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Oil Pressure Issues - 2004 196 - Excalibur 330

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  • Oil Pressure Issues - 2004 196 - Excalibur 330

    Hey everyone, I need some advice on what to try next before I throw more parts at my boat...

    Background of the issue: I purchased a new to me 2004 Nautique 196 with the Excalibur 330 earlier this year. After a lot of cleaning and some maintenance, I took the boat for a spin on the lake to make sure everything was in working order before taking the family out. Everything was going well until I got a low oil pressure warning and check engine light on the dash. The gauge was reading 0 during the alarm. I immediately shut the boat down and checked the oil level. It was right where it should be on the dipstick. Prior to this, the oil pressure was behaving normally. 50-60 when cold, dropped to around 30-40 once up to temp at idle, and increased as RPMs were raised to 50-60ish when under power. The engine oil smelled fine, none of the burnt bearing smell you get on a failing engine so I decided to try and start it again to see if it was still reading 0. Amazingly the pressure was back at 30-40 at idle and behaving normally again. After a minute or two, it dropped to 0 again, but I left the engine running this time. It stayed at 0 for a bit, then shot back up again to normal levels. Guessing this was a sender or gauge issue I drove the boat back to the ramp without issue or the engine seizing. The whole time the gauge was reading normally and dropping to 0 with no change in engine noise or performance, leading me to believe the issue was electric and not an actual oil pressure issue. I ordered a new oil pressure sender and switch (OEM PCM parts, R020015A & R020001) from Nautique Parts and replaced them the next week.

    When I got the boat back in the water with the new sender and switch, the gauge pegged at max and stayed there. No other changes to the engine were made when I replaced the sender and switch. Every time I start and run the boat, the gauge has been at max since. I've run it for about 15 hours and there are no oil leaks anywhere that you would expect if it was a stuck relief valve or something in the pump. My best guess at this point is I got a bad replacement sender or the gauges are messed up, which would really be unfortunate as they are the Faria ones that are no longer made and I really don't want to drop the 1K on the manual replacement gauges and have to buy a stand-alone perfect pass. There is 0 water in the gateway and I've removed and plugged the pilot tubes. Prior to that all gauges worked fine for the dealer during a pre-purchase inspection.

    Does anyone know the voltages the sender should put out or how to test if it is bad? What fittings would I need to test the oil pressure manually with a test gauge? Any ideas as to what else could be causing this? The boat runs perfectly and has no other issues. Thanks!



  • #2
    you could always buy a mechanical Autometer and mount it in the engine compartment or just for your troubleshooting.

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    • #3
      Yea it really sucks with the gauge issues with Faria and Nautique both blame each other yet no fix for the boat owner. I hope they are better with the cloned space ships they build now??

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      • #4
        Confirmed the issue is either with the gauge (most likely) or the new sender... hooked up a mechanical oil pressure test gauge to the engine over the weekend and everything was normal. Reconnected the sender and gauge and they still show max. Does anyone know the voltage range expected out of the sender so I can verify that part is working? Also, if the gauge is the culprit, would the issue lie in the gateway box or the gauge itself? Thanks!

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        • #5
          BadLuck,

          Did you ever find out if it was the sender or the gauge? I'm seeing the same issue.

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