2007 211 TE Fuel alarm, can you disable?

[Fast351]

OK, I have a full season on my boat, and love everything about it, except for the stupid low fuel beeper. Starting with about 10-12 gallons left in the fuel tank, when you come down off speed the fuel sloshes forward in the tank and the beeper goes off for a few seconds. That's annoying but not that bad. With around 8 gallons left, it's ALWAYS going off. The problem is that the "beeper reset" doesn't work as it should. IMO, the alarm should stay off for the duration of the ignition being on, then reset. But no, the alarm resets every time the "low fuel" condition goes away, so every time you move forward fast enough for the fuel to slosh rearward and then forward again, the alarm is going off again.

I guess it wouldn't be as big a deal if

A) the reset worked the way it was supposed to
B) the low fuel level was set at a more intelligent level. 8 gallons left on a 38 gallon tank (20%) is not a low fuel condition.

Has anyone found a cure for this? I would disconnect the beeper, but then the low oil/high temp alarm goes away too, which is not a good solution.

[bigdave0924]

The low fuel light comes on in my truck with there is 16% of a tank left in my gas tank. A boat burns more fuel than a truck so it may not be that bad of a feature, but I've never been on a boat when there was a low fuel alarm.

[MikeC]

Fast,
You may want to have the dealer take a look at where the alarm level is set on the float, it should be easily adjusted. On the 211 it takes about 5 minutes (10 if you don't have a helper) to take the floor out so you can get to the fuel level sending unit. I personally wouldn't want to mess with the wiring on a boat that is still under warranty so an adjustment may help.

The alarm may seem set unusually high, but you have to remember that it's set for the LCD (lowest common denominator). Since you could be miles from a dock and gas stations aren't too plentiful on most lakes they want to give you plenty of warning.

[Laptom]

I've got the same "problem" on our 2006 210. The level when alarm goes of is quite good. But I would really like to change the behaviour of the reset of the alarm like Fast said.
We're running on propane, so a low fuel tank can be for some hours/evenings as we are not burning any petrol. Just have to leave the tank full is a solution I guess...

[Fast351]

Fast,
You may want to have the dealer take a look at where the alarm level is set on the float, it should be easily adjusted. On the 211 it takes about 5 minutes (10 if you don't have a helper) to take the floor out so you can get to the fuel level sending unit.

Do you know for sure if it works this way (a settable switch on the float)? If that's the case, it'd be cake to set it all the way at the bottom, or better yet, disconnect the low fuel functionality altogether. My dealer thought maybe it worked like this too, but wasn't sure.

I figured since the entire system is Faria-serial-bus that the low fuel functionality was just a function of the programming in the Faria control unit, and the low fuel level was controlled in firmware.

I don't ever remember thinking a low fuel indicator would have been helpful on the water. Sure, I've gotten out there and turned the key on and thought "****, I should have filled up before getting here" but a fuel beeper would not have helped that. None of my boats to this point have had it, and I can't say I missed it until now. Progress I guess. *sigh*.

-Mike

[Fast351]

Answering my own question here, but:

http://faria-instruments.com/site_ma...rrectCraft.pdf

There is the Faria manual for the serial bus gauge setup. I thought I had found something when I hit the fuel tank size selector. It shows a default of 30 gallons, and that might explain why the thing starts beeping so soon (since the 211 has a 38 gallon tank). But I checked my boat and it's set to 39 gallons like it's supposed to be

Then I checked the wiring connections. No low fuel switch, only a sender input, so the alarm is programatically controlled, which I was afraid of.

I guess the next step is to contact Faria and ask if they can update that box with firmware that disables that functionality or at least modifies it. Barring that, I guess I could add a resistor to the sender so it always thinks it has more than 1/4 tank of fuel, but of course that will throw the gauge off too.

No win situation. Curse that **** alarm.

-Mike

[01skinautiqueGT40]

my low fuel beep comes on when theres about 9 gallons left in the tank, its really annoying and im not worried about turning it off, its a pain in the *** because you think your out of fuel and then you tow it out to take it to the gas station and when you get there, it had fuel left in it!


CC Owned
1978 Ski Tique
1989 Ski Nautique 2001
1996 Ski Nautique 196
1999 Super Air Nautique (Python Powered)
2001 Ski Nautique 196 25Th Anniversary Current Boat PP Digital Pro (All The Goodies)

Tow Rigs,
2002 Ford F-250 Lariat 4X4 (Lifted)
2007 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ 4X4

[Laptom]

Fast, I supposed that it was firmware...
Let me know if you find a solution for the behaviour of the alarm. The level when it goes of is good (15-20% full), but it only should go off once IMHO and not everytime the needle moves a little.

[Fast351]

Yep, I'll let you know. I filled out the contact sheet on the Faria website. If I don't hear from them in a couple days, I will try giving them a call.

-Mike

[TRST]

Any updates/solutions on this issue?