2004 SAN SV-211 Tacho / LCD not working

[dwelsh]

Hi All, the tacho and LCD display on my 04 SV-211 has stopped working. Here’s what I know based on what I've read on PN and have done so far to troubleshoot.

* All other gauges work ok
* I’ve opened up the Gateway box and it is spotless with no signs of water
* I am aware that the gauges operate via a serial connection from the Gateway box and are daisy chained behind the dash
* I have checked and cleaned all daisy chain connections
* I have measured Faria Bus pin voltages and can confirm A to D pins = 8.1V, A to B = 4.2V and A to C is 8.1V as previously posted by clsimmon
* I have switched speedo and tacho locations/connections, tacho still doesn’t work in speedo location, speedo display ok in tacho location/connection
* I have checked the rpm readout on my PerfectPass and it is reading fine. Is PP and Gateway box tacho input coming from the same source (ECU)?
* I am aware that Nautique parts sell a Conversion kit as new replacement gauges are no longer available
* I am in Australia so conversion kit is going to be very expensive and is my last option

Any other troubleshooting ideas apart from sourcing a known working gauge and trying it? Is there any other way to check the gauge? Does anyone have a known working tacho gauge they'd like to sell?

Everything points towards the gauge but thought I’d post to see if anyone has any other ideas.

Thanks in advance from a desperate Aussie (heading into Summer)!

[hindsbeans@hotmail.com]

Hi Dwelsh,

Did you ever work out what was wrong?

I've a 2005 Super Air 210 and in the last few months the speedo, oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge and battery voltage gauge stopped working . . . leaving just the engine temperature gauge and the tacho working. When I switch on the navigation lights only these 2 "working" gauges light up.

I'm currently reading every post on this site with "faria" in it!

[dwelsh]

Hi hindsbeans,

No I did not, I ended up replacing all the gauges with the Nautique conversion kit which works well. The kit eliminates the Gateway box which can cause gauge issues and replaces the entire gauge cluster. I had to power up and run the new Tacho/Hours gauge on the bench to get back to the actual hours stored in the ECU as the display starts at 0. Not very practical for a 21-year-old boat!

At a guess your issue appears to be the Gateway box. Try searching "Gateway Box" on this forum, there are many posts about it. In short, the pitot tubes are connected to the Gateway box as it transmits boat speed this way. Over time the seals leak and the box fills internally with water/condensation/corrosion. Obviously, water and electronics don't mix and in time the Box stops working. When this happens, most if not all of the gauges will also stop working as they are daisy chained one to the next via a serial connection from the Gateway box. In later nautique models the pitot tubes were removed from the Gateway box completely to alleviate the problem or what I'd call bad design.

The conversion kit completely removes the Gateway box from the system and makes the existing pitot tubes redundant, the new Speedo works via GPS . I simply blocked them off and left them in place. The other gauges are then reconnected directly to the ECU via the included loom as they traditionally are. The kit is not cheap but is a worthwhile investment if affordable. Nautique Parts have an installation guide which I've attached here.

My suggestion would be to unplug and remove your Gateway box and open it up to see if water or corrosion is present. In some cases the Gateway box electronics can be cleaned with Isopropyl Alcohol and once reinstalled the gauges work again. In my case the Box was dry but the gauge still wasn't working and can't be replaced like for like so I opted for the conversion kit.

Hope this helps. Any other questions let me know.

[SilentSeven]

hindsbeans@hotmail.com

Your gauge problem is consistent with a known gauge failure issue for the faria bus type gauges. It's highly likely it's not the gateway and I wouldn't open up your gateway box as suggested above.

Here's the TL;DR on the gauges: There are capacitors and stepper motors in the gauges that fail with age and they can be replaced. Capacitors frequently fail, gateways very very rarely fail. TechBeer on the board can help confirm your issue and offers gauge repair services or you can DIY.

Here's his youtube video on the gauge fix. Dead Faria Gauges

[hindsbeans@hotmail.com]

Thanks SilentSeven , I’d come to the same conclusion have had already heard back from TechBeer after sending him a private message. I’ve done most of the repairs on the boat myself (as there aren’t many Nautiques in Ireland) but I’d be completely new to soldering so figured it’s best to send them to a seasoned pro!

[TechBeer]

I would not try and talk anyone out of the conversion kit, since it WILL solve most issues. However, it's pretty expensive, complex to install, and leaves you with gauges that don't match your boat. I have successfully repaired all gauges that I've seen, well over 100 now. If even 1 of your gauges works then very likely the gateway still works. I've also successfully repaired a couple of gateways. But if water gets in and there are signs of corrosion then best option is bypass kit.

I also have developed a kit that restores speedometer operation if you disconnect the pitot tubes. That would avoid water ingress.

[dwelsh]

TechBeer, have you repaired the tachometer gauge and display on an SV-211 gauge? If so I'd be keen to understand what you found and the cause. I still have all my gauges and Gateway box in the shed collecting dust.

[TechBeer]

dwelsh Yes, if it's just the Tach gauge then usually it can be restored by replacing 2 aluminum electrolytic capacitors with equivalent ceramics. This will restore both the LCD display and the needle operation. The values are different vs. the small gauges. The large ones use a 100uF cap and a 22uF cap. The only jeopardy is if the stepper motor is bad, which is rare, then the repair operation gets much more complex as you have to carefully remove the LCD screen to get at the stepper. I have done this on 2 gauges out of about 15. Again, if ANY of the gauges work then most likely the gateway is fine.

[dwelsh]

TechBeer, thanks for the info, do you have a picture of the capacitors on the PCB or can you tell me the C number of them? I bought a second gauge and tried it but it didn’t work either so I have a spare I can try.

[TechBeer]

Below are a couple of pictures of the PCB with the caps. These are ceramic 1210 sized caps you can get from Digikey or Mouser. 10V or 16V rated should be fine. Let me know if you need help.

[dwelsh]

TechBeer, Thank you, much appreciated, I'll replace these components and advise. I will temporarily reconnect my Gateway box and serial cable and test it out.

One more question if I may. Do you know whether the hours display data comes from the ECU directly or whether it has its own internal counter? I've been running my boat with the conversion kit for some time and was wondering if I reconnect the gateway box and original tach gauge whether it will show actual hours (as per ECM).

[hindsbeans@hotmail.com]

I had to replace my ECU (MEFI4 on 2005 super air 210 with the PCM Excalibur 5.7) a few years back and the hours on the tacho on the dash went back to zero. Hope that helps.

[dwelsh]

hindsbeans@hotmail.com, thanks for the response. Sounds like the data coming into the original gauge comes from gateway box via the ECU. The new conversion kit hour gauge does not work this way, it has its own counter and starts as soon as it detects RPM. Nothing to do with ECU.

[TechBeer]

There must be temporary storage or something in the gateway since every gauge I connect to my lab gateway reads the same engine hours. It would make sense that the root source is the ECU though.

[dwelsh]

Thanks all, that would confirm that the gateway stores hours from ECU. So theoretically if I reconnect my Gateway & Tacho gauge (if/when fixed) I will read ECU (actual) hours. My Tacho and Oil pressure gauges are now dismantled and capacitors ordered. Hopefully this rectifies the problem.

TechBeer, how much is the pitot bypass kit and what does it include? If I end up getting my original gauge cluster working again I may revert back and reinstall the gateway with bypass.