Servo motor for Perfect pass

[seanxtreme3000]

Hey guys
so from a previous post we determined i possibly had a seized servo motor. (I was also told this buy someone who checked it out) my servo motor just arrived and i would like to install it tonight, but i just checked my old motor and the knob is turning anticlockwise freely and counter clockwise till the cable is tight. So is my motor really seized or does the boat need to be on while testing this. What am I looking for? Sorry I’m a huge amateur here.
Thanks
Sean

[gride300]

LINKAGE TEST
This test should confirm whether the PerfectPass throttle cable & linkage connection is properly working.
With key OFF, push the manual throttle to 1/2 open position. Now take black knob on servo and slowly turn the knob in a counterclockwise direction, and then in a clockwise direction.
As you rotate the knob back & forth, you should see the throttle lever on engine opening & closing very smoothly with each step of the motor. As you turn the knob counterclockwise which lets out cable, the throttle will close back towards neutral. When you rotate it clockwise the throttle will open.
As you rotate the knob back and forth (slowly and quickly), the throttle should open & close very smoothly and the brass L Adapter at linkage should be rotating as well to follow cable. At no point should the throttle cable catch, hook or come into interference with any part that could disrupt the cable movement.
If the cable is rubbing against a decorative engine cover, fuel rail, motor box etc, adjust servomotor and cable to improve alignment. Many plastic decorative engine shrouds can cause this problem. Remove temporarily and run boat if you suspect this could be a problem.
Final Test: With key OFF, push manual throttle to full open position. Watch PerfectPass throttle cable to ensure it can move freely without binding or interference.
Boat Speeds Past Set Speed
If the system beeps to confirm engagement, but continues past set speed, perform a Servo Motor Test and Linkage Test. If these tests indicate all is well, it could be a Throttle Return Spring problem.
Throttle Return Spring: PerfectPass can open the throttle (by turning clockwise), but relies on the engine return spring to close the throttle when the servo turns counterclockwise. (The return spring is always applying pressure against the throttle back towards the neutral position). If the servo turns counterclockwise to slow the boat, but the throttle lever on engine does not move or moves very slowly, the return spring could be weak, broken, etc.
If you feel the spring is weak or damaged, an external return spring can be added.

[jimmyj]

you should test the servo with the power off, boat off, whatever you wanna call it. when its on, you will not be able to turn the knob as the servo is controlling it.

i know about the servos because i had to replace mine after about 4 months of use. luckily the cool dudes at PP replaced it under warranty for me.

if it turns freely while not on, this is not the problem.

another check you can do. turn the knob a bit in the direction that loosens the cable (i cant remember even tho you just posted it). just enough to loosen the cable. then have somebody turn the key, to where the PP turns on/lights up/beeps like you are about to crank the boat and get going.

while they turn the key, you hold your hand lightly on that knob. it should tighten as soon as the turn the key and the PP comes on. you will also here a very distinct "ting ting ting" from the servo motor tightening the cable. this is called the auto tightening sequence. if it tings and tigthens, then you know the PP module is communicating with the servo correclty and the servo is controlling the cable correctly.

hope this helps man.

[seanxtreme3000]

Thanks guys, ok so i just did both tests and the motor is pulling the cable tight. soooo i guess i bought the motor and spent $160 for nothing, or could it be the motor still. Any ideas why my speed could be changing so much on my PP.

EGAZAMPLE: my pp is set at set at 22.5 ill take off it will go all the way to 25 then to 22.5 but it will go down and up from 19 to 22.9 a lot throughout the run.?

[gride300]

have you tried increasing your kdw and decreasing your nn?

[jimmyj]

PROP might be a cause. the stock prop is 100% garbage. but with no weight, or very little, it should keep it closer to speed than that.

another thing that will help with speed. most people dont do this that i have seen.

try and get the speed pretty right on manually. dont just yam the throttle down and let the PP do the work. try to get the speed like you were driving manually. this helps the PP a lot i have found. if you yam it, it seems that it takes PP forever to finally stop bouncing back and forth and hit the desired speed.

what i do is: give her gas, once when the boat starts to plane, pull back on the throttle a hair. this will keep it from jumping 4+ mph when it planes off and the prop catches up.

then as the speed starts to approach the designated speed, i give it just a little bit of gas again so the PP has enough throttle to work with and gives a strong pull. this seems to work best in my experience.

other than this, as gride stated, mess with the settings. one is throttle response rate, ie how often/fast/agressive the servo controls the throttle and i beleive the other one is how often module reads the paddle wheel. not sure about that one as i have stargazer.

