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Newer Malibu Gauges on 95' Echelon


SCCA_Racer07

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So the gauges in my 95' Echelon look like they are out of a 1985 boat. I keep seeing a lot of gauges on eBay but am not sure if the hook up the same.. Anyone know what will work? I have 2 speedos, smaller rpm, fuel, temp, and amps.

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That's on my wish list too. I don't have any experience with that yet, so I'd be curious to know the same.

One thing I did check into is a new speedo, Livorsi makes a very nice GPS unit, made for slalom/wakeboarding speed range. But it's like $500. But it's also customizeable for ring color, background color, etc. Eliminate pitots, 2 speedo's, etc. Got too many priorities in front of that.

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Most of the available systems gauges will work, I replaced mine with a 4-1 unit made by Beebe. It is a 5" diameter gauge, works and looks great thus combining fuel/water temp/oil pressure/volts in one unit. As for speedo's, ones requiring a pitot will be a direct replacement, but ones using a paddlewheel will need the additional hardware. If you want to sell your Airguide's let me know, they are becoming hard to find.

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Is the 60mph white speedometer on the first page on Bakes pitot, paddlewheel or GPS? A pair of those would look pretty good in there.

Also, isn't there somewhere to have the originals rebuilt? I know the OP wants an updated look, but I'm asking for myself.

SCCA, I've also looked at Autometer, they have some nice GPS pieces but the MPH swing is kind of wierd for a ski boat. Seems like more for speed boats (not precise under 20mph).

p.s. The only reason to have GPS in your speedo is if they fall off during a barefoot run. Tease.gif

Edited by jk13
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Most of the available systems gauges will work, I replaced mine with a 4-1 unit made by Beebe. It is a 5" diameter gauge, works and looks great thus combining fuel/water temp/oil pressure/volts in one unit. As for speedo's, ones requiring a pitot will be a direct replacement, but ones using a paddlewheel will need the additional hardware. If you want to sell your Airguide's let me know, they are becoming hard to find.

Any chance you could post a picture of your dash with the new guage.

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Most of the available systems gauges will work, I replaced mine with a 4-1 unit made by Beebe. It is a 5" diameter gauge, works and looks great thus combining fuel/water temp/oil pressure/volts in one unit. As for speedo's, ones requiring a pitot will be a direct replacement, but ones using a paddlewheel will need the additional hardware. If you want to sell your Airguide's let me know, they are becoming hard to find.

Any chance you could post a picture of your dash with the new guage.

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Here's an old one from Wakeside rides article. They eliminated the computron, added the RPM guage in the center, added a depth guage where the RPM guage was, put an hour meter in the middle, etc. I like the 4 position guage on the left (fuel/temp/oil/volts). Doesn't address the old style looking guages, but does fix the failed computron issue. Which is only a matter of time....

post-8942-12662651065606_thumb.jpg

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FYI: That pic is my dash, the boat never had the Computron display unit (the rest of the stuff is actually there, so I am on the lookout for a unit). The gauge on the right is not a depth gauge, it is the speed control unit (Accuski Pro) which is easy to operate and set from that position with your throttle hand. The tach is centered with the two speedo's alongside since these are the three most important bits of info while in the course or barefooting. The 4-1 Beede guage was to match the look with the Accuski unit on the right. I added an analog clock (VDO) so it is easy to just look at the time (but is that really important when one is out on the water having a good time) which is located low in the center beside the hourmeter. You might also notice that all the gauges are actually mounted from behind which gives a little different look. There is no depth gauge.

Also, pretty much any tach will work, they all operate off the distributor signal, so no issues there.

I am going to guess by your comment you are considering the speedo's to be "old style", or perhaps the entire set. This conversion was done in early 2002 prior to any GPS speedo units being readily available and the Airguides were pretty much the most accurate available. I happen to be a big fan of Airguides due to the spread out display in the 30-40 mph range and the accuracy they offer over many of the other units offered at the time and actually many current ones.

Good luck, I will say that it is a worthwhile project as you will always see your work!

