Honda bf150---help! Lost all instruments (tach/hour meter/voltmeter/tilt indicator

Sharphooks

Sharphooks

Well-Known Member
Hey gents

Just put a pile of hours on the BF150 but the entire time, I had zero instrumentation---no tach, no hour meter, no tilt/trim indicator, no volt meter

I checked the fuses inside the BF150---there is a specific fuse for these instruments and it was fine

I spent two hours last night making sure all connections were tight---still no instruments. Any body ever trouble-shoot this problem before? It's a major drag losing the hour-meter, especially knowing I just put on at least 75 hours on the motor

thanks for the comments
 
thanks for that RSC: Mike is awesome, you're right. I shot blanks with his suggestions so I was hoping someone out there who might own a BF150 could lead me by the hand to a solution

I'm the village idiot when it comes to trouble-shooting electronic problems
 
No indicator for trim but does the trim still work? If I understand right it all was working before, if the loss was sudden it might be a connector in the shifter box or near the instrument cluster.
 
Sounds like the acessories terminal from your key switch is not sending power to the guages. I cant remember what the wire color is, but I would look there first.
 
Hey IFL and Gunsmith---yes, the trim works---just the trim gauge (trim indicator) is down (with the tach and volt meter. I unscrewed the key switch last night---all the connections are sound (dipped in rubber coating)

So if the accessories terminal is not sending power, that sounds like a fuse inside the BF150---I checked those and even swapped them out to make sure

I thought it would be an easy fix but so far that hasn't been the case
 
Island Fish Lifter said:
Sounds like the acessories terminal from your key switch is not sending power to the guages.
Click to expand...


This...

I would probe the gauges with the key on and see if you got some 12v action going on. If you do start looking for a broken ground or re grounding
 
agree with above. test the power terminals on the back of the gauges and confirm power and ground supplies. thats the first thing that need to be determined.
then follow the acc wire usually purple back make sure no inline fuses are there and then check the key switch is working and allowing power to go to the acc/gauges could be the switch itself is faulty.
 
I agree with IFL that you are looking for a problem that originates back at the source of power for all the gauges. I think it is a given there will be no 12 volt power at the gauges.
 
I ended up hot-wiring the gauges by by-passing the ignition switch---they lit up like Christmas trees which at least confirmed they were functional (and properly grounded) , but not getting power from the switch.

Called the marina that wired the boat long before I owned her---the guy insisted there was an in-line fuse (a fuse I had not been able to find) I went back to the drawing board, only this time I started hacking zip ties, whether they held together wires that were pertinent to the instruments or not---l I filled a bucket with them. Then lo and behold, inside a huge bundle of wires there was the in-line fuse. I swapped it out and now, I'm back on Broadway cruising for love.

Thanks for the helpful comments in the meantime, Gents. I'm not the swiftest deer in the forest, nor am I the sharpest tool in the toolshed when it comes to electronics....
 
sharphooks said:
I ended up hot-wiring the gauges by by-passing the ignition switch---they lit up like Christmas trees which at least confirmed they were functional (and properly grounded) , but not getting power from the switch.

Called the marina that wired the boat long before I owned her---the guy insisted there was an in-line fuse (a fuse I had not been able to find) I went back to the drawing board, only this time I started hacking zip ties, whether they held together wires that were pertinent to the instruments or not---l I filled a bucket with them. Then lo and behold, inside a huge bundle of wires there was the in-line fuse. I swapped it out and now, I'm back on Broadway cruising for love.

Thanks for the helpful comments in the meantime, Gents. I'm not the swiftest deer in the forest, nor am I the sharpest tool in the toolshed when it comes to electronics....
Click to expand...

You wonder what some guys are thinking when they wire boats. This past spring I got under my dash and started cutting and hacking the birdsnest of wires that was under there. I rerouted wire and now I know what goes where and where all my fuses are. I ended up with a huge pile of excess wire that was never needed in the first place. Before that, troubleshooting was a nightmare.
Dave
 
Always nice when it's a simple fix that involves taking half your boat apart to fix something so simple. Lol
 
actually profisher if the ground is bad power will still be supplied and the gauges will not work.


you know what they say about assuming ....
 
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