Brand new boat - Check engine(s) fault - thinking it's battery related?

[kenmo]

2018 AR240 with a little over 4 hours on the clock.

First off, after getting the boat home I realized that I needed to have both the house and starter battery switched on in order for me to start the boat. This didn't seem right and searching on the forum here I found one other guy suggesting this happened to him (although the poster didn't come back and update with any fix). I had figured I would question this come time for my first maintenance.

Last time I had it out I got it back to the boat slip and left both batteries on with a trickle charger on one assuming this would charge both. Getting the boat out yesterday I noticed both batteries were almost flat. I had to use the parallel switch to fire the engines. Battery voltage on the connext indicated around 14.1V for each, so I thought I was good. Took it for a healthy spin to charge up the batteries a bit before killing it. Hung out with the radio on for about 10 minutes and I hear the connext beeping about low voltage. Parallel again to get it started, 5 minutes later I get the engine faults for both engines.

Didn't kick me into limp mode and both engines seemed to be running normal, water wasn't overly hot coming out the pissers. Took it back to the slip. Didn't feel like messing with it as I was pretty frustrated that my brand new boat is giving me issues. The manual isn't much help as the battery diagram is too small to make anything out. All that said, few questions:

Can someone snap a photo of their battery setup for me that would detail how the battery cables are run?

Will disconnecting the batteries clear the engine fault(s)?

Can someone verify how the system is supposed to work? I would assume with the "start" battery switched on and "house" switched off you can fire the boat and the connext works as well?

Kinda torn about taking this into the dealer. I bought this from a dealer about 3 hours away. I have a dealer 20 minutes from my place, but it's April and I would imagine the backlog at the dealer is pretty bad (this is the start of TX boating season).

Any help and/or suggestions??

 

[suke]

To me it sounds like your batteries are bad. Easiest and my first step would be to pull the batteries and have them tested. Even new batteries can go bad.

 

[Dean P]

To me it sounds like your batteries are bad. Easiest and my first step would be to pull the batteries and have them tested. Even new batteries can go bad.

When I took delivery of my SX-192, the dealer brought it to the ramp and left. They ended up returning to the ramp and took the boat back as both batteries were dead/bad. Couldn't believe it but it does happen.

 

[djetok]

2018 AR240 with a little over 4 hours on the clock.

First off, after getting the boat home I realized that I needed to have both the house and starter battery switched on in order for me to start the boat. This didn't seem right and searching on the forum here I found one other guy suggesting this happened to him (although the poster didn't come back and update with any fix). I had figured I would question this come time for my first maintenance.

Last time I had it out I got it back to the boat slip and left both batteries on with a trickle charger on one assuming this would charge both. Getting the boat out yesterday I noticed both batteries were almost flat. I had to use the parallel switch to fire the engines. Battery voltage on the connext indicated around 14.1V for each, so I thought I was good. Took it for a healthy spin to charge up the batteries a bit before killing it. Hung out with the radio on for about 10 minutes and I hear the connext beeping about low voltage. Parallel again to get it started, 5 minutes later I get the engine faults for both engines.

Didn't kick me into limp mode and both engines seemed to be running normal, water wasn't overly hot coming out the pissers. Took it back to the slip. Didn't feel like messing with it as I was pretty frustrated that my brand new boat is giving me issues. The manual isn't much help as the battery diagram is too small to make anything out. All that said, few questions:

Can someone snap a photo of their battery setup for me that would detail how the battery cables are run?

Will disconnecting the batteries clear the engine fault(s)?

Can someone verify how the system is supposed to work? I would assume with the "start" battery switched on and "house" switched off you can fire the boat and the connext works as well?

Kinda torn about taking this into the dealer. I bought this from a dealer about 3 hours away. I have a dealer 20 minutes from my place, but it's April and I would imagine the backlog at the dealer is pretty bad (this is the start of TX boating season).

Any help and/or suggestions??

https://jetboaters.net/threads/fix-for-connext-battery-voltage-issue-confirmed.11381/

I am sure @Mainah will see this and chime in. Not being a connext boat myself. I have seen many threads on the batteries not being hooked up correctly from the dealer.

 

[Gary Tait]

As the others have said, I would suspect the condition of the batteries. Also check to make sure the connections are tight and no corrosion exists - and they are properly connected.