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FYI: That pic is my dash, the boat never had the Computron display unit (the rest of the stuff is actually there, so I am on the lookout for a unit). The gauge on the right is not a depth gauge, it is the speed control unit (Accuski Pro) which is easy to operate and set from that position with your throttle hand. The tach is centered with the two speedo's alongside since these are the three most important bits of info while in the course or barefooting. The 4-1 Beede guage was to match the look with the Accuski unit on the right. I added an analog clock (VDO) so it is easy to just look at the time (but is that really important when one is out on the water having a good time) which is located low in the center beside the hourmeter. You might also notice that all the gauges are actually mounted from behind which gives a little different look. There is no depth gauge.

Also, pretty much any tach will work, they all operate off the distributor signal, so no issues there.

I am going to guess by your comment you are considering the speedo's to be "old style", or perhaps the entire set. This conversion was done in early 2002 prior to any GPS speedo units being readily available and the Airguides were pretty much the most accurate available. I happen to be a big fan of Airguides due to the spread out display in the 30-40 mph range and the accuracy they offer over many of the other units offered at the time and actually many current ones.

Good luck, I will say that it is a worthwhile project as you will always see your work!

Woodski, I like your setup. Your dash looks to have a carbon fiber look, what did you use for material? How did you make the bend in the dash so it wuold comform to the contour?

I ask because I am adding perfect pass and a depth meter to my dash this spring.

Thanks,

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You have a couple of options: Lay one up in carbon (aircraft spruce has carbon cloth), make a pattern from the existing dash plate, you can get a sheet of steel and trace the current outline, cut it then bend to the contour. Lay up the carbon, the visible surface is the one on the dash so use the "backside" of the plate, then cut to fit, which becomes very obvious using a plate as a pattern. A bandsaw or jigsaw with the correct blade does it easily. Then you will cut the gauge holes (holesaw) and drill the attachment holes. Second option, make up a steel or aluminum plate, cut the holes for the gauges as desired and then bend to proper contour. You can then treat the surface the way you want either paint/polish/decal.

You will most likely have to repair some of the dash attachment rivnuts. You can get standard rivnuts or you can also get ones that are basically a nut on a plate (with rivet holes) if the plastic is cracked away. If you change the gauges, make sure you run a ground to everything to ensure the gauge works and also the backlight works.

Do you have a Computron? Will you plan on keeping it, if so, I would like to see what you are thinking for layout. One of my criteria was to keep (2) speedo's, which many people don't do and just install the PP/ZO/Accuski in one of the speedo holes.

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FYI: That pic is my dash

What are the odds??? I was filling in the blanks with the computron & depth, couldn't remember where I got that from but thought it was wakeside. Is that where you posted it?

Either way, I really liked the looks of that dash and figure someday I'll do the same, so I saved it in my "Malibu" folder. Looks perfect, you really did a nice job on it. My computron display works and all functions are good except depth and sea temp (volts work, RPM's work, hours, speed control, air temp, etc.) but I'd trade you dash for dash in a heartbeat.

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FYI: That pic is my dash, the boat never had the Computron display unit

Nice looking dash. Woodski, I thought I had the only Echelon out there without the computron. Biggrin.gif

Did you buy the boat from the factory without computron, or was it removed by a previous owner early in it's life? Just curious.

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First, thanks for the compliments from all. Small world, and yes I posted on Wakeside when a similar topic was being discussed. I bought it used, it came w/o the Computron from the factory as it was ordered that way due to Computron's known reliability issues. I think the dealer did several that way. Nice offer on the dash, but I'll keep mine, heh, heh! Like I indicated, not that hard of a project and one that is very rewarding. Another project that I did was to install a new version drivers seat (Response style) which I find to be much more comfortable. Chee made it up and it matches perfectly to the boat.

There is a '93 on our lake with the Computron and it suffers exactly the same issues, temps don't work correctly. Two features that I really like on the Computron are the LED lights, particularly for "novice" drivers (really helps them pull at correct speed), and the stopwatch feature. I have thought about installing some LED's on top of the tach to get that function, not sure on how to wire that up.

