Speedo suddenly reads zero.


L

luriesd

Member
Hi all,

2000 280SS with twin 350 MPI and Bravo III.

The other day I was cruising around 30 MPH and the speedo dropped to zero. Now doesn't move at all. I have heard this can actually be an issue with clearing / cleaning the outdrives in some way? Any other troubleshooting tips?

Thanks!
 
Yeah it's a small hole on the forward facing edge of the lower unit.... most likely a small piece of wood or perhaps even some thick alge caught in there... sometimes hard to clear without getting access.

I'm sure others who keep their boats in water will chime in but that's my first gut

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Do not use an air hose to clean out the hole but a small pipe cleaner or paperclip. The air will blow the other end of the tube off the back of the speedo and water would be forced up the tube into your dash. Happened to my neighbor.
 
As stated, there is a small hole/tube on the leading edge of the outdrive lower unit. It is ducted to a fitting on the top plate and then to a flexible tube that leads to the speedometer at the helm. Water pressure from the movement of the boat, make it read the speed. Not the most accurate thing.

When ( not if) the hole in the leading edge of the outdrive gets plugged with some marine life, the pressure no longer reaches the speedometer and it reads '0'.

A GPS speedometer would be the way to go for more accurate speed reading and reliability.
 
Put a 1/8 drill bit in a wood file handle. Insert by hand and clean the hole out.
Buddy made one for me a whole lot of years ago :rolleyes:
 
It's just a little bit tricky to do in water unless you have the boat Beached or up on a lift.

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The speedo tube could have also come disconnected from the fitting. This happened to mine because the tube split.

The factory speedo was wildly inaccurate anyhow. I plugged the speedo hose and use GPS.
 
Happens occasionally but like others I mostly look at the GPS speed on the chart. If I remember to at the ramp on the way out I use a small lead head fishing jig with the hook straightened out. Stick it in the speedo hole and the barb pulls out whatever junk is lodged. Small drill works too.


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