2016 G23 belly ballast sensor access?

[GMLIII]

OffTheTop Life is too short as I said in prior thread take to your dealer to replace the sensor. Be done with it!

[Scooter G]

...And in Austin they will have him back on the water by Monday, lol

[OffTheTop]

All good - I’ve spent a life time with busted knuckles but I enjoy trying to figure this stuff out. Hopefully this thread will help a DYI guy down the road… Now that I know where it is the Belly sensor is super easy to change.

[OffTheTop]

UPDATE - I always like to finish a thread so here we go

So ultimately it was not the sensor at all, or the pump, or the .... it was a **** loose wire under the dash. I should have started with the easy stuff first but....

I highly recommend checking any spade-type wire connection under the dash panel if your are having ballast pump issues. There is a black junction box where all the pump wires route through - guessing its the H-circuit referenced earlier in the thread or a part of the fault monitoring system. Either way the pump wires are connected to this using spade connections on input and output side - one side of mine was slightly loose.

Live and Learn

[Scooter G]

Wow, good find!
That one could of driven you crazy for a long time.
It's always the last place you look, lol
Well, now you have a spare sensor. You will probably need it down the road.
Thanks for the follow up.

[BasaltRMK]

OffTheTop - great stuff, thank you for the detailed write-up and follow up. So just to confirm - am I understanding correctly that the belly ballast pressure sender (sensor?) is located on a stub up hose from the belly bag that's accessible behind the stbd bow back cushion? I've replaced both my rear ballast pressure senders, and the belly has had no issues, but this is great info if it ever fails.

- bob

[OffTheTop]

That is correct - it appears to be an OEM install on my '16. See pic below. You actually can totally access it through the removable panel under the helm. Super easy to change...

[BasaltRMK]

Yup, that's the old-style sender alright. Dang, that looks like a dream compared to the ones in the stern. Thanks!

- bob

[Scooter G]

That seems a little ironic to stick a hose up under a dash with some sensitive relays & electronics, hmm. Not a lot of pressure, but plastic & hose clamps, things don't always hold for forever. Like BasaltRMK mentioned, no swet or busted knuckles to replace that one, I'm excited for the sensor to quit working, lol.

[jpwhit]

If they were going to do that for the center tank, you have to wonder why they didn't do the same for the other tanks as well. You gotta believe now they probably wish they had, given how many of these sensors they've paid to have replaced under warranty.

[OffTheTop]

That seems a little ironic to stick a hose up under a dash with some sensitive relays & electronics, hmm. Not a lot of pressure, but plastic & hose clamps, things don't always hold for forever. Like BasaltRMK mentioned, no swet or busted knuckles to replace that one, I'm excited for the sensor to quit working, lol.

I agree, I am going to look at relocating it outside of the dash panel for this reason - at least I don't operate in salt water as that could make a serious mess if it failed...

Also, given that I couldn't find any info on this I wonder if the belly is less prone to failure as its up in a dry area vs a damp bilge?

[GMLIII]

All my sensors have failed and been replaced but I think the 2 stern ballast pressure sensors fail much more often than the belly ballast sensor because the belly ballast pressure sensor is "Alway High and Dry" vs the ones in the stern of the boat.

[Scooter G]

All super good points.
It would be an easy mod to get those rear sensors up and a little higher out of the belly pan. It would be interesting to see how much more life that gives them (and a lot easier to change out).
Although I punched 4" holes in the rear back cradles above the sensors, so change out access is a breeze now. It's the $300 a pop that could better go somewhere else that's a pain.

[OffTheTop]

All super good points.
It would be an easy mod to get those rear sensors up and a little higher out of the belly pan. It would be interesting to see how much more life that gives them (and a lot easier to change out).
Although I punched 4" holes in the rear back cradles above the sensors, so change out access is a breeze now. It's the $300 a pop that could better go somewhere else that's a pain.

Yup - when mine go bad I will make and extension tube after hearing all these stories...

[Scooter G]

Can't wait to see the pics on that project OffTheTop. You could scratch together and sell a "Nautique Ballast Sensor Upgade Kit", lol

I know pressure is pressure, but there would have to be a decent pocket of air in that tube as the bag filled, where as the rear sensors are totally immersed. I wonder if that might have something to do with better longevity also? You should leave the cover off and catch a picture of that on your next bag fill, I would guess a 1 to 2" air pocket, maybe...