2002 American Skier - Issue with Slow Reacting Speedo

[conradg]

I have an Airguide and a Perfect Pass on my boat. I disconnected the power to the Perfect Pass as I am not using it and it beeps like crazy every time you start the engine until the revs pickup. The Airguide reacts very slowly to speed changes. I checked the pickup and all good, so I suspected it was a blockage in the tube. Blowing air through using a bicycle pump, I can feel significant back pressure indicating to me that the pipe must be blocked or constricted somewhere. I followed the pipe back to near the fuel tank and discovered that it runs directly under the tank. It comes down the side of the bottom and then disappears directly under the fuel tank on the port side. Its not easy to see whether this is by design or the tank has been moved and is resting on the pipe. I don't want to remove the whole tank if I can avoid doing. I tried to take pictures round the side behind the tank but cannot see anything back there.

So, my question is: Is the pipe meant to run in under the fuel tank or has the tank been removed and re-installed on top of the pipe and is now crushing it?

[conradg]

Ok, worked it out. The pipe obviously should not have been under the tank. I managed to lever up the tank and got the pipe out from under. I discovered it was squashed and that was what was slowing down the airflow. Must have slipped under when someone put the tank back in. All fixed now and good to go.

[RonT]

Just read your posts and glad you got her fixed but I am curious when you say Airguide speedo. We stopped using airguides around 1998?? and went to MDC controlled speedos which still use the traditional pick-up, and hose. 2002 + was a tough year for A/S the tank should not be crushing the pitot hose, this should have been caught during the initial test phase.

[conradg]

Ron, you are 100% correct. I was using the term Airguide in a general sense. The bonus of all my fixing is that I now understand a lot more of what the MDC does and how important it is to the operation of the boat. I think someone took the tank out for maintenance after the boat was manufactured. I cant believe a non working speedo would have been accepted by previous owners over the 10 years prior to me owning the boat.

[RonT]

remember to disconnect the speedo hoses from the MDC if exposed to freezing temps, any moisture in the sensor will freeze and typically break away from the board. A small amount of heat will soften the hose allowing you to remove them.