Nautique Simple Cruise Gauge (2011 200V)

[JMurph]

My Nautique branded gauge is starting to fail. The area that displays the mph is starting to display a black splotchy area most of the time. The gauge itself still functions and captures the correct reading, but the display itself is not always clearly legible. I've been searching the internet for a replacement gauge, but to no one's surprise these gauges seem to be rare. Nautique Parts is checking with the factory to see if it's still available, but the quote they gave sounds like the entire setup, rather than just the gauge itself.

If someone has upgraded to PP or ZO and still has there old Nautique speed control gauge laying around, I would be very interested in it.

[bturner]

Yeah, mine is a 2016 and it is really not easy to read even in good condition. I looked at moving to Zero Off but it you go that direction you lose the rest of the display features (ballast levels, depth, temp). I'm adding a depth gauge this spring as the sized of the depth readout in this gauge is not very useable without squinting with my old eyes but I haven't figured out if I can use the existing transducer. If I could I'd be thinking long and hard about how much I really need the ballast level gauges

[JMurph]

I'm actually very encouraged to hear your 2016 has the same gauge. I thought they phased those gauges out fairly quickly (around 2013-14). I was thinking my best bet would be to find someone who converted to Zero Off and still has there old gauge sitting around, but you also make the great point that the ballast reading is an important aspect of the gauge in question.

Thanks for the feedback.

[JMurph]

Maybe I should open the question up a little more and ask if anyone knows how to fix/repair the blotchy area shown on the display. I am open to trying to fix the gauge I have. It appears to work other than the display starting to fail.

[jpwhit]

It looks like that gauge was likely made by eControls (Zero Off) just based on the style and materials used. It also looks like the LCD may be the same panel eControls uses for Zero Off. A little hard to tell just based on the picture. Assuming this is all correct. I have replaced the LCD panel on Zero Off units. The original LCD panel part number is 12864MD1260Y. I couldn't find an exact replacement. I did end up using a very similar LCD panel that had a different style connector. I had to build my own interconnect cable and had to rework the back light and contrast circuit a little. The good news is the LCD panel connects to the main PCB via a 20 pin FFC cable, so no modifications are required to the main PCB.

I see you're on Gaston. I have a house on Kerr Lake and am over at Gaston fairly often because I have friends on Gaston with houses. Friend's houses at Gaston are on Lizard Creek cove. I also have a house in the Raleigh area.

[JMurph]

Thanks for the response. I have had mostly owned older ski boats (non-speed control), so I'm not that familiar with the components of PP or ZO. (2011 is like a brand new boat for us)

I'm heading down to the lake later this week or early next week. My plan is to tear it apart and replace the polarized film on each side of the LCD panel. I have a feeling that might get the job done after reading some stuff on the interwebs about the problem. If that doesn't work, I may give your part number a try. I would rather fix it than replace it.

Lake Gaston - we're on Pea Hill Creek. It's a second home and I still have teenaged kids involved in activities so we don't get down there as much as we'd like. Near Annapolis, Maryland is full time home.

[JMurph]

Just an update in case someone searches for this problem in the future. After finding some motorcycle folks with similar LCD screen problems, I tried replacing the polarized film, which only slightly improved my gauge. I also found some who replaced the LCD screen which I was able to locate a new one for about $30. That proved to require more precise soldering skills than wanted to tackle. Phil at Nautique Parts ended up finally get back to me that Nautique still has some of these gauges in stock, so I bought a new one and I'm so glad I did. I didn't realize the screen was supposed to be backlit as well. We can now read our screen.

See you guys out on the water somewhere and thank you for this community.

-JMurph

[MN Ryan]

Nice!

[h2ogrifter]

It looks like that gauge was likely made by eControls (Zero Off) just based on the style and materials used. It also looks like the LCD may be the same panel eControls uses for Zero Off. A little hard to tell just based on the picture. Assuming this is all correct. I have replaced the LCD panel on Zero Off units. The original LCD panel part number is 12864MD1260Y. I couldn't find an exact replacement. I did end up using a very similar LCD panel that had a different style connector. I had to build my own interconnect cable and had to rework the back light and contrast circuit a little. The good news is the LCD panel connects to the main PCB via a 20 pin FFC cable, so no modifications are required to the main PCB.

I see you're on Gaston. I have a house on Kerr Lake and am over at Gaston fairly often because I have friends on Gaston with houses. Friend's houses at Gaston are on Lizard Creek cove. I also have a house in the Raleigh area.

I have a Zero Off display out of a 2011 Centurion Carbon Pro which has become extremely difficult to read lately. I took it apart expecting to find a replacement LCD module, with no luck. I have plenty of soldering experience and would love to tackle this and save the $700+ on a new head unit, but I don't know how to determine the pin mapping/circuit reworking you mentioned you had to do. Would you happen to have a diagram or anything of this process that I could refer to? I've also struggled to find a similarly sized LCD unit so if you have the link to the one you had success with, I would much appreciate it.

[ricky]

…The original LCD panel part number is 12864MD1260Y. I couldn't find an exact replacement. I did end up using a very similar LCD panel that had a different style connector. I had to build my own interconnect cable and had to rework the back light and contrast circuit a little. The good news is the LCD panel connects to the main PCB via a 20 pin FFC cable, so no modifications are required to the main PCB.

Hey jpwhit what model replacement LCD panel did you go with? I’m in the same camp and ready to whip out the solder & flux…

[bturner]

Just wanted to post a quick update as to where I am personally with this. My gauge looks as bad and seems to be getting worse as the initial post picture. Based on the information being provided by NP about limited availability of the gauge I forced my cheap self to spend the nearly $1300 (with NPD discount) for the gauge while they were still available and my gauge was still mostly readable. NP has updated their online catalog to include the part number 110011 for this gauge.

https://nautiqueparts.com/search-results-page?q=110011

jpwhit if you want one to see if you can fix without fear of breaking someone's "one and only", I'll be replacing mine this fall. I wouldn't mind having a spare if the screen is reasonable to repair.....

[MN Ryan]

$1300? Ouch.

[jpwhit]

jpwhit if you want one to see if you can fix without fear of breaking someone's "one and only", I'll be replacing mine this fall. I wouldn't mind having a spare if the screen is reasonable to repair.....

No need, I've repaired a few of them now. I charge $200 to replace the LCD. I had printed circuit boards made to adapt the available LCDs to work with the unit.

[bturner]

Wow that sounds a lot better than $1300

[bturner]

Well, it certainly wasn't cheap but it was pretty easy to replace. The difference was dramatic and ended up fixing a couple other problems I was looking to fix in the off season.

Per my previous post, I bit the bullet and bought the new gauge. The installation took all of 20 minutes to complete. 2 wingnuts and 1 connector was all that was needed to replace the unit which while not in the easiest place to reach was not even in the top 10 on the difficulty scale to get to. My burned up display is now sitting on the workbench with the new one installed. The new display is crazy easy to read even in direct sunlight and both air/water temp readings are working again. Not so sure about the depth gauge portion which started acting up last year as it's reading 648' while sitting on the trailer but I'm really happy with how bright and readable the new gauge is. My only regret is that I didn't replace this sooner or have JP take a shot at repairing it for me.

I'm typically a big proponent of fixing or refreshing things as they go bad or wear out but got caught not taking my own advice on this item. The problem with not doing so is that all the small items add up and become overwhelming to address. Death by a thousand paper cuts if you will. I see this often with used boats hitting the market.

While I would have much preferred getting it repaired by JP for $200 I won't kick myself for the $1300 based on the results either.