[seanxtreme3000]

Thank, going to try this today. the prop is not stock though
do you have any info on how to ajust kdw and decreasing your nn, or should i get the boat in the water and call PP

[jesl_303]

Sean, would be interested in hearing the outcome. We've been having the same problem with our Stargazer PP going past the mark then fading way back, even when manually helping it. Also, shortly after all this we started getting a low voltage reading on the display, so we took it into the dealer to deal with the electrical voltage issue and they concluded the servo motor is seized.

Interesting yours started turning freely... please share what happens, I've talked to the guys at perfect pass twice, but to no avail.

[seanxtreme3000]

Sean, would be interested in hearing the outcome. We've been having the same problem with our Stargazer PP going past the mark then fading way back, even when manually helping it. Also, shortly after all this we started getting a low voltage reading on the display, so we took it into the dealer to deal with the electrical voltage issue and they concluded the servo motor is seized.

Interesting yours started turning freely... please share what happens, I've talked to the guys at perfect pass twice, but to no avail.

Hey
could you turn the knob when the motor was off, or wasit still tight?

My Servo motor is not siezed due to the guy who checked it, tried to turn the knob while the motor was on. so i have a motor for sale in SC,GA if anybody needs one fast. i got on the boat friday and played with the kdw and decreasing the nn. i also reset the speed as i think that was off too. she ran great friday and saturday and the wake was perfect ( i just need to play with weight and tanks so i can get both sides perfect)
Then sunday i got cought in a huge storm and hit some bad waves getting back to the dock and i think a oil line is loose as i am now LOW on oil and the hull has oil in it too. . So if anybody has any ideas on how to hunt for this Leak, let me know.

thanks
sean

[jroyal]

IF it accelerates beyond the set speed, you might be missing the throttle linkage spring. Mine had that issue. I was told that PP could pull, not push the throttle cable in. The spring does the pull of the cable, to prevent the PP from having to push it. Mine is a GT40 and had a circular spring around a vertical bolt. I replaced it with a standard throttle pull linear spring and it fixed it.

[seanxtreme3000]

IF it accelerates beyond the set speed, you might be missing the throttle linkage spring. Mine had that issue. I was told that PP could pull, not push the throttle cable in. The spring does the pull of the cable, to prevent the PP from having to push it. Mine is a GT40 and had a circular spring around a vertical bolt. I replaced it with a standard throttle pull linear spring and it fixed it.

Jeff, do you have a pic of what im looking at (spring on the servo motor) i dont recall seeing a spring anywhere, but i wasnt looking for it either.
thanks

[jroyal]

The spring is not at the servo motor. The spring will be located where the throttle cable connects to the engine. Follow the string from the servo motor to the cable. The cable then goes to the opposite side of the throttle linkage. If you press on the throttle, it pulls the throttle cable towards the bow. If you twist the servo motor, it pulls the throttle cable towards the stern. The spring that I am referring to will be below where the two linkages meet. The arrow in the diagram roughly shows where I am referring to.



There will be a circle spring that should pull the throttle towards the bow. If that is broken, you can replace it with a linear spring - you can find them at any auto supply store for less than $8.

[jesl_303]

We took apart the servo & put it back together, it appeared to be running fine then, but when using the pp later that day, it would screw up the throttle, so when you slowed down to go pick up the rider, the throttle would go into gear, but to accelerate past idle, you'd have to push the throttle 3/4 to all the way down to get up to 8mph... And would continue to do this even when PP was off.

So we're calling Perfect Pass again today to see if thats a sign the servo is going out, i.e. it was seized a few weeks ago, or if this is a different issue... my guess is the servo isn't winding the trottle cable tight?