Repair for Dead Gauges on 2003-2006 Nautiques Caused by Bad Faria Gateway

[fsts2k]

I've got a new symptom I would love some thoughts on. After repairing all 4 small gauges everything worked perfectly for a few weeks. Then the voltage gauge (far right) started getting flakey, it would oscillate between correct reading (~14V) and zero. Then it just stayed at zero. Further the backlight for that gauge doesn't come on. So the obvious thing would be the connector not seated for that gauge since it's at the end of the serial bus daisy chain.

Here's where it gets weird (and nerdy). I have been trying to figure out the protocol for the serial bus (for a couple of reasons) so I hooked up an oscilloscope to the bus. BTW, I do NOT believe this is a CAN bus, the voltages are not correct and the data does not make any sense. Anyways, with the voltage gauge working there are 4 periodic bursts of data (e.g. packets), each about 2mS long coming from the gateway. When the voltage gauge doesn't work there are only 3 bursts of data. So.....I conjecture that each of these burst drive one of the 4 small gauges. There are additional longer bursts of data that I believe drive the information on the Tach and Speedometer multifunction LCD displays. But what's weird is that the voltage reads correctly on the Tach LCD display so the data is there it's just not getting out on the serial bus. A guess this is a gateway issue but I would not even know where to start..... Thoughts welcomed.

I wish I had thoughts on this, no idea but best of luck.

I ended up ordering new TRD gauges; waiting for delivery

[TechBeer]

I've got a new symptom I would love some thoughts on. After repairing all 4 small gauges everything worked perfectly for a few weeks. Then the voltage gauge (far right) started getting flakey, it would oscillate between correct reading (~14V) and zero. Then it just stayed at zero. Further the backlight for that gauge doesn't come on. So the obvious thing would be the connector not seated for that gauge since it's at the end of the serial bus daisy chain.

Here's where it gets weird (and nerdy). I have been trying to figure out the protocol for the serial bus (for a couple of reasons) so I hooked up an oscilloscope to the bus. BTW, I do NOT believe this is a CAN bus, the voltages are not correct and the data does not make any sense. Anyways, with the voltage gauge working there are 4 periodic bursts of data (e.g. packets), each about 2mS long coming from the gateway. When the voltage gauge doesn't work there are only 3 bursts of data. So.....I conjecture that each of these burst drive one of the 4 small gauges. There are additional longer bursts of data that I believe drive the information on the Tach and Speedometer multifunction LCD displays. But what's weird is that the voltage reads correctly on the Tach LCD display so the data is there it's just not getting out on the serial bus. A guess this is a gateway issue but I would not even know where to start..... Thoughts welcomed.

[fsts2k]

Ok, some progress but not much. I pulled out all connections to the gateway and opened it up, it looked perfect. I cleaned it with electrical cleaner and put it back together. Before doing this I was getting oil pressure, speed, and voltage in both the digital and the gauges; no tach. After cleaning nothing changed although I am actually getting a reading on my depth finder which is new. I still don’t get engine hours, EGT, or tach although I do see tach on my Perfect Pass. I also pulled apart the fuel gauge, cleaned it, and put it back together, it seems to have come to life.

I did find the engine harness; I unplugged it, cleaned it, and put it back together, nothing changed. Feeling stuck on why the gateway box is not seeing temp, tach, engine hours, egt, etc. I would be willing to replace the entire thing with this new option but am wondering if the gateway box is really the issue.


I did find the marine that winterized the boat left a bunch of things undone (not super happy) like the interior panels and they appear to have taken off the dash. I can’t find anything that is unplugged and now feel like I need to trace wires. Here is what I know:
- Boat is a 2005 226
- Perfect Pass stargazer is seeing tach
- Voltage, Oil Pressure, and speed work on gauges
- Gateway box has no visible corrosion on it
- Fuel gauge appears to work now
- The heater does blow warm (not hot) so the engine is coming up to temp (I am not convinced the thermostat works, another issue)

Any ideas where to go from here?

Also, if anyone has any spare Team gauges that don’t work and are willing to sell to me, I will buy them. My fuel gauge enclosure was cracked (the plastic that the gauge mechanicals sit in).

Appreciate all the help

[TechBeer]

fsts2k Totally agree. I think you are on the right track with connections. I "think" the oil pressure and temp senders (and likely RPM) probably go through the Engine ECU and then CAN bus to the Faria Gateway. There the Fuel, Speed, Volts, etc. are combined and sent via "Faria Serial Bus" to the gauges. Some of that is educated guess though.

MN Ryan The best thing about the Stargazer is you gain a REALLY accurate clock....

[MN Ryan]

LOL, TechBeer! I installed the Stargazer upgrade in my 211 about a week ago and hurt for a few days afterwards.

[fsts2k]

Trust me, the SV211 is no better. The gateway is behind a fuse box panel that has to be pulled down to access. Your back will hurt when you're done.

But the gauges are easy to access, 4 screws and the dash pad comes up and easy access to the gauges.

I still contend that if the Voltage gauge works and the Fuel gauge doesn't, my guess is the gauge itself.....

100% the fuel gauge is broken

I am trying to mostly fix the oil pressure, rpm, temp, etc. Those are not getting signal from engine from what I can tell

[TechBeer]

Trust me, the SV211 is no better. The gateway is behind a fuse box panel that has to be pulled down to access. Your back will hurt when you're done.

