I am thinking about installing temp and oil pressure gauges, rather than relying solely on the ‘idiot alarms’. Rising temperature or falling oil pressure might be good info to have before the alarm sounds.
Any opinions? Has anyone done this? Is it worth the effort?
Kerry Nevins,
Freedom 36/38
Gloucester Point, VA
Kerry,
It can’t hurt to have that extra information about your engine. Oil pressure gauge is useful fore establsihing “normal” pressure and the cause of any downward trend might be addressed before catastrophic failure occurs. Personally, I find the temp gauge the most useful as it gives me an idea of the load condition of the engine as well as the state of the cooling system. In any situation requiring the engine to work hard I always keep a close eye on the temp. My engine is freshwater cooled so jacket temp should not go much above 90c, but I understand Raw water cooled engines run at lower temps.
Ifr anyone has installed these gauges on a 3GM could they give me some idea of the installation, what type and where they were installed??
Thanks
Ron
Ron,
I have a 3HM in my Rasmus. It’s very similar to a 3GM just heavier and older. I will try and have a look at it over the next few days and see how it is all hooked up. In a general sense the guage will need a sender and power supply. The latter is usually obtained from the instrument panel. Oil pressure senders are usually fitted around the oil filter mounting bracket while temperature senders are often mounted in the vacinity of the fw pump and thermostat high up on the engine. The temp guage needs to be in the area where the jacket water circulates with the thermostat closed, not on the heat exchanger side of the thermostat.
When I’ve had a look I will report back if I find anything that might be useful.
Best wishes,
Kewrry,
Try Paul Dennis at Warren River Boat Works. At one time he was selling kits for water and oil gauges.
Jim Demerest
Lady of Remes F36/38
Several months ago I posted here about installing a water temperature gauge on my Yanmar 3GM. I did install the gauge without disturbing the origional temp sensor and buzzer alarm system.
The fresh water pipe between the heat exchanger and the thermostat has a 3/8 npt plug. See pics. I removed the plug after first heating with a propane torch (and allowing it to cool) and screwed a temp sensor in its place. I used a Teleflex Morse Heavy Duty Temperature Gauge and matching sensor.
I used an Edson Vision Series Single Housing with a side arm mount, placing it on the pedistal guard. For the gauge, one wire came from the sensor, one from the ignition switch. Light power came from the compass light which is powered by the navigation switch.
I claim no diesel expertise and have no particular qualifications except my career as a surgeon. Just sharing my experience…
Happy Sailing
Kerry Nevins
1987 F36/38, Gloucester Point, Virginia
