections at the gauge and sending unit your problem will be fixed. Don't worry about being obsessive over this, I would be the same way. The oil pressure gauge quit working in my old Correct Craft, I check the pressure with a manual gauge, but it still drove me nuts until I fixed it.

 

[Sangster]

my 07 185 Sport has numbers on the temp gauge. Mine is right at 170 when running hard or pulling a tube. Runs just under there idling around or just cruising.

 

[cdub]

Thanks Bill and Sangster. Next time out I will double check the thermostat. The manifolds/risers were running 178-200 tops but I could hold my hand on both the risers no issue.

 

[Scott1523]

First time post here. Brand new to the boating world from the drag racing world. Grabbed a 2011 185 sport with 69 hours on it.

I've noticed several people commenting on what temp their boats run at and I've noticed there are no numbers on my boats temp gauge. All I know is the needle runs less than half way at all times. I believe my 4.3 tks has a 160 degree thermostat. Does anyone have the number designations for my temp gauge?

I don't have an owners manual as I got the boat second hand
Any info would be huge and I'm glad to be apart of the sea ray family!

Corey

Did you ever find out what the range of the temp gauge is? I have the same boat and mine runs at 3,000 rpms just under 1/2 way on the gage. I would love to know what the temp range of the gauge is

 

[Scott1523]

my 07 185 Sport has numbers on the temp gauge. Mine is right at 170 when running hard or pulling a tube. Runs just under there idling around or just cruising.

What is the range on the gauge?