What is this?

[Daryl]

Here is a picture out of owners manual, what is this? new boat has it, old boat not......

[DanielC]

It is a sender for lake water temperature.

[Daryl]

Looks like you hit the nail on the head, DanielC, thanks for the post.

Not sure I would put it there if I was the boat engineer but hey....

any idea on the electrical characteristics of the sensor? 0-5V or something?

I'm curious what it will say when it sees the 2 degrees Celsius temps in November!!!???? (Canadian eh!)

[DanielC]

It is on the 2004 206?
I believe it sends an analog signal to the gateway box in the back of the boat. The gateway box translates analog signals from sensors like this, and on the engine, and the paddle wheel or pitot tubes for boat speed, to a serial digital signal that goes to the dash gauges in one cable. All the dash gauges are daisy chained together and each gauge responds to the information it needs, and ignores other data, but passes all the data to the next gauge in the chain.

Where it is located, it will only read accurately with the engine running, and drawing a constant supply of water past it. But where else are you going to measure the water temp?

I do not know the electrical characteristics of it. But most engine temperature senders are just a simple thermistor, needing only two wires to complete a circuit. It might use a voltage dividing system, and have a 5 volt reference signal, or it could be something totally different.
My guess it is just a simple thermister. If you can trace the wire on it back to the gateway box, carefully unplug it, and see how many wire connections it has. But if it is working now, I would just leave it alone.


There is special programming in the gateway box that when it is that cold it flashes a error message "Put the boat away for winter!"

[Daryl]

yup, it is on my (new to me) 2004 206 with the Excalibur.

It does go back to the gateway box in the trunk.

Since the boat is new to me and there isn't a dealer within a day's drive, I'm just in the process of learning the boat.

I appreciate all the info, I have read about the serial data for the dash but haven't torn the dash apart yet.

I also have perfect pass (stargazer) to install but I haven't tackled it just yet. No time....

I would be curious on the power connection locations and master module/gps puck locations people have used (or where the factory install puts this stuff). I suppose there was no GPS back in '04.

Forecast isn't good here for a couple of days so I might have time to tackle the PP install.