05 Malibu lxi guage cluster question

[MitchellM]

My 4 in 1 guage cluster only shows the engine temp.  Is there any way to know if replacing the entire cluster will bring the other 3 guages back to life?  This part is nearly $800, and I don't want to spend the money if its an issue with other sensors.

https://www.malibuparts.com/products/dash-4-in-1-gauge-1-3727014

[braindamage]

1 hour ago, MitchellM said:

My 4 in 1 guage cluster only shows the engine temp.  Is there any way to know if replacing the entire cluster will bring the other 3 guages back to life?  This part is nearly $800, and I don't want to spend the money if its an issue with other sensors.

https://www.malibuparts.com/products/dash-4-in-1-gauge-1-3727014

No way to really know, but it’s difficult to believe that the sender units for the other 3 gauges are bad.

you could take it out, make sure all wires are connected and clean any corrosion to see if it’s simply a faulty connection.

If that doesn’t do anything, then I’d say replacing with a new one will solve your problem.

[jpwhit]

Sure, test the other sensor with a voltmeter before you buy the replacement gauge. 

[Rednucleus]

@MitchellM you might ask over at Malibucrew if you have not done yet - lots of posts about guages over there

[MitchellM]

43 minutes ago, Rednucleus said:

@MitchellM you might ask over at Malibucrew if you have not done yet - lots of posts about guages over there

Thanks for the tip.

[Gale K]

What Red said above!  Lots of issues with Medallion computers driving the gauges when the computer is failing.  Many of us have gone to stand alone gauges.  More likely it as compared to the 4-in-1 combined gauge.  Lots of good t-shooting tips over there.

[buechsr]

As I recall in that era, all three of the dash gauges use the same port plug. You should be able to interchange gages and get the same readings no matter their location or where they are plugged. That will eliminate a connection issue, but I can comfortably predict that the multi gauge itself is bad.

[DkLkSkr]

The most likely scenario is that the stepper motors that move the needles are dead.  Happens often on these gauges.  The Malibucrew talks about a DIY option to replace these.  Definitely try plugging in the gauge to another plug first before opening up the gauge to replace these small stepper motors.  You can find the stepper motors online for cheap, they are used in cars as well.  I would recommend replacing them all if you go the DIY route. 

Also, watch when you turn the key one click to the right, these needles should vibrate a little.  There is also a way to test the gauge functionality by pressing the speed adjust button while the screen displays lake temp, or some combination.  Someone here might have the exact process.  I'm not near my boat now to verify.

[jpwhit]

4 hours ago, jpwhit said:

Sure, test the other sensor with a voltmeter before you buy the replacement gauge. 

You didn’t say the year of the boat. If this is a medallion gateway era boat, then disregard my comment. 

[buechsr]

31 minutes ago, jpwhit said:

You didn’t say the year of the boat. If this is a medallion gateway era boat, then disregard my comment. 

05 per the thread title 🤫

[ETskier]

If it is a Medaliion gateway system, check out the TRD Conversion Kit at  skiboatpartsonline.com. Ron Tannis there is very helpful.

[Ray]

 

[MitchellM]

1 hour ago, ETskier said:

If it is a Medaliion gateway system, check out the TRD Conversion Kit at  skiboatpartsonline.com. Ron Tannis there is very helpful.

This looks most promising.  Hopefully this conversion is something I can do myself.

[03RLXi]

@MitchellM have the gauges progressively failed, or did the 3 just suddenly all stop working? If progressively it's the stepper motors. If suddenly it's the wiring, plug or medallion. Lots of info on themalibucrew about resoldering the medallion.

When my medallion MMDC failed I went for the TRD kit. Easy DIY plug in kit and then just a couple of wires to crimp.  Kit cost less than replacing the medallion. Bonus is the kit provides a new multigauge and GPS speedo that are better quality than OEM gauges. Plus I sold the OEM multigauge and speedo to recover a large portion of the TRD kit cost 😁 The TRD gauges have glass rather than plastic face., and because medallion deleted there will never be a future issue with it. If TRD multigauge or speedo eventually fails can get them cheaply. I later fitted a separate Hawkeye 2BX to recover the depth/air/water temp as the TRD speedo doesn't have the little LCD.  I opted for the stainless steel bezels rather than black. I also opted to upgrade my single line PerfectPass to Stargazer. Vey happy with the kit, the quality, the performance and the look of it.

Before and after photos.

[Ski_Dad]

Message me on Friday.  I’m out of town. I can check to see if I can find a partially working gauge you can test with.  I have a box of old gauges  

 

[MitchellM]

9 hours ago, 03RLXi said:

@MitchellM have the gauges progressively failed, or did the 3 just suddenly all stop working? If progressively it's the stepper motors. If suddenly it's the wiring, plug or medallion. Lots of info on themalibucrew about resoldering the medallion.

When my medallion MMDC failed I went for the TRD kit. Easy DIY plug in kit and then just a couple of wires to crimp.  Kit cost less than replacing the medallion. Bonus is the kit provides a new multigauge and GPS speedo that are better quality than OEM gauges. Plus I sold the OEM multigauge and speedo to recover a large portion of the TRD kit cost 😁 The TRD gauges have glass rather than plastic face., and because medallion deleted there will never be a future issue with it. If TRD multigauge or speedo eventually fails can get them cheaply. I later fitted a separate Hawkeye 2BX to recover the depth/air/water temp as the TRD speedo doesn't have the little LCD.  I opted for the stainless steel bezels rather than black. I also opted to upgrade my single line PerfectPass to Stargazer. Vey happy with the kit, the quality, the performance and the look of it.

