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  1. #1
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    2021 Z20 Pro gauges

    Greetings all,

    I have a new 21 z20 and when I went out last Saturday I noticed that the water psi and fuel gauge do not function.
    Back light does not function either.

    I pulled console cover and all connections appear ok.
    It's worth noting that I do have Smartcraft Gauges.
    I'm sort of at a loss as I have not been able to locate a wiring diagram.
    And also wondering if those 2 gauges would have a fuse.

    Speedometer and tach and Smartcraft info in speedo/tach seem to work fine.

    Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Jim

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    #2
    Hi Jim - i just took delivery of my new 2021 Z21 Pro w/ smarcraft gauges as well. My water and fuel gauges dont work. Apparently, when the factory installs the smartcraft guages they don't hook up the 2 gauges and expect us to rely on the smartcraft gauge for water and fuel readings. Seems ridiculous..aka lazy manufacturing. In order for them to work, you will have to cut the zip tie and figure out where the connections should go and then figure out the proper way to connect them. I have yet to do that. I did see that if you look at your fuel tank and focus on the sensor wires that connect to the tank, you will see the red power wire taped to your ground wire and not connected. They only connect the smartcraft gauge wires. Unfortunately, you can't just splice in the power wire and expect it to work. There is a workaround that you have to do but i have yet to determine what it is. I am going to call Nitro and find out why they are so f'ing lazy w/a $65K boat.

  3. Member
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    #3
    Thank you very much for the information. I totally agree that it is laziness. I guess I will call Nitro as well. My selling dealer is 4 1/2 hours away.
    Let's stay in touch and keep each other updated.
    Thanks again,
    Jim

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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by dfrancom View Post
    Hi Jim - i just took delivery of my new 2021 Z21 Pro w/ smarcraft gauges as well. My water and fuel gauges dont work. Apparently, when the factory installs the smartcraft guages they don't hook up the 2 gauges and expect us to rely on the smartcraft gauge for water and fuel readings. Seems ridiculous..aka lazy manufacturing. In order for them to work, you will have to cut the zip tie and figure out where the connections should go and then figure out the proper way to connect them. I have yet to do that. I did see that if you look at your fuel tank and focus on the sensor wires that connect to the tank, you will see the red power wire taped to your ground wire and not connected. They only connect the smartcraft gauge wires. Unfortunately, you can't just splice in the power wire and expect it to work. There is a workaround that you have to do but i have yet to determine what it is. I am going to call Nitro and find out why they are so f'ing lazy w/a $65K boat.
    that’s terrible you pay for the upgrade and they cut the wiring job short. Common sense should let them know that the smart craft fuel and water pressure gauge is a good backup for the other gauges.
    2020 Nitro Z20 Pro Package

  5. Member
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    #5
    Anyone else have this issue?

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    #6
    wow that is amazing to me that they just leave that disconnected....

  7. Member
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    #7
    I am hoping to find any boat owners with 2021 rigs with Smartcraft Gauges have this issue. Or is it just bad luck

  8. Member
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    #8
    So I found out thru Nitro today that when you order Smartcraft Gauges they DO NOT wire the factory installed fuel gauge and water pressure gauge. They leave the gauges installed, but they serve no useful purpose except to fill the holes in the console.

    I've been able to obtain a wiring diagram but I don't think I am tech savvy enough to complete wiring them up. I have to admit that I've lost a ton of motivation because of this, but really don't have any other ideas. Warranty will not cover to complete wiring because it WAS completed at the factory.

  9. Member
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    #9
    I believe the reason for the gauges not being used is the sensors the motor and the sending unit in the tank are designed to work only with the smartcraft. Not 100% on this since my boat has the entire 6 gauge smartcraft setup. I know to get the water pressure gauge to work you'd need a "T" coming off the motor and an analog sensor for the standard boat gauge. I suspect the fuel sending unit is similar in that it's designed to work with the digital smarcraft gauge vs a regular boat fuel gauge.

    Might want to check with Don in the Mercury forms to be sure, I'm sure he'd know about the water pressure gauge for sure.



    __________________________________________________ ____
    The wife said \"Buy a new boat, you\'ll catch more fish\". Mines broken!

  10. Member
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    #10
    Much Thanks.
    I guess my argument would-be that if they are installed, they should function.
    I'm not familiar with a Smartcraft 6 gauge setup.
    And for boats without Smartcraft, they would have gauges I have.

  11. Member
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    #11
    Anyone have any luck rewiring?

  12. Member
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    #12
    Not an expert but I believe for water pressure you could replace your existing gauge with a mercury system link gauge. For fuel level I believe you need a mercury wiring harness that can connect the smart craft system to the fuel tank float assembly.
    Check the Mercury forum below.

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    #13
    Just looking to see if there was any follow up from Nitro on this issue, ordered a 2022 ZV20, and going to be very annoyed if half the gauges do not work, wonder if I can tell the factory I want them hooked before the build is done.

  14. Member
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    #14
    Quote Originally Posted by finsinga05 View Post
    Just looking to see if there was any follow up from Nitro on this issue, ordered a 2022 ZV20, and going to be very annoyed if half the gauges do not work, wonder if I can tell the factory I want them hooked before the build is done.
    I have a 22 z20 with smartcraft gauges, both fuel and water gauges were hooked up from the factory. Just note at idle the water gauge won't be showing much since idle is 1.5ish psi but once you throttle up the gauge matches the digital psi in the tach.

    However i am having a trim issue with the smartcraft gauge not reading correctly. I'm thinking they never calibrated it at the factory so I'll have to go through those quick steps and see if the issue is resolved.

  15. Member
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    #15
    Smart craft uses NEMA... Where you use NEMA, the other guages won't work. Was the same with my skeeter and sho.

  16. Member
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    #16
    Same issue here. When I took mine in for a couple other warranty items, I asked them to fix it. Works now.
    2022 Z20 DC
    Mercury 250 Pro XS
    Garmin 126sv, 126sv, 126sv, 106sv
    Garmin Force tm
    8' Power Pole Blades

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