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Post by jlmsooner on Aug 22, 2021 8:34:10 GMT -5
We have a new to us 2014 35 SC. The boat is in overall excellent condition, however, the first time we fueled it up the gauges (port showed a little over 1/4 and starboard a little over 1/2) both went to zero. As they pumped gas into the tanks (both sides) the fuel nozzle clicked off over and over before we eventually called it good thinking both tanks were full or near full. The port gauge remained at zero and the starboard gauge eventually came up to about 3/4. Upon the 2nd refueling the same issue with the fuel nozzle repeatedly tripping as they filled. The port gauge moved to about 1/4 and the starboard went to zero. Eventually the port side went to full but the starboard remained at zero. After running the boat for a couple of hours, the port side is still on full and the starboard is still on empty. It looks like the starboard tank has a fairly flat laying fill hose that is maybe 3' long to the tank. The port side is flat laying as well but longer. I'm not sure where the port tank is exactly but it appears to be forward of the house battery, battery charger and generator on the other side of the bulkhead. Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting the gauge/fill issue?
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Post by sgilbert on Aug 22, 2021 9:35:49 GMT -5
Fuel gauges on boats are notorious for being inaccurate! Start with fuel hoses and vent lines: constant upward slant from tank to separate fill/vents Consider either electronic tank senders (Centroid or similar: or separate fuel units/gauges (Floscan or such: There are also possible add-ons for your electronics that would include fuel level, mpg, gpm, distance to empty, etc. using inline transducers. |
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Post by xixp on Aug 22, 2021 10:02:22 GMT -5
Stbd fuel sender is quite easy to reach but im not sure of there are enough room to remove it . (I assume there is).
I would try to take a pic of the senser to figure out the brand and model in order to get one and swap the cables and test the new one out of the tank before attempting to remove the old one.
Port tank…different story.. its under the port cockpit seat; i know that some other owner had to cut a hole on the floor below the bech seat to access the sender.
Im not sure if Regal has installed an inspection lid (like the one in the rear section of the cockpit ceiling) in that area in some models. If yours doesn't have one contact Regal CS to ask for directions of where exactly the hole has to be made. Once done just install an inspection lid as Regal should have done!
Volvo has a tank calibration procedure thats is easy to run but i dont think that it will solve the gauge skipping problem.
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Post by jlmsooner on Aug 22, 2021 10:08:29 GMT -5
Fuel gauges on boats are notorious for being inaccurate! Start with fuel hoses and vent lines: constant upward slant from tank to separate fill/vents Consider either electronic tank senders (Centroid or similar: or separate fuel units/gauges (Floscan or such: There are also possible add-ons for your electronics that would include fuel level, mpg, gpm, distance to empty, etc. using inline transducers. Thanks for the reply and I hear you. This boat has both the analog and digital gauges, but they read the same. I do see the digital gauge will read gallons per hour of burn. I was running about 3700 rpm and it read 14-15 gph. I assume this is correct? Is the vent plugging common? Seems weird both sides would plug off, but I know it is possible. |
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Post by gofast24 on Aug 22, 2021 10:10:04 GMT -5
Good advice all. Not much to add!
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Post by xixp on Aug 22, 2021 15:17:16 GMT -5
Update…
Ive just checked my 2016 SC35 and it has the inspection hatch under the port bench seat. Hopefully yours has the same…
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Post by jlmsooner on Aug 23, 2021 9:09:41 GMT -5
Update… Ive just checked my 2016 SC35 and it has the inspection hatch under the port bench seat. Hopefully yours has the same… Thanks. Thats good news, Ill check. |
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Post by gofast24 on Aug 23, 2021 10:12:21 GMT -5
Fuel gauges on boats are notorious for being inaccurate! Start with fuel hoses and vent lines: constant upward slant from tank to separate fill/vents Consider either electronic tank senders (Centroid or similar: or separate fuel units/gauges (Floscan or such: There are also possible add-ons for your electronics that would include fuel level, mpg, gpm, distance to empty, etc. using inline transducers. Thanks for the reply and I hear you. This boat has both the analog and digital gauges, but they read the same. I do see the digital gauge will read gallons per hour of burn. I was running about 3700 rpm and it read 14-15 gph. I assume this is correct? Is the vent plugging common? Seems weird both sides would plug off, but I know it is possible. Both the analog and digital gauges should be reading from the same sending units. Not sure the GPH is telling you how full your tanks are? |
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Post by jlmsooner on Aug 24, 2021 8:21:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply and I hear you. This boat has both the analog and digital gauges, but they read the same. I do see the digital gauge will read gallons per hour of burn. I was running about 3700 rpm and it read 14-15 gph. I assume this is correct? Is the vent plugging common? Seems weird both sides would plug off, but I know it is possible. Both the analog and digital gauges should be reading from the same sending units. Not sure the GPH is telling you how full your tanks are? I was thinking the gph could help calculate usage. I know it is far from exact, but would be somewhat of an estimate to keep track. |
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wjh
Full Member
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Post by wjh on Aug 24, 2021 14:25:38 GMT -5
I believe the gph figure is coming from the engine computer. It uses the injector flow rate and pulse width to calculate fuel burn. I would suspect it is more accurate that the fuel sending unit showing the fuel level.
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Post by gofast24 on Aug 25, 2021 10:02:56 GMT -5
I believe the gph figure is coming from the engine computer. It uses the injector flow rate and pulse width to calculate fuel burn. I would suspect it is more accurate that the fuel sending unit showing the fuel level. I would rely on a accurate fuel tank level sender for how much fuel is in your tanks? GPH is nice but what will you do with that info, slows down, speed up and then try to calculate/log the GPH for every throttle setting your running at  |
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wjh
Full Member
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Post by wjh on Aug 27, 2021 7:12:41 GMT -5
I believe the gph figure is coming from the engine computer. It uses the injector flow rate and pulse width to calculate fuel burn. I would suspect it is more accurate that the fuel sending unit showing the fuel level. I would rely on a accurate fuel tank level sender for how much fuel is in your tanks? GPH is nice but what will you do with that info, slows down, speed up and then try to calculate/log the GPH for every throttle setting your running at I assumed that the gauge he would be reading gph would also have a total fuel burn reading, as well. So knowing fuel tank size or how much you added at the fueling dock, you could get an idea of how much you had left. My comment was aimed, primarily, at the discussion around the accuracy of a gph gauge. I agree - you need a good fuel tank sender. As far as a fuel sender, I installed one of these in the last bassboat that I had and it worked very well for gauge accuracy and limiting needle bounce: ribandhsc.com/inner-category/9/23/56/ I am not sure that this particular one is still available, but there are others out there that are similar. |
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Post by gofast24 on Sept 2, 2021 10:54:52 GMT -5
Yes, if total fuel burn that would work, just have to know how much is in tanks before and after at sea?
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