I have a high temperature alarm in the cockpit instrument panel of my 89. It might be a Catalina replacement panel. The system does not work because I ran the engine hot one time over the summer, and the alarm did not sound. The high temperature switch is located in a hose behind the engine. The switch has a single lead from the alarm, but, unlike switches that are in a engine, it is not self grounded. There are several brass fittings tee-ing this switch into the hose. One of the fittings has a lead that is connected to ground. I will replace the switch, but question the grounding since teflon tape is used on all the brass fittings and on the switch. A two lead switch would be perfect for this application, but I am having trouble finding one. Are there other folks out there that have a similar system? How are they wired ?
Bill Deliman
Bill Deliman
Vivacious 2
1989 Catalina 36, Tall Rig, Wing Keel, m25xp
Atlantic Highlands, N.J.
Running engine hot may not trigger the alarm. You can test the system by grounding the line that leaves the engine for the buzzer. You may also test the buzzer to see if it works. I had to replace mine.
Sail La Vie 1999 Catalina 36 MKII, M35B-17031, Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA
About Sail La Vie
My high temperature alarm switch is tapped into the thermostat housing. I did the Catalina Direct kit , but it would be cheaper to just drill and tap it in as Tom Soko did -- see https://julandra.shutterfly.com/238
Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY
Haro, how is your temperature switch grounded? Is there a ground wire attached to one of the brass fittings where the switch is teed into the hose? I do not know if this is set up correctly or this was the previous owner's attempt to make this work.
Bill Deliman
Vivacious 2
1989 Catalina 36, Tall Rig, Wing Keel, m25xp
Atlantic Highlands, N.J.
Bill - Please view the single page PDF. It is a copy of a page from the owners' manual. The Thermostat housing shows 2 wires connected. One is the Temp sender unit and one is the high temp sensor. I am not sure which is which. To sort that out - run your engine so it is at its normal temp then disconnect one of them and see which one makes the temp gauge go to low temp. You would be looking for the other wire. Disconnect that wire and ground it and see if the buzzer sounds. As far as the plumbers tape - I use pipe thread paste instead - so grounding is not a problem. I would think that tape is not a problem either. To test if the body of the sensor is grounded - make a resistance measurement to the engine block and it should be zero ohms.
Let me know if I can help provide more help.
Sail La Vie 1999 Catalina 36 MKII, M35B-17031, Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA
About Sail La Vie
Haro and Bill -
Just note that older Catalinas (such as mine) did not come stock with a high temperature alarm, just a temperature gauge (i.e., just one sensor), ergo the modifications that I did on our '85 and Soko did on his former Mk 1 (linked in my prior posting).
I'm guessing that the set-up on Bill's boat is a prior owner's modification as well.
Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY
Bill,
If you have a temp alarm sender or temp gauge sender in a hose configuration near the back of the engine, it is most certainly a PO mod, and from the sounds of it not a good one. The PO added two more points of failure (the ground connection wire), and a lot more complication. Because of the importance of a working high temp alarm, you might want to change your setup to something that works. Drilling and tapping for a temp alarm sender in the thermostat housing is not hard to do (it's cast aluminum and easy to work with). If you don't feel comfortable doing it, you can always buy the replacement T-stat housing with the second hole already drilled and tapped. Either way, you should trouble-shoot both the temp gauge and temp alarm to make sure they work. Just a thought.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT