Bad volt meter?

[BoxMN]

We have gauges in our '97 boat, and the volt meter seems like it is not registering properly. I know the motor is charging, and also use on board charger, battery is new. But the volt meter consistently reads in the 10.5-11 range. Do these gauges just go bad at times, or is there a connection I should look at to clean? motor is '97 Merc 150efi, boat alumacraft. I hit the battery with voltmeter and reads 12.6-13, so no prob there. We can also see on locator, and it is good, but I hate looking at a gauge that gives bad info

Thanks for any thoughts. Is it easy to slap a new one in? That's about the one piece of electronics on a boat I have not looked at yet.

[jeffreyd]

they do go bad over time. you might look to see that the connections are good and tight, clean ground, and that the sense wire is making good contact and not frayed or cut. Sounds like a bad gauge to me, you can put your meter on the back of the gauge and get a reading there too to make sure you have voltage coming up to that point. one thing i would do is with the engine off, no charger, read the voltage at the battery, then start the engine and see if it increases to the 13 range. this will tell you the engine is charging correctly.

[marine_man]

Good post jefferyd... that's exactly what I'd do. There is no "sensor" wire for a volt gauge.. it's a three pole gauge... backlight, ground & switched power.

marine_man

[BoxMN]

Thanks guys, I will try just what Jeffery said. Appreciate the help!