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Ballast Rochester Level Sender guage


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I have a  2014 VTX where the starboard ballast tank level sender has gone bad and no longer registers on the MLS. I switched the port side gauge with the starboard gauge and the issue followed the bad sender. 

The part is a Rochester 9800 series 4.5" gauge with Rochester part number 045 2713. I found online the same 4.5" gauge, but it has a slightly different part number... 045 1915. The 045 represents the 4.5", but I'm not sure what the last 4 numbers mean. 

The 045 1915 is $50. I called a Malibu dealer and they quoted me $150, but they couldn't confirm the Rochester part number. 

Does anyone know whether the $50 part will work on a Malibu? 

Thanks!

IMG_1709.jpg

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Pretty sure all of those reed switches are standard 240-30 ohm resistance.  As long as resistance matches, It should work fine.   Can also search Moeller or Wema brands which were also OEM for different build years.   You may have to cut/re-use your old connector plug. 

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Thanks @jtrezon

I called Rochester gauges and the customer service rep was extremely helpful. She explained that the last four digits are not included in the part number. The part number is 9800 045. The last four digits on the gauge is the date code for when it was manufactured. WWYY -> the first two are the week and the last two are the year it was made. So my sender was made on the 27th week of 2013. The one I found was made on the 19th week of 2015.  So I am golden! :-)

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  • 6 months later...

I am having an issue with my 2012 VTX rear ballast port side and hoping I can get some insight. It fills up but doesn’t stop filling. The gauge doesn’t show that it is full. The gauge reads that it is only 75% full although the overflow is pouring out. 
 

thanks for your help,

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Hey Jnorris,

You may have a bad sensor or there is an obstruction preventing the reed from floating to the top. I would recommend that you pull up the flooring in port side locker. You don't need to pull it all the way out to get access to the level sender. In my 2014, they are close to the engine side cutout for the plug 'n play ballast bag plumbing. If you don't have the plumbing and the cutout, it may actually be easier to pull up the flooring and you should be able to see it fairly easily. 

Once you unscrew it from the hard tank, you can play with the reed and see if you can get it up to 100%. Please note that there can be a delay in the MTC showing the change in fill level. I think it was slower showing a drop in level vs. rise in level.  If you can't get it to read 100%, you can pull up the flooring on the starboard side and switch the level senders and see if the problem follows the sender to the starboard side (play with the reed with the sender unit outside the tank). If it doesn't follow the sender to the starboard side, it might be something else... but I would guess that your issue is with the sender either going bad or the reed getting stuck. 

Let me know if I can be of any help. Cheers!

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As a follow up to my original post, I replaced the level sender on my boat this spring and fixed the issue. The wire harness plugged right in and I had no issues. The item I received from Great Lakes Skipper appeared to be used, but it worked fine. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for the help. All done and working perfectly. I bought a new sender and installed. 
for others with this issue…the new sender that they make now is a little longer but does fit. The flooring, on the port side in my case, doesn’t need to come all the way out, just unscrew, tilt, and slide. Knowing what I know now, it’s a 30 min job. 
 

I did have to switch out the connectors. The old was male and the new was female. 

Edited by Jnorris
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Do you have a part number and picture?  Will be doing this on my 2011 soon.  Thanks.  I noticed someone put a part number but for a 2014.  Wonder if it is the same on my boat or if different for 2011?

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On 6/12/2021 at 5:19 PM, JLT3 said:

Do you have a part number and picture?  Will be doing this on my 2011 soon.  Thanks.  I noticed someone put a part number but for a 2014.  Wonder if it is the same on my boat or if different for 2011?

I believe Jtrezon is correct that all the boats use the same standard 240-30 ohm resistance sensors (looks like he has a 2010 LSV). You can use different sensor manufactures as long as the length of the reed is the right size for your tank and it is 240-30 ohm resistance. I assume the nut pattern is the same for different mfr (you might want to check this). The easiest way to get the right part is to pull out the sensor from your boat and check the length and possibly match the same part number (see earlier post about how to read the part number for Rochester). 

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