Before and after photos.

That looks great.  I'm not sure if fuel, oil pressure and volt gauges failed all at once or sequentially.  The engine temp gauge is still working along with the speedometer, tach and the speedo on my PP.  While it would be nice to know the oil pressure and voltage, I doubt the fuel gauge will work (they never do) if I replace.  I will have to consider if this is actually worth the money and effort.

[Gale K]

Fuel gauge on ours hadn't worked in YEARS. With our gauge swapping etc, I decided there had to be a solution. Started down the troubleshooting path,  eventually hooked up a temporary jumper ground wire between the tank sender and a known good ground and presto, gauge worked. Pulled the original ground wire out (went from tank sender up to a grounding spot on the engine) and investigated. A short section of the wire was swollen up. Cut into it there and found that section completely corroded. Replaced the wire and have been loving a working gauge ever since.

The corroded ground wire was the factory wire. It lives in the bilge on the hull bottom, so a potentially pretty moist environment. Any compromise in the wire insulation could allow water intrusion.  Knowing the propensity for Malibu fuel gauges to not work, I wondered at the time how many others have the same issue with a potential of an iffy supply of original wire stock or a manufacturing process that may have damaged the wire during install.

[MitchellM]

53 minutes ago, Gale K said:

Fuel gauge on ours hadn't worked in YEARS. With our gauge swapping etc, I decided there had to be a solution. Started down the troubleshooting path,  eventually hooked up a temporary jumper ground wire between the tank sender and a known good ground and presto, gauge worked. Pulled the original ground wire out (went from tank sender up to a grounding spot on the engine) and investigated. A short section of the wire was swollen up. Cut into it there and found that section completely corroded. Replaced the wire and have been loving a working gauge ever since.

The corroded ground wire was the factory wire. It lives in the bilge on the hull bottom, so a potentially pretty moist environment. Any compromise in the wire insulation could allow water intrusion.  Knowing the propensity for Malibu fuel gauges to not work, I wondered at the time how many others have the same issue with a potential of an iffy supply of original wire stock or a manufacturing process that may have damaged the wire during install.

A working fuel gauge would be a dream come true.  Sadly, I doubt replacing the dash gauges would help me there.  Even new boats rarely have accurate fuel gauges!  Why do we tolerate this?

[03RLXi]

9 hours ago, MitchellM said:

That looks great.  I'm not sure if fuel, oil pressure and volt gauges failed all at once or sequentially.  The engine temp gauge is still working along with the speedometer, tach and the speedo on my PP.  While it would be nice to know the oil pressure and voltage, I doubt the fuel gauge will work (they never do) if I replace.  I will have to consider if this is actually worth the money and effort.

Shame you don't scan the gauges frequently when driving as knowing if all at once or sequentially would be useful info. Try swapping the gauges on the other plugs to see it that helps.  That'll tell you if gauge, or medallion, or sensor. 

Heaps of info on themalibucrew.  Also Ron Tanis has these useful history and testing videos.  Your version of course doesn't have the pitot air tubes. 

Effort to replace with TRD kit is minimal. Certainly less than 2hrs. If in a hurry could be 30 mins. Only you can decide if repairing, replacing stepper motors, replacing gauges, upgrading to TRD etc is worth your time and money or if you take risk and rely on alarms preventing engine damage. Personally I'd not be comfortable without oil pressure. 

Fuel level fixes are known and common to most boats (replace wire, better earth, replace level transducer). They're just a bit of a hassle to do.

 

  

[MitchellM]

Just ordered the TRD replacement kit after a nice chat with them.  This will replace my 4 cluster gauge and add a GPS controlled speedometer.  My existing tach and PP will remain for now.  They assured me that their instructions and phone support will allow me to do this installation myself.  They are even hopeful I will have  a functioning fuel gauge.  I'll keep everyone posted.

[03RLXi]

You won't regret it. Quality kit.

[MitchellM]

TRD kit has arrived.  Now need to set aside some time for this installation.  Any suggestions on how to pass the new oil pressure and temperature sensor wires from the engine compartment to the area under the dash?

It also appears that I will lose some features currently present on the digital display within my current speedometer.  These include my engine hours and water temperature.  How will I now track my engine hours??

When I asked for suggestions today about passing the wires, Ron wrote back that I should hire a mechanic for the installation.  😡  Not the comment I was expecting.

 

[buechsr]

I've not done this conversion before but as to running wires to helm, find the steering cable, follow its routing, use a hanger or other wire fishing solution, tie a string, and route it up.  Tie wires, pull through.

[03RLXi]

See my reply on the to your post in themalibcrew forum.

[MitchellM]

36 minutes ago, 03RLXi said:

See my reply on the to your post in themalibcrew forum.

Thanks, Ron let me know that 05 Malibus are some of the most challenging to convert (of course).  Something about how they experimented with the wiring during that year.  I'll have to play with a wiring snake to see if I can thread it down to the engine compartment.  A part of me is tempted to try resoldering the joints in the MDC which often fail.