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

[TechBeer]

2006 SV211. Just resolved a challenging issue with my Perfect Pass that I thought I would document. There are lots of threads associated with this so I might post to multiple threads. BTW, the 2006 models do NOT have the pitot tube connections to the gateway so IMO the gateways for this model year is likely pretty reliable. However if you read on you'll see that the folks at Correct Craft don't always use the correct connectors in the wiring harness which can certainly create issues. This is the SECOND keying issue I have found on my boat related to Deutsch (now TE Connectivity) DT model connectors. The other was with the Ballast Controller which I documented in another thread, search ballast system 2006.

Anyways.....the symptoms are Perfect Pass once engaged would NOT disengage, could not go faster than 6MPH. I had replaced the display around 2016 (non-Stargazer) so I didn't think this was the problem. Perfect Pass tech support (Gary) agreed and thought it was the gateway. So I bought the bullet and upgraded to the Stargazer bypass kit. I plugged everything in (not permanent) and tried it. It worked a little better but I could not consistently engage and dis-engage the system. Like the buttons didn't always work. Also, I could not get into the menus. Another call to PP and the only thing left was the display (only 5 years old). So I shipped my display back to PP to get it diagnosed. In the mean time I'm in the middle of summer without a boat, so I convinced PP to give me a discount on a new display which I had in a couple days. Plugged it in and no good....

To jump right to the solution the problem was NOT the gateway and NOT the PP system. It turned out that the P11 connector in the engine harness was incorrectly keyed (from day one in 2006). The way these DT style connectors (which are all over Nautiques of this era) is that they have little "tabs" on the corners that correspond to slots in the mating receptacle. There are 4 different keying options A - D. The plug in my boat was a "D" keying while the gateway and PP bypass kit takes an "A" keying. In theory you should not even be able to push them together but if you force it.... Anyways, I had to methodically file off the Pin 1 tab for it to seat fully into the R11 receptacle in the bypass kit. After that, things worked perfectly...... If anyone needs more details please PM me or post to this thread.

[ETskier]

I have had these same guage problems for 4 years and was able to buy replacements. However, my gateway box is fine. The guages are aging and no replacements are available any more. I see where the guts of the speedometer can be exchanged for GPS and stepper motors can be replaced in the old small guages. How did you guys disassemble the old guages without breaking them.

[TechBeer]

ETskier - Which gauges are you talking about? The fuel, temp, oil pressure and battery gauge run off a serial bus which daisy chains from gauge to gauge. If the LCD display in the middle of the speedo cycles through the correct information it's likely not the gauge or gateway and more likely just the connectors/connections. I occasionally have the same issue on start up but they seem to recover after a few minutes. If you are talking about the speedometer that's a different story. I don't know if the SN196 still used the pitot tubes or not. My SV211 uses a paddlewheel. Of course after I upgraded to the PP Stargazer the speedometer in the PP is likely way better than the analog gauge anyways.

[ETskier]

Thank you TechBeer. My boat is a 2006 SN196 Team edition with Zero Off. I'm mostly interested in doing what schnuubi above did with his speedometer. He bought a new FARIA GPS Speedo and swapped the guts into his original Speedo. Mine is paddle wheel. Keeps everything original looking and functional. I know I will lose the digital water/air temp and depth. All the other guages are working fine.
So, how do you open up the guages?

[TechBeer]

If you have 1 or more dead gauges and you think your gateway is OK, i.e. the digital data is still good but the analog gauge(s) is bad, I have figured out a way to fix them. That way you can maintain the original look of the gauge but they will actually function. I've created a short video on the procedure here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PR-77jDDNo or you can search YouTube for "Dead Faria"...... I think many dead gauges are blamed on the gateway or bad wiring when it's really the stepper motors and/or capacitors in the gauge itself.

[SilentSeven]

I..... I've created a short video on the procedure here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PR-77jDDNo or you can search YouTube for "Dead Faria"......

That's super cool! Impressive! That's going to save some folks for sure!

So...I have one ballast tank gauge that's DOA and I know this gauge got dunked (submerged) in the water. What do you think chances are that it's the stepper motor that's toast? Few details on the dunking...fresh water, not salt....don't believe the gauge system was powered on while submerged but it was connected to harness. My uneducated guess...might just be the stepper that froze up so its worth a shot...but appreciate your assessment.

Regarding replacing the surface mount capacitors...does that require special soldering iron / technique or is it just some careful precision work?

[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 :-)

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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.....