Last summer the temp. gauge on my 1941 19’ Custom quit working. I tried taking the probe out of the engine head and heating with a hair dryer and still no results. During these long winter months, I want to remove the gauge and send it out for testing but have a question about the connection to the gauge from the probe wire. Is the probe wire connector screwed or just inserted into the back of the gauge?
I know this much, those suckers are fragile! I am about to deal with the same issue. MY best guess is that nut is a seal of sorts. But been waiting on someone who has done this.
I backed off the nut and gently tugged on the wire but it didn’t budge. At that point I decided to back off and see if I could get some information as to how this is attached.
Smart! I did the same.
The probe,line, and gauge are a sealed system filled with temperature sensitive liquid. . It is a bit of a job, but you must remove all from the boat and send to the gauge person. The sealed line probably lost pressure from a leak somewhere.
Thank you for the information. My simple job just got more complicated but at least I have 4 months until launch.
The capillary tube is one solid connection. Remove from engine block, use a coffee maker to get water very hot and test in the hot water.
Like already mentioned the capillary tube is a sealed connection. The nut you see on the back of the gauge just holds the inner working to the can. The tube is soldered to the gauge. Also as mentioned, pull the bulb from the engine and submerge in boiling water, if the gauge doesn’t move then it needs servicing. All has to come out in one unit. The capillary tubes of old are filled with ether or mercury. I’m not sure what the rebuilders use these days.
I just put the probe in 150 degree water for 15 minutes. The gauge went up slightly but stopped at 105 degrees so something is wrong. I sent an inquiry to Kocian Instruments yesterday and Shauna responded right away to send it all to them for evaluation so now onto removal of the gauge and capillary tubes. I guess I could try Chris-Craft warranty division but I probably won’t have too much luck.
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