AR240 battery connection

As for the switch positions, the manual is clear as mud, but you are right, you shouldn't need the house battery switch on. Best of luck amigo.

 

[Mainah]

This one seems different. I would make sure all connections are hooked up correctly and are tight including the tiny black DVSR wire. Based on stated symptoms this seems more like bad batteries. Lets say the dealer installed the batteries and left the head tap light on along with the battery switches for a couple of days accidentally. Poof dead batteries.

 

[kenmo]

I guess a bad start battery could explain the problem. If that's bad, I would need the house on in order for it to start?

I did come across the DVSR wire discussions, and I don't recall seeing that little lead on the battery. I'm going to check things over again this evening now that I've cooled off a bit.

Gary Tait, that was the exact thread I had come across last night!!!

Greatly appreciate the input folks. I'll report what I find this evening!!

 

[NORCAL-GAS]

Yep. Common unfortunately for us. My batteries were hooked up wrong. I had several electrical issues. Yamaha seems to not use much lube after purchase. I get more middle fingers than real help from Yamaha.

 

[Gary Tait]

You would need the house battery on, only to tie them together (with the yellow switch) if the start battery is drained.

If the DVSR wire is not attached, which dealers commonly forget to do, it would prevent the stator from charging both batteries while the engines are running. Since they share a common ground, just make sure its attached to either one of the negative terminals.

It's a good idea to invest in a dual bank on board charger, like the Noco GENM2. They are fairly inexpensive and you can count on a full charge before putting in for the day. If you go that route, put a cutoff switch on the DVSR line (or just replace the terminal with a cable clamp as I have), since you won't need while shore-charging. The DVSR circuit can fool dual-bank chargers if left attached, just remember to hook it back up once you're in the water so your engines can maintain the charge.

 

[kenmo]

Well folks, it's looking like the DVSR wire was the culprit and I'll mix in some user error as well. I'm guessing in my little use of the boat, it wasn't charging therefore my issues out on the lake over the weekend were just chalked up to low batteries. I did make a mistake in my description though. I CAN start the boat with just the "start" battery switch on, I just get no connext. For some reason I had in my head to just turn on one battery at a time depending on what I want to do (run the engine or float/listen to the stereo). I see now I just need to have both switches on no matter what I'm up to.

I'm relieved to have this figured out. For what it's worth, my "check engine" faults are gone too so it's not looking like a trip to the dealer is necessary.

I now have two battery tenders on the batteries and plan on investing in the dual bank on-board charger as recommended.

Appreciate the responses guys!!!

 

[Dean P]

dual bank on-board charger as recommended.

That's great you figured it out. The learning part sucks but the result is rewarding. Make sure to invest in the on-board charger. I did the battery tenders but don't compare. Good luck!

 

[kenmo]

Anyone else think it's a bit strange that both batteries need to be switched on for everything to work properly? Why not just have one master switch? Meh, I'm glad all is fine with my boat but I'm still scratching my head a bit as to why they designed it this way....

 

[Onefast96svt]

I think it’s strange too. I figured everything would would operate normally off starter battery and floating would just be house. I was in the same predicament yesterday. Brand new boat on engine break in day I start it up to get a port check engine light. I haven’t looked at yet before taking it to the dealer but I’m hoping it’s a battery fault. I have 3 bank charger going in today to see if that will cure it.

 

[kenmo]

I think it’s strange too. I figured everything would would operate normally off starter battery and floating would just be house. I was in the same predicament yesterday. Brand new boat on engine break in day I start it up to get a port check engine light. I haven’t looked at yet before taking it to the dealer but I’m hoping it’s a battery fault. I have 3 bank charger going in today to see if that will cure it.

For what it's worth, my engine faults went away "by itself" by the next time I took it out. No dealer trip needed. Probably not a bad idea for the dealer to take a look at it regardless. I plan to take mine in at the 20 hour service and mention it to them then.

 

[Onefast96svt]

For what it's worth, my engine faults went away "by itself" by the next time I took it out. No dealer trip needed. Probably not a bad idea for the dealer to take a look at it regardless. I plan to take mine in at the 20 hour service and mention it to them then.

I’m also having the firmware checked on connext, plus already dropped off. Sitting at discount tire now trying to get tire patched/replaced and ordering a set of rims to match truck.