replacing bulb in guage

Turtlesboat

Turtlesboat

Minister of Media
TECHNICAL Contributor
Feb 4, 2007
7,251
New York City
Boat Info
1996 450DA, TNT, Caribe dink w/15hp OB.
Engines
3126 427HP TD transmissions
I have a bulb that's out in half of one of my multigauges. I popped the gauge out only to find that it's completely sealed. I can't see any way of opening it. Is there a way? or is it one of those chinese made disposable gauges?
 
Mike - same issue here.

I took out my starboard tac. Its sealed and a bulb on the right side is out.

Someone told me you could send the gauge to a company and they rebuild it and send it back to you.

In my opinion, the engineer that designed this should be takin behind the woodshed and shot. I mean come on, how stupid. Light bulbs burn out and there is no way for a user to replace them. How dumb.
 
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It's the mercruiserification of Sea Ray. Half-assed engineering is trickling down from the engine supplier to the boat builders. It's probably a brunswick corporate edict.
 
Are you sure that bulb isn't an LED? If it were, it would be soldered in, not meant to be replaced because in 99% of the cases it should far outlast the life of the boat (exceptions being infant mortality). Better yet, it's low power consumption means low heat and with it's long life, there's no need to get into the gauge which means you can now hard seal the gauge so it won't fog, corrode or leak... Maybe now the vast majority of the people that will never have a problem with their gauge will put that engineer on a thrown! ;-)

I can dream... I'm an engineer! :D
 
The gauges are not supposed to be replaced.

When the bulb goes out. . . you are supposed to replace the boat.
 
Jim240 said:
Are you sure that bulb isn't an LED? If it were, it would be soldered in, not meant to be replaced because in 99% of the cases it should far outlast the life of the boat (exceptions being infant mortality). Better yet, it's low power consumption means low heat and with it's long life, there's no need to get into the gauge which means you can now hard seal the gauge so it won't fog, corrode or leak... Maybe now the vast majority of the people that will never have a problem with their gauge will put that engineer on a thrown! ;-)

I can dream... I'm an engineer! :D
Click to expand...

Well, it fogs and one bulb/LED is out, so that theory is out.

it looks like the back is glued in, so I would have to cut the back off and then re-glue it. does anyone know who makes these? I didn't see a manufacturer on the back of the one I pulled off. there has to be an easier way to get in!?!?!
 
I've got some out to...The dealer told me the only fix is to replace the guages, yea right... When I get the boat back in the water I'm going to see if I can possibly installing LED's in the guages that are out. don't know if I'll be able to do it or how it will work out as far as illuminating the guage but I'm gonna try it and see how it works out... I'm just not up to replacing $500 worth of guages cause the lights inside have burnt out.
 
Are these Smart Craft guages we're talking about?
 
JuliaValentine said:
Are these Smart Craft guages we're talking about?
Click to expand...

Smarcraft? HA!! Sounds like Stupidcraft to me!

I know some of the gauges used some kind of illuminescent strip in the 90's and somebody bought some LED rope light at best buy and wired it in. It was cheap, less than $10 and worked great. There's a thread here where someone did it.
 
TurtleTone said:
Well, it fogs and one bulb/LED is out, so that theory is out.

it looks like the back is glued in, so I would have to cut the back off and then re-glue it. does anyone know who makes these? I didn't see a manufacturer on the back of the one I pulled off. there has to be an easier way to get in!?!?!
Click to expand...

I"m pretty sure that 2003 gauges are Smartcrap gauges, which are sealed packages; they are not meant to be serviced. Mercury makes them, or more precisely, they subcontract the manufacture to the cheapest available.

If you're lucky, they used an adhesive that can be unbonded with with heat. More likely is that you'll have to cut the package open along the case seam.

If you use an LED to replace an incandescent bulb, remember that you need to use a current limiting resistor. You'll want to meter the supply voltage with the panel lights both bright and dim. Might also not be a bad idea to put the illumination B+ on a 'scope to determine if the dimmer is variable voltage or PWM as that will affect the resistor selection.

Best regards,
Frank
 
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The guages in mine aren't smartcraft...1 generation prior.
 
Is there a plug on the back or screw terminals? If they are not smartcrap, then they're generic gauges with a Sea Ray face if they have screw terminals instead of a plug. They should not be all that expensive and most have replaceable bulbs from the back of the unit.

Best regards,
Frank
 
fc3,

There is a style of SR gauge between the screw terminal type you describe and SC. It is called 'Next Generation" and has a six terminal plug in the back. They are quite pricy, (SR next gen trim gauge $ 150).

Henry
 
yep, those are the ones I have. I think my boat was in the crack of the change over in gauges. My MPI engine is smart craft enabled, but my gauges aren't.
 
Wow! I didn't know about them. Well... Cheaper than a tank of fuel, using Gary's new cost metric.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Don't start feeling like the lone ranger now...
 
Since it sounds like you need to buy a new one, i would cut that puppy open with a dremel and see what's up with the bulb... I'd bet you could fix it...
 
Mike, same here.

If you do crack it open please let us know what happens.

Thank goodness the light that is out is on the right side. So I can see the needle, it’s just an annoyance.

If it works for you to crack it open I may do the same.

Best of luck.
 
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