Speedometer/ fuel gauge issue.

I have a 2018 Basshawk. This is the 2nd time my gauge that has fuel gauge and speedometer has died. The needle for the speedometer goes limp and impinges on the needle for gas gauge. I don’t need to know how fast I’m going, but would like to know how much gas I have. My dealer is clueless. I found a speedometer/fuel gauge from Great Lakes Skipper in the past. I was just sitting in the garage tonight in the boat and noticed the speedometer needle had spy all the around. I tried to drag it back with a magnet. No luck. Anyone else have tips or similar experiences? Thanks, Sam

My first thought is you have a bad ground somewhere in the circuit.
Spinning of the gauge beyond normal range can also be caused by a voltage or amperage spike on sensitive low voltage circuits.
First thing to check is battery connections to make sure they are tight and that the battery will pass a load test.

Another thing you can check is to make sure there is not constant power to the gauges even when the key is off.
Lots of variables here and its hard to diagnose without putting my hands on it.
I hope you figure it out!!

Like Iowaboy1 said, you will need to do some ground and voltage checks before writing off the gauge as bad. Both of those items use a variable resistance sensor, could check the output, the speed would be the easiest to do sense the sensor is hanging off the back of your boat. But you will need to understand electronics and how to use a good meter.

The odd thing is that the fuel gauge works, but the speedometer has pooped out twice. The darn needle hangs down and stops the needle the needle of the gas gauge from working. I’ll check into your suggestions. Thanks. The sensor is the hole on the leading edge of the motor I believe.

The speedo issue,does that only occur after winter storage??
If so it sounds to me like the pilot tube is full of water and freezing.
Just for fun pull the pilot hose off the back of the gauge and see if it’s frozen now.

Pitot,guldern friggin phone!!

I’ll check. I can’t remember if it happened during winter storage last time. Why would that cause irreparable damage ? I’m not super handy. Sorry if that’s a dumb question.

If water is making it up to the gauge and it’s freezing it will trash the speedometer.

A pitot style speedometer works off of the pressure of the water pushing against the front of the lower unit. Normally there is air in the tubing and the gauge. The water pressure compresses the air and the compressed air pushes against a spring/needle combo in the gauge. If water gets inside the gauge, it can apply too much pressure on the internal mechanism and deform it. Once deformed it will not go back to normal. I had water freeze in a gauge years ago and it actually caused the gauge to read a minimum of 40mph. I took it apart once to spring it back to shape and it worked until the next time it froze – then I gave up. If this is your issue, then you may be able to open the gauge up and manual move the needle out of the way of the fuel gauge.

I bought a new combo gauge. I think I just won’t hook the tube for the speedometer on the back of the gauge. Clamp the tube off so I don’t get a wet foot. Thanks for the advice.

Hey, Iowaboy1, you were right. I pulled the tube off the back of the speedometer, and tried blowing in. No go. I blew and blew. I got nowhere. It much be full of water/ice. I’m not real smart or handy. My understanding is that it’s air pressure in the tube that dictates speed. Don’t really understand how the water gets in there. This has happened twice now. I appreciate any thoughts. I have a new combo gauge to install. Im going to pinch off the tube and not use the speedometer. Need to know how much gas I have. Thanks, Sam