Lombardini Panel Replacement

[WeekendSail]

Hi *,

My boat has a Lombardini engine with a control panel similar to the one in the attached image.
The panel got fried due to the low maintenance of the wires and too many improvisions of the past owner. I took out all the cables and replaced them with newer ones but the panel still is not displaying any metrics. It does allow me to start the engine but not RPM, temp etc...

A new panel is around 1000euro so looking around the web I've encountered these general cheap gauges for engines that are made for cars with a single wire for sensor reading (not the hall effect ones with an additional sensor).


Is it possible to use such RPM (tachometer) gauges with the existing original engine electronics? meaning, to try and find the wire in charge of the RPM reading and simply connect it to a new gauge?

Same goes for the temperature and oil reading.


I know I can just order and test one but I would rather to put together a complete enegine meter.

Thank you for your help

[skipperpete]

On most older engines it would be easy to just buy a Vetus panel and adapt it to the traditional senders on the engine.....usually 4 , 2 for oil press, 2 for temp and a tacho pulse source but Lombardini complicated things with the digital panel and probably the senders. I think I have a wiring diagram in an LDW service manual so if I can find it I’ll post a screenshot.
What model Lombardini have you got?

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, Weekendsail. Come back if SkipperPete didn't solve your problem.

[skipperpete]

Ok, I found the two pages in the manual with the LDW panel details and it’s a bit more involved than I expected but perhaps there’s an electrician on the forum who can comment and advise you

[WeekendSail]

Thank you so much skipperpete for posting these.
The model is LDW1404

The cable coming out of the engine's electric box is a 12-wires one with an end connector similar to the one you posted here but with fewer connections (i think 9 or 10, I'll have to check).

Still, my question is if I can you off-the-shelf gauges with this engine? I found a nice one containing the relevant information, the issue is if all engines are sending out a similar signal so I can count on the general-purpose tachometer from amazon to do its job?

Thanks again for helping out, much appreciated

[skipperpete]

You can definitely use an off the shelf tacho because that signal comes from the AC tap pulse on the alternator, it’s the preheat timer and associated temp sensor that are harder to adopt into a new panel.
It’s possible that a lot of the functions are already dead due to the previous owners mods to the wiring as you mentioned, once that circuit board becomes problematic, creative wiring solutions start to occur.

[WeekendSail]

Thanks to google, I did some digging and found the company who makes these panels for Lombardini, their manual is way clearer and provides exact information for the end-connector.

http://www.pinesrl.com/wp-content/up...M40EVB_DIS.pdf

[skipperpete]

Good work weekendsail, the original panel had more functions than I imagined.

[OldGreyB]

You now have plenty of good information to fabricate your own panel to replicate / improve on the original. Just follow the information provided to date, the infornation that will be provided with the tacho, the wiring diagrams and build your own, I suggest use new relays , switches and incapsulted LEDs with integral resistors.

However i notice you also ask about gauges for oil / water. The existing wiring posted by Skipperpete shows on / off switching at the engine for these and you can use those for leds and buzzer as per original. (TEST them out of the engine since you are this far in)

If you want actual guages for water temp and oil pressure then you can do that by buying complete matched gauge and sender kits from your prefered online soucre. You may need to visit an automotive or hydrualic shop to obtain engine block to sender thread adapters. Then use the existing wiring from the new sender to tbe new gauge.

Note there are multiple discussions on this forum on lights and buzzers vs gauges, so I'm leaving that well alone, but just trying to close out your original query.

[Boatbuoy73]

Hi - interested to know how you got on ? My panel has degraded in the sun so ultimately will need to replace but a new panel is ££££..