Forum | Progress report....

Got the tach problem solved… Tach requires a battery ground because it does not ground through the engine harness. All I had to do was include the boat ground in the equasion.

Gonna go a head and install the fill pumps and get the screw on stainless screens instead of the plastic ones that were on there.

Did leave out on thing I have to do before installing the fuel tank. I got a motorized stern light that extends/retracts by flipping the nav lights on/off. Already had put permenetly mounted bow lights so…. no installing lights when getting ready to lauch. I'm hoping by next weekend I'm headed for Toledo Bend for the great fiasco maiden voyge. Hey… might even get to finish set up on the new engine!

Engine is all connected:

Battery leads

Both oil lines

Main engine harness

SmartLink gauge harness(additional harness required for remote tank oil level and digital fuel level/consumption)

Throttle cable

Shifter cable.

I'm sidelined by 2 missing retainer plates that hold the livewell fill pump screens on. Went to West Marine but they had narry a one. Guess I'll have to order them on line. As soon as I get the fill pumps installed I can finalize the wiring harness placement and wrapping and then address the plumbing: livewell drains and livewell fill hoses. Then the fuel tank goes in. Then…Battery trays, batteries and remote oil tank hold down. Other'n cleaning up the bilge/inner liner drain holes and installing those plugs the rigging compartment will be pretty much done.

The way I run my transducer up through the engine pan, through the rigging tube and on to the console requires that I cut the plug off the transducer cable and splice it back together after routing. Some folks have said "ya' can't do that!" But I've done it three times thus far and my 522c works as well as it ever has each time.

Still have to reinstall the trolling motor transducer. Dumb A$$'s in Florida undid all the tape straps I had holding the transducer to the trolling motor cable, pulled the transducer from trolling motor. Then took the trolling motor out of the bracket. Well DUH… just disconnect the transducer cable and wa'la…. you're done. But these are the same guys that took long bolts and made'em short and short bolts and made'em long….

And if it ain't one thing… it's another… temp wired the battery to the engine – wanted to see how many hours the engine had on it… Only the speed-o smart gauge lites up then says "No Tacho found"… First thinkin' "how could the tach go bad – it ain't even been used? But the SmartCraft and SmartLink guage set requires the use of a junction block that everything plugs into. Sooo I diddle with unplugging and replugging… still no Tacho. Then I take the plug from the speedo and plug it into the tacho…. wa'la… tacho works – but speedo doesn't. It appears the junction block has taken a hike but I'll snoop around on the internet to see if there's a fix or others have had this same problem then call Merc. on Monday if I have to. Oh…. 2009 225 Pro XS purchased in April of 2009. 14 months old give'r'take a week or so….. 17.3hrs. 10-11 of those are break-in and set up time.

Day 1… 

Wiring organized and tie wrapped across the transom – for the most part. Still have to cut all the tie wraps and wrap it with electrical tape.

Livewell panel connected but not installed. Did test all functions fill/aereate manual/tiimer. Just need to slide panel in place and screw down.

Throttle cable and shifter cable routed through transom to engine but not connected. I have the cable tube that goes from the engine to the transom and still need to install oil lines from remote tank through that rigging tube and the fuel line.

Battery cables, main engine harness, smart link harness, transducer cable installed to engine through rigging tube.

The holes for the livewell fill pumps are too small and need to be sized correctly. But it's more they got stuff in them after drilling them and they need cleaning up.

I have one bilge drain and two inner liner drains that look like bilge drains. This time they installed foam, pourable, as part of the repair. Which was good. But…. the foam came out the inner liner drains then hardened, which is bad. Soooo…. all drains have to be removed, cleaned up and reinstalled. I was given two new ones which are different that the ones previously installed so I'll get one more just like the other two. The threads are different so now I'll buy yet another assembly so I can have a spare plug. Even though these are "captured" drains meaning the plug is not "supposed" to come out… well… at times they do – and usually at the most inconvienient time possible!

The electrical will take another day but it won't be tomorrow – gotta work dont'cha' know. Looking for good battery trays and hold downs. Don't like straps and the plastic holddown rods ain't worth a dang.

Slide the fuel tank in and there's "issues' there and the floor/deck is way low on one side or the tunnel/trough is way high on one side. Not sure what I'm gonna do with that yet but we'll figure out something.

Then there's the plumbing….