(Hopefully) The definitive guide to faulty Ballast Gauges and Sending Units

[jkallen21]

I spent a few hours troubleshooting my ballast gauges and sending units this week. I learned some things and wanted to share them so that everyone can benefit. I ended up replacing two sending units and it turns out I only needed one. Hopefully this will prevent others from making the same mistake!

First off, Nautique ballast GAUGES are all interchangeable from 2003-2012. This might prove helpful. There could be other years, but according to NautiqueParts.com, all of these years can be used interchangeably.

* You may have a bad ballast gauge if:
* Your gauge needle does not fall far below "E" when powered off (if it sits right on "E", you may have a bad gauge).
* You unplug the sending unit and insert a jumper wire to loop back the two wires that would go to the sending unit and the gauge does NOT move to "Full". Almost a certainty that gauge is failed.
* Your gauges don't work, but the pumps do drain and even stop when they're empty like it's supposed to (your sending unit is working and it's telling the pumps the tank is empty, but the gauge is faulty).

You may have a bad Sending unit if:
* Your gauges don't respond to "Full" and/or "Empty" AND your ballasts will fill but not drain.
* You unplug the sending unit and insert a jumper wire to loop back the two wires that would go to the sending unit and the pumps will drain but stop if you remove the wire.
* You unplug the sending unit and put a multimeter set to Ohms on the two wires going to the sending unit and fill the tank. The meter should show 30-40 Ohms when the tank if is full (or ~240 when it's empty).

[k4]

Hello jkallen21, thanks for the post! I have 2005 Air (Ski) Nautique 216 (DD) and am having trouble with my port side ballast tank DRAIN. I checked the sending unit using the methods you noted and it seems to good. When I push the port drain (blinking) there is NO sound at all so I’m thinking it must be a fuse somewhere? The circuit under the drivers seat area is not popped so again, “seems” like it would be a fuse? Something else? If you or anyone out there can help, it would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[jkallen21]

Did you try swapping wires between port and starboard? That will identify if it’s an electrical issue. If it still doesn’t work, it’s the pump itself most likely. Doing this would attach the problem pump to a different sender and a different fuse. FWIW, my pump fuses are in the port locker.
also, if the pump fills but does not drain, it’s not a fuse.

lastly, check this video I made.

[k4]

No, I did not jkallen21, I will give that a try this weekend. Thanks for the response!

[jstallings]

2007 SV211- My ballast gauges light up but always read empty, the pumps all work to fill and drain by manually pushing the buttons. I pulled the cover plate to look for a loose connection and everything looks god except the plug with three wires (labeled port, starboard, belly)… I can not find where this should be plugged into… does anyone know where this should go? Thanks

[MN Ryan]

jstallings Do you have the stock hard tanks in the boat?

[jstallings]

Yes everything is 100% original, I bought boat new in 2007

[MN Ryan]

Oh, wow. Impressive!

If you don't get it resolved, I can pull my gauge panel and check it for you, but it won't be for about a week or so. I've replaced my rear tanks with bags, but the gauges worked before that, and I left the belly tank alone, and that gauge works (well, it works as well as those gauges work).

[jstallings]

Thanks if you don’t mind taking a look I would appreciate it, the gauges haven’t worked for a while (light up at night though) and everything else works. I just thought I would check for a loose connection, and then found this unplugged wire with no where to go.

[MN Ryan]

Yeah, it doesn't seem like that plug could work its way loose on its own.

[jkallen21]

What happens if you unplug the wire at one of the tanks (there should be a connector near the tank), and run a jumper wire that creates a loop back on the side that goes back to the gauge. If the wiring is hooked up, the gauge should go to F instantly.

[jstallings]

Thanks! Good idea I will give that a try. - still odd that three wire plug is not connected to anything though...

[jkallen21]

I agree with you on that. It's really weird. One possible explanation would be if that same harness was used on different boat models and yours didn't need that wire.