-Replacing gauges ?

[steve&tammy]

Hi all, we are so excited as we just recently purchased a 1987 Carver 4207. We've been going through many changes and so far seem to be handling things one at a time.
One thing that did come up is in regards to replacing the upper helm gauges. I know the sizes are standard and I did do a forum search here...
My question is, do I really need new sending units?
I'm looking at all new Faria gauges and just the basic ones (tach, temp, alt, fuel, oil pres...) and am hoping it's just a simple swap out...

Anyone have experience with this?
Thanks!

[bud37]

Welcome to the forum......do you have a lower helm, if so how do you plan to handle all the gages there ?

[steve&tammy]

Thank you! Yes, lower helm as well. It's my understanding, that if you have a lower helm, you need to replace 'both stations' gauges on oil, temp and possibly fuel. (Because the sending units are designed for dual-helm)
But...this is all new to me!

[bud37]

Yes......my advice would be to contact Faria, check out their faq etc. Mix and match with two stations worth of gages and senders may work but gage accuracy may be affected. Who is to say if all your equipment is original, hard to tell really what someone has done before you. See what advice Faria has and go from there.

One thing with a boat, accurate gages are very important to monitor marine mechanicals.

[Viper]

You should try and get the make of the current gauges. There are a couple of different resistance standards that are typically used depending on the gauge manufacturer. Knowing the resistance spec of the current gauges is a must as the new gauges must match the same resistance spec as the senders. If you use the same spec, you don't have to change all the gauges in both stations.

Resistance specs don't apply to the Alt and tach gauges so no worries there. You just have to make sure they reflect the proper voltage and RPM specs, number of cylinders, etc. The senders on your engines should be dual station types. The type of fuel sender you have will depend on how your fuel gauges are powered up. If you have to toggle a switch at each station to get a reading, single station fuel senders will work which is the most common.