A really cool thing on that Skier, you can barefoot off the swim platform. Set the line length just past the platform and you can step off and on easily! I don't think there is any other boat that is good at that.

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Umm, do you mean barefoot off the side of the platform with a boom, or straight back?

I can see catching a toe and the resulting faceplant would be...not good. Crazy.gif

My 94 also has never had computron, I need to find a spot for a depth guage and both of my speedometers are out of whack. I am also looking into repairing/replacing them, but there is a long list ahead of that project. I'll ask again if anyone knows where to get the stockers rebuilt/updated or if there is a kit around for DIY?

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Umm, do you mean barefoot off the side of the platform with a boom, or straight back?

I can see catching a toe and the resulting faceplant would be...not good. Crazy.gif

[off topic]There's a video of Mike Salber I'm trying to track down. He steps right off the rear swim platform, behind a BU I think, and does a front to back, then back to front. All while barefoot of course.

Edited by areamike
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JK13,

I would start by contacting these folks www.airguide.com.au as worst case scenario they can supply a new (maybe rebuilt) one.

Nice! I'll try disconneting them and setting back to zero as a base line, then checking the tubes and eliminating the brass equalizers if there are any. Hopefully this works for me. Thanks again!

OP--I've still been searching aftermarket options and not had much luck for an updated look. We haven't forgotten about you! So far my recommendation would be those '99 model units on Bakes site, if you can find matching system gauges.

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JK13, footing right off the back of the platform, the line hooks to the existing pylon, just quite short to get the proper distance. Hard to viualize, but when you do a faceplant, you don't actually fall forward, but the boat keeps moving forward. You can only get as close as the handle and the handle will be set to be behind the platform. Thanks for that link.

Speedo calibration: as mentioned, pull the line off the pitot to ensure they go back to zero. You might also need to blow compressed air back through the pitot tubes to clear. I swapped mine out for the newer pitot style or venturi style units used on the newer pre paddlewheel setup, which work much better and don't clog. The other thing to do is get a GPS unit and run at a favorite speed and adjust the knob to align with true speed. You might also have a cracked or split vacuum line or water in the line that is causing a bad reading. There is also a post somewhere (maybe the old MBO site or MC site) on rebuilding an Airguide speedo, you might try googling it.

Medallion is the manufacturer of the newer gauges used by Malibu (late 90's- 200?).

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JK13,

I went through extensive speedometer troubleshooting with my 85 MC a couple of years ago. They were slow to respond but seemed to register the correct speed...by the time I got to ball number 3 that is! And one would intermittently not work at all. I tried just about every combination, including bypassing the brass "equalizer" tubes, but still had issues. I felt that I tracked any sort of problem down to either a faulty speedo itself, or problems from the pitot to the brass tubes. I ordered a pair of these venturi pickups and new speedo tubes running from the pickup to the brass equalizers. Worked flawlessly after that.

So long story short, I wouldn't mess with the old pitot tubes...get a set of the inexpensive venturi style that perform better in every aspect before you attempt any other repairs.

Edited by Sethro
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JK13,

I went through extensive speedometer troubleshooting with my 85 MC a couple of years ago. They were slow to respond but seemed to register the correct speed...by the time I got to ball number 3 that is! And one would intermittently not work at all. I tried just about every combination, including bypassing the brass "equalizer" tubes, but still had issues. I felt that I tracked any sort of problem down to either a faulty speedo itself, or problems from the pitot to the brass tubes. I ordered a pair of these venturi pickups and new speedo tubes running from the pickup to the brass equalizers. Worked flawlessly after that.

So long story short, I wouldn't mess with the old pitot tubes...get a set of the inexpensive venturi style that perform better in every aspect before you attempt any other repairs.

I concur per my previous post. Significant improvement particularly for a dirty or weedy lake. SkiDim has them and are a simple swap.

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Dang. I'd love to see a vid of that.

Why does the Skier work so well for stepping off the platform?

I know the platform is pretty close to the bottom of the hull and the hull of that boat is almost completely flat where the transom meets the bottom of the hull.

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