electrical problems

[breton]

I just bought a used 1999 MC Sportstar. Took it out last week and both speedometers were reading zero. This week, had to use a starter to get it going, and then NONE of the gauges were operating (oil press, oil temp, fuel gauge, etc)> Any ideas what could be wrong?

[wakescene]

have u checked the circuit breaker (50amp) that should be somewhere along the wiring harness on the motor?

I don't have the same boat, but have experienced this before and that is what I found to be the prob, the breaker tripped.

[milkmania]

the circuit breaker on my 91 prostar is behind the exhaust....red button

[jdjob]

We just purchased a used 2003 MasterCraft X2. Everything is perfect except the occasional electrical problem. Sometimes, when we turn the key, wait for the computer to go through its menus, then start the boat - nothing happens. Nothing! Then we try again and it starts perfectly. In addition, we went to empty the center ballast and although the indicator light went on, nothing happened. We waited, tried again, nothing. Finally, about ten to fifteen minutes later (we left the button on) it began pumping the water out as it should. Any advice? We also noticed a number of blown fuses in the glove compartment from the previous owner, it would appear that blowing fuses is common as well in the X2? Please advise. :)

[gene dobies]

have u checked the circuit breaker (50amp) that should be somewhere along the wiring harness on the motor?

I don't have the same boat, but have experienced this before and that is what I found to be the prob, the breaker tripped.

If the breaker tripped, the engine would not start, correct?

[gene dobies]

I just bought a used 1999 MC Sportstar. Took it out last week and both speedometers were reading zero. This week, had to use a starter to get it going, and then NONE of the gauges were operating (oil press, oil temp, fuel gauge, etc)> Any ideas what could be wrong?

Hi Paul. Welcome aboard. There is a thread that might help. Go to search and type in speedometers. The fourth thread might help. It might explain why a little water up front in the open bow if the speedos froze and worked for a little while and then stopped working when the hose finally opened up thereby disabling that board and thereby disabling the instrumentation...... JimN do you have any input on this?

[gene dobies]

Have you checked any of these yet?

[kamakaze19]

I had a friend with a similar problem and it turned out to be some board was bad that the speedos connected to.

[gene dobies]

I just bought a used 1999 MC Sportstar. Took it out last week and both speedometers were reading zero. This week, had to use a starter to get it going, and then NONE of the gauges were operating (oil press, oil temp, fuel gauge, etc)> Any ideas what could be wrong?
Got any ideas

[gene dobies]

I just bought a used 1999 MC Sportstar. Took it out last week and both speedometers were reading zero. This week, had to use a starter to get it going, and then NONE of the gauges were operating (oil press, oil temp, fuel gauge, etc)> Any ideas what could be wrong?

and only 5 people responded? what a shame Paul.

[JimN]

breton- if you live/the boat came from a cold weather area, it's possible that the speedo lines weren't blown out during winterization. When the water freezes, it expands and breaks the seal at the MDC box end, allowing water to get in when the boat is under way. As we all know, water and electronics don't mix well, so if you remove the speedo lines and let them hang, water will probably drain or siphon out. The water needs to be blown out from the front end, then the MDC box needs to be opened and checked for water damage. If the box is bad, it will need to be replaced.