SmartCraft Guage Fogged Up

This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 3 months ago by Gregd72.

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February 23, 2011 at 4:12 pm #273807

Gregd72
Participant

I recently purchased an 06 Pantera Classic and one of the two larger Smartcraft guage displays has condensation/water inside that makes that guage unreadable when Im out on the water. Is the only way to fix this to replace that guage/display? Or, now that water is in it, should I try drilling a few small drain holes in the lower and upper portion of the lens to help air it out?Thanks, Greg

February 23, 2011 at 5:03 pm #273808

billius
Participant

I dont think Id drill it. Does it do that all the time? I had a Smartcraft on my Baycat that did that every so often, but not all the time.

February 23, 2011 at 5:10 pm #273809

Gregd72
Participant

Well… Ive taken it out every weekend since I bought it. Thats four times in the past month. And every time its been fogged up so I could not read the LCD display at the lower part of the guage. It HAS been cool here (30s/40s in the morning and up to 60s in the afternoon). I had a 2.5 hour drive home in the rain this past Saturday and while Ive mostly gotten the boat dried off at this point, the guage is still fogged up.Its obviously not waterproof anymore. Liquid has gotten inside. The other large guage has had no fogging up/condensation issues so it is OK.As long as the guage does not have issues with that liquid inside it, this will probably clear up when the weather gets warmer and our rainy season (Northern CA) quits in a few months. I was just thinking that as long as the water is inside I may as well make it easier for air to get in and clear it out. Right now it is basically trapped inside the unit.

February 23, 2011 at 5:49 pm #273810

barkerg
Participant

Mine were doing that and it got worse, after time the water started to stain at the bottom of the lens and looked awful. The gauges still worked but just looked bad. I had to replace them with updated gauges which I hear are vented. That was 18 months ago and they are still dry.

February 23, 2011 at 5:55 pm #273811

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Sounds like venting is the way to go. My idea was to drill a few small holes at the top and bottom of the lens to allow the water to drain out and/or let air pass through.

February 23, 2011 at 7:54 pm #273812

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

NO DO NOT VENT! The gauges are under your Mercury Warranty and are a warranty item on a 2009 with the engine warranty if you still have warranty left. The extended warranty does not cover Mercury parts, though the standard two or three years warranty does.

February 23, 2011 at 9:04 pm #273813

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Its an 06 Pantera and 200HP Optimax. Both over 5 years old so as far as I can tell the Mercury warranty has expired.So it looks like I can choose one of two options. One is to replace the guage with a new one on my dime. And the other is to come up with some way to make the existing guage usable. If my attempts to make it usable work… thats great! If they dont… then I still end up back at option 1 but at least I tried.Am I missing something? Option 2 seems to be the better way to go for now.

February 23, 2011 at 10:43 pm #273814

Bass Cat Boats
Keymaster

Its up to you?

February 23, 2011 at 11:16 pm #273815

Jslaster11
Participant

I had the same problem with my gauges. I have a 2003 classic with 200 efi. I called to checked into getting replacement covers for the guages and you cant get them. You have to buy whole new guages if you want them to be clear and not hold water. The reason is because they are nitrogen filled. I popped my off the outside covers to let the water drain then put the inside cover back on. I accidently broke the outside cover. But the inside cover stays on and I can see my guage now. Quick fix until i can buy some new gauges. You can order the guages from mercurypartsexpress.com. tach part number is 889222k22 and $376, speedo is 889223k22 and $430.

March 3, 2011 at 11:28 pm #273816

Gregd72
Participant

With the only other option being to replace the guage, I went ahead and drilled three small holes at the bottom and one small hole at the top of the outer lens. I then aimed a halogen work light at the front of the gauge to heat things up a little. It took about 6 hours but eventually all the liquid “baked” out of the guage. Its been clear ever since but I havent yet taken the boat out in the rain so well see if the “fix” is permanent.
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