Water Pressure Gauge

[ferdinando]

My Water Pressure Gauge stopped working during my last outing. It reads 0 pressure and the needle just won't budge. I checked the the small tube that goes from my 150 E-Tec to the gauge on the dash and found no breaks or leaks that I could detect. Can these gauges just suddenly go dead? The gauge is about 8 years old.

[Yellowjacket]

Typical pressure gages are just Bourdian tube gages and they can indeed go bad. The needle is connected to a bent tube that changes shape when pressurized. There is a linkage and a gear in there that spins the needle as the tube changes shape. If the linkage or gear breaks then the gage won't work. Pressure gages aren't expensive.

Of course, make sure your motor is still pumping and water is coming out the tell-tale and it isn't a failed impeller.

[ferdinando]

The impeller is brand new and pumping water like crazy, guess it could be the gauge.

[jimh]

To test, disconnect the hose from the gauge. Engine cooling water should flow from the hose in a considerable volume. If no water flows, there is an obstruction upstream.

[floater]

Mine went out as well on my Mercury 200. Replacing it was easy. Cost 70 bucks Canadian so should be about 10 bucks US:)

[ferdinando]

Ok disconnected hose started up engine, no water coming out of gauge hose, guess I’ll have to snake through some new hose, hate pushing stuff through those hull pipes!

Thks Jim and everyone else for your suggestions!

[Jefecinco]

Fred - Before replacing the hose remove it from the engine and see if you can blow through it. It may be the gauge.

[ferdinando]

Butch I did blow through the hose but it looks like there’s a break as no resistance is felt, I connected a new hose directly from the engine to the gauge running it along the floor and the gauge worked perfectly! Now I just have to run the new hose through the hull to get everything working! Thks again! Fred