Originally Posted by
Ogreman51
Thanks Don and Scott and everyone. I'll be sure to take a look at all you've said, check the battery, and all the connections. WRT the Smartcraft Tach I have, it's a Smart Tow type, designed to monitor more than one engine, I believe, if you need to (I don't . . . only have the one Opti 200). It's also designed to allow one to control the boat from the gauge at tow speeds, but this is an option I don't believe I'll ever use, either. Don, in looking thru the manual, I didn't see a "Tanks Not Installed" option in the calibration section, but I'll look again. Let me know if you have anymore detail on this. Scott, I'll definitely check all the connections. FYI, the SC voltage reading at mid RPM says about 13.7, which sounds like the alternator should be charging ok. But I haven't yet measured the volts at the alternator with a DMM. Need to do this. And check over all the cables. Here's a thought: when I took out the old analog trim gauge in favor of the new "daisy chain" digital gauge from SC, is it possible that one of the old analog wires (which I tried to cover loose ends with electrical tape) might be shorting out on something causing the drop in RPMs? FYI, I also put in digital "daisy chain" oil temp, water temp, and water temp gauges, as well. Perhaps an old analog wire (now un-used) from the old gauges is somehown loose and causing the short? I tried to tape off all the old wires when I hooked up the daisy chain of SC gauges. Just thinking out loud. Please comment back. Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it! Mike