But the gauges are easy to access, 4 screws and the dash pad comes up and easy access to the gauges.

I still contend that if the Voltage gauge works and the Fuel gauge doesn't, my guess is the gauge itself.....

[fsts2k]

Hmmm. Even the fuel information (hours left) is dead? I'm pretty sure the fuel information (like the voltage level) does not come from the Engine ECU but I'm honestly not sure how everything is wired. If you're getting NO information on the MFD then I would suspect the gateway, possible just connections. I would also pull off, clean and reseat all the connectors to the gateway. I assume your Faria Gateway is under the dash mounted to a bulkhead like mine. I actually had one connector on the gateway (Perfect Pass) with the wrong keying from the factory. They just forced the connectors together and shipped it. Lasted about 10 years that way before I discovered it. So.....make sure all those connectors are fully seated and the keying "ears" match correctly.

My boat doesn't actually have hours left on fuel, it is only a fuel gauge (which has intermittently worked for the past 7 years) but otherwise, yes, no engine information. Have electrical cleaner, soft brush, and some gumption to pull all connections, clean, and replug in.

The Gateway is actually on the rear transom behind the engine. The 226 was not exactly designed for maintenance I have learned

[TechBeer]

Hmmm. Even the fuel information (hours left) is dead? I'm pretty sure the fuel information (like the voltage level) does not come from the Engine ECU but I'm honestly not sure how everything is wired. If you're getting NO information on the MFD then I would suspect the gateway, possible just connections. I would also pull off, clean and reseat all the connectors to the gateway. I assume your Faria Gateway is under the dash mounted to a bulkhead like mine. I actually had one connector on the gateway (Perfect Pass) with the wrong keying from the factory. They just forced the connectors together and shipped it. Lasted about 10 years that way before I discovered it. So.....make sure all those connectors are fully seated and the keying "ears" match correctly.

[fsts2k]

The fact that the voltage gauge works is actually a good sign if your boat is like mine. The voltage gauge is the last of the 4 small gauges to the right? That means that the serial bus is OK and likely the gateway too. In terms of the other 3 small gauges (Oil, Fuel, and Temp) it's very likely the gauges have gone bad, especially if you have not replaced them (17 years). Does the data in the Tach multifunction display look right? Can you see Oil, Fuel, and Temp there? If so, then my bet is the gauges. See my post above.

Thanks for the response!

Actually there is no data in the multifunction display which is what made me think it is the connection from the engine ECU to the Gateway. I was going to take that connection off, clean it, and see if that helps. Any other ideas?

[TechBeer]

The fact that the voltage gauge works is actually a good sign if your boat is like mine. The voltage gauge is the last of the 4 small gauges to the right? That means that the serial bus is OK and likely the gateway too. In terms of the other 3 small gauges (Oil, Fuel, and Temp) it's very likely the gauges have gone bad, especially if you have not replaced them (17 years). Does the data in the Tach multifunction display look right? Can you see Oil, Fuel, and Temp there? If so, then my bet is the gauges. See my post above.

[fsts2k]

One other note.. what is frustrating is that I paid for shrink wrap storage this past winter. It is clear they left the boat outside before wrapping it and water got in it. In addition to the lack of gauges now, the Amp (I just fixed this last year) is throwing a fault. I am pretty certain the water in the boat was then contained in the shrink wrap all winter and the high humidity creating corrosion. Before I pull the gateway box and started to look inside (per the instructions posted to the site) I was going to first start with cleaning the electrical connections.

I have found the PCM manual and identified the Engine Harness (round plug) which would appear to be providing the information to the gateway box but I am struggling to identify where that is on the engine. Does anyone know if this is under the red engine cover? Trying to avoid tearing too much apart.

The voltage gauge and the speedo both work so I was thinking the gateway box is ok.

Thank you for any assistance.

[fsts2k]

I have a 2005 226 that I just pulled out of winter storage. There appears to now be an issue with the engine data connection to my gateway box. The tach doesn’t work (works on PP), engine hours are showing zero, no egt, etc. any idea where to check for the engine data connection?

[functionoverfashion]

TechBeer this is excellent, thanks! I may have to try this with a few of my small gauges that have been inconsistent now for a couple seasons.

[TechBeer]

The ballast gauges in my boat are very different from the dash gauges. The dash gauges are driven by the "Faria Serial Bus". The ballast gauges are simple voltage driven gauges. I have not taken one apart so I'm not sure what's inside. There may or may not be a stepper motor like the other gauges. It probably comes apart in a similar manner though.

Regarding the caps, I recommend replacing them if your boat is from 2004 (18 years old). I was going to show the actual desoldering/soldering process in the video but thought it would be too long and boring. I recommend having a soldering iron with a fairly small tip, solder sucker, thin gauge solder. If you can solder basic components onto a board these will not be hard. But I've been doing it a while. Basically you will heat up one side of the cap and bend it upwards away from the board. Then you heat up the other side and pull the cap off. Clean up the pads and you're ready to put the ceramic ones down. Put a small blob of solder on one pad and place the ceramic cap down. Hold the cap with the end of the tweezers and heat up the solder. Then solder the other side down. I'm sure there is a YouTube out there showing how to solder down SMT components.

Good luck! If you break something PM me and we'll work out a deal :-)