Sunsetter Multi-function gauge

[River Rat]

I am the proud owner of a "new to me" 2001 SS LXI!  I had to replace a 2000 SS LXI that was a total loss after a tree fell on it and while stored under a pavilion.  I was fortunate to talk to the owner that bought the boat new, and I have all of the maintenance records--the boat is in great shape.

The boat originally was outfitted with some sort of multifunction gauge that was mounted in the center of the dash--and you could press a button and the gauge would display the hours, fuel, oil pressure, water and air temp, and depth as you cycled through the displays on the gauge.  The prior owner did not like having to push a bunch of buttons to get to the information he was looking for, so that gauge was removed and the typical 4 in 1 gauge was put in the dash in its place.  Since the boat came with that original gauge, it did not have the Lowrance depth gauge (3005?) and the multi gauge showing temps, hours, time, etc (3500?) that I had on my original boat.  I miss having the temps and depth gauges!  I know those Lowrance gauges (3005 and 3500) are nowhere to be found at this point

I had a thought, and wanted to pick the Crew's collective brain--If I could find that original type of gauge, and since the Lowrance box is still under the dash with the temp pickups and depth finder transducer still in the bilge, why can't I install that original type of gauge to get that information again?  I would guess the gauge had the same type of plug in that is used by the speedo and tach, and I have an extra plug behind the dash. 

Might that work, and where might I find that gauge at this point??

Thanks for any information the Crew may have!

[UWSkier]

That original MSCAN gauge was the same gauge that was used by Accu-ski back in the day, but I'm not sure if the firmware on them was the same.

Does that boat have PerfectPass?  If so, you can get the hours from that.  Lake temperature too if it has a paddlewheel.

On my boat, I have a Faria mini-gauge on the left side pod that tells depth, water, and air temperature.  That's another option.

[Nitrousbird]

I replaced my Lowrance depth gauge with a Hawkeye, as the Lowrance display failed and replacements are hard to come by and extremely expensive when you can find them.  It does depth and lake temp:

[Woodski]

@River Rat - bummer on the loss of an SSLXI.  Have you searched Great Lakes Skipper or Ski-it-Again, you may get lucky.  I don't have the site anymore, I have stumbled on a couple of gauge sites than had a collection of older stuff including Airguides.

@UWSkier - mentioning Accu-ski dates you!  Do you still have an 8 track player?

[UWSkier]

1 hour ago, Woodski said:

@River Rat - bummer on the loss of an SSLXI.  Have you searched Great Lakes Skipper or Ski-it-Again, you may get lucky.  I don't have the site anymore, I have stumbled on a couple of gauge sites than had a collection of older stuff including Airguides.

@UWSkier - mentioning Accu-ski dates you!  Do you still have an 8 track player?

They had those when I was born (79), but I never had one.

 

[Bozboat]

7 hours ago, UWSkier said:

They had those when I was born (79), but I never had one.

 

 

[justgary]

On 8/31/2023 at 10:39 AM, UWSkier said:

They had those when I was born (79), but I never had one.

 

If you need one, I actually have one for sale!

[Woodski]

Wow, I sent this thread off the (8) tracks. 

[BlindSquirrel]

@Bozboat You want to trade for that cassette from the Gentle Giant you got there? lol. Full discloser, I too am not old enough to have personally purchased this. But I'm not too young to appreciate them or a good vinyl spin.  

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by BlindSquirrel

[Bozboat]

11 minutes ago, BlindSquirrel said:

@Bozboat You want to trade for that cassette from the Gentle Giant you got there? lol. 

 

That's pretty cringe.   I did have Boston, Foreigner, and Aerosmith 8 tracks, a Craig 8 in dash (that was the big deal, not undermount) two Jensen 6x9 Triaxles, and a Whites auto one button power booster in my 73 Firebird at age 16.  Funny, very few girls would even speak to me.

 

Back to River Rat, you might Call Ron Tanis at Skiboatpartsonline.com, he makes some work around gauges.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Bozboat

[River Rat]

Thanks BB, I will give him a call. 

[Steve B.]

2nd that on Ron Tanis. Quickest, best plug and play way to get gauges up and running correctly.

[uk_exile]

3rd on Ron's knowledge. I've got a blend as have fitted a Hawkeye depth like @Nitrousbird then have fitted Ron's TRD gauge kit. Excellent quality. In fact better than OEM as glass gauge faces rather than plastic.

[River Rat]

I checked with Mr. Tanis, but he does not have a source for a gauge that will read from the MDC.  I am wondering if anyone has replaced the single line LCD gauge that was taken out of my boat by the previous owner and might have that gauge lying around.  The prior owner replaced it with the more typical 4 in 1 gauge so he wouldn't have to cycle through the readouts to get the information from the MDC.  Anyone??

[Bozboat]

Any chance your boats prior owner might have the gauge you need?
 

You could skip right past this issue and go with a new set of gauges from Ron Tanis before spending any money replacing you MDC based gauge.  I say that respectfully as I replaced the MDC and a couple of the MDC gauges before giving up and going with the Tanis solution.  

The MDC and the gauges with the stepper motors in them will let you down at some point, sooner than later given your 2001 is getting middle aged.  Some here have posted on how to repair the MDC and I think I even saw a thread on how to repair the stepper motors inside the gauges, but I sure like my new set up.

[uk_exile]

1 hour ago, Bozboat said:

You could skip right past this issue and go with a new set of gauges from Ron Tanis before spending any money replacing you MDC based gauge.  

Personally that's what I'd be doing. TRD kits plus a separate depth gauge. Keeps its simple and reliable. 

Plus you'd get good money selling your existing MDC driven gauges if they're functional and in good cosmetic condition. Seems some people want to keep their boats absolutely 100% OEM despite the age related issues. Have seen them selling for a few hundred as new they're $$$$ https://global.bakesonline.com/malibu-boats-cluster-gauge-5-black-and-white.html