Keypad short circuit

[Kmayotte]

I have an 04 Super Air Team Edition that I picked up a few weeks ago. Still getting used to the boat.

Had my first issue already. I was out at night. Stereo and navigation lights on. Puttering along. Saw some fire works. Decided to turn off the boat. Had not taken it fully out of gear.

From there, nothing would work. No lights, no horn. Lights on the keypad would flicker on and off inconsistently. Seemed like there was a lose connection. Scary floating in a large bay at night with no lights or horn to signal a passerby. We got towed in, left the boat for the night. Got up in the morning and everything operated fine.

Obviously, I am happy that everything decided to work again but am worried about this happening again in the future. I guess be very careful not to shut off the boat while in gear. Lose connection?? lock down mode?? (horn should still have worked)

Any ideas of similar experiences greatly appreciated.

Keith

[DealsGapCobra]

Man that would be scary! Sorry, I am of no help but figured I would give you a bump.

[TRO]

i've had issues with my keypad on my 2008 similar to that once. i've also read about people having issues with their keypads not starting back up. do a search on here for keypads and you might find the thread. you might need to get the keypad replaced.

did you check your killswitch? sometimes those are a little loose while still plugged in.

also, here's a thread with some related info and some links to other threads. this might help in some way.

http://planetnautique.com/vb3/showth...ghlight=keypad

[csizelove]

I'm right there with you. This weekend my son and I went out in the lake for a swim and when we decided to come back in the boat did nothing when entering the 4 digit code in although it looked like it was accepting all 4 digits. All the lights on the function buttons started flickering and when I would press the horn button there was a constant ticking until I shut the toggle switch off. After being towed in I began troubleshooting and found the negative cable to the battery post was split but the clamp was good and tight but I did replace it. After sitting for awhile tried the boat again and everything was fine so I have no idea what's going on. I'm doubting that the battery clamp is going to fix the problem. Any ideas, I'm all ears on suggestions. I hate the fact of replacing keypad as much as they are with the boat only having 93 hrs on it.

[DealsGapCobra]

Does anyone make a key ignition retrofit kit for these boats? I love my new Nautique but didn't like the idea of the ignition system from the start. To me, the key pad adds nothing but offers the opportunity for these types of failures. Even if it turns out to be something else, with the electronics in the loop you are never quite sure. It just seems like bling for blings sake.

[csizelove]

I think I'm going to check into an ignition switch also. When I bought my 04' this spring that's the first thing that came to my mind was the headaches of worrying the keypad would be an ongoing problem.

[Kmayotte]

After reading the other forums, the main issue seemed to be at the main power toggle switch (on, off, bilge only switch to the right of the drivers seat).

I'll have to check my connection there this weekend. Many people keep a spare swtich on hand incase of any issues. Doesn't seem like a likely answer for my issue as when we were turning it on an off during the epsiode it lit up fine in the on position and the bilge only positions. Most other solutions were bad relay terminals or loose ground wires.

I don't know if it's worse that we ran the boat the rest of the weekend (wakeboarding, surfing skiing) with no issues. I am out at night ALOT on a big lake with lots of sketchy navigation (winnipesaukee in NH). I feel like I may be driving a ticking time bomb that will decide to quit at the worst possible moment unless I find where ever my loose connection is.

Other than this the boat is siiiiiick. Quite the upgrade from my 93 SN.

[WakeSlayer]

Do a search, a couple guys have made bypass boxes in the event of a keypad failure. Also, as mentioned above the bilgle only switch can fail, too, but the primary culprit is the pad.

I love my breakers and keyed ignition.

[hourglass]

definitely program a second code using buttons you don't normally use incase the buttons go out one day. also, i hope you have flares and an air horn on your boat every time you go out.

[rv6fly]

So when u put in your code on the keypad does that just trigger the PME relay. I would think it's a little more secure than that since you can jump it pretty easy.

[Kmayotte]

More issues. No solutions

Update: The electronics crapped out again this weekend.

I replaced the toggle switch (old one worked fine according to the volt meter but figured it was a starting point. With the new switch in place the key pad still did not back light when the main switch was turned on. Instead random indicator lights came on (light that tell you the accessory is on). I got Fred at New England Correct Craft (who no longer deals CC and swtiched to Tige ironically) who has been very helpful. He had me check and make sure we were getting 12 volts at the circuit breaker box. We were. He said the next step was to check the keypad. So I took it out, and brought it to him.

On the newer keypad (not the first generation in the 01-03's but in the 04's and newer, the code is stored within the pad so you can take it out, plug it into any boat and it should be able to start and operate the boat. (not a great theft deterent...but is any boat?). Long story short, the keypad works fine when hooked up to another boat. So we have determined the electrical issue is within the circuit breaker box.

I have to bring the boat to the dealer over the weekend and he can look at it next week. I am really bummed about not having the boat and also afraid of the bill I may be facing. If the keypad was the issue it was $360 for a replacement and a matter of hooking up the harness and two wing nuts. That I could have dealt with. A new circuit breaker box is around $1000 from what he told me. Plus labor to install it etc.

Also, keypads have been an issue on the earlier models but the keypads in the 04's and newer have been much more reliable according to this dealer.

Hope my experience so far is going to help someone in the future.

I'll update when I bring the boat to the dealer and he gives me the diagnosis...

[Kmayotte]

Threads that don't have a solution always annoy me when I'm researching an issue with a boat. This one will be no different I guess.

I took the whole boat to the dealer and he put the keypad back in. It worked fine and the boat ran normal. I did have a lose battery connection but that shouldn't have caused this kind of issue. Most likley the keypad is working intermittenly and right now it is working fine.

The plan is to buy a backup keypad and keep in in the wrapping. If the boat dies on me again, I can replace the keypad immediatley and know right away whether that's the issue or if it's something else. If everything works fine forever than I can sell the keypad on Ebay or on this forum.

I will update if there are any further issues.

Any one have issues with the newer style keypads working intermittenly??