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Throttle Base Assembly Troubleshoot and Replacement
Here is my experience with a faulty Throttle Base Assembly in my 2020 SAN 230. This should apply to all newer Nautiques that use a Livorsie Throttle Base "Fly By Wire" http://www.livorsi.com/catalog/contr...emount_ski.htm. This unit electronically sends both throttle position and transmission gear (reverse, forward, and neutral with the neutral switch). There are no throttle or transmission cables in the newer boats. I think this started in 2015, but do not quote me on this.
This is the part I am describing: -
https://nautiqueparts.com/throttle-base-assembly
The issue presented itself last season in two ways. First, sometimes the boat would not crank. Everything looked good. This would normally happen when you shut down on the water after some use. A quick joggle of the throttle in neutral would allow it to crank. At this point, it was not a big issue as it only happened once in a while and it always started after the jiggle. Honestly, I did not know the boat was fly-by wire and assumed that the throttle cable may be needed to be adjusted or some other issue, hence the jiggle should always fix it and I would worry about it over the winter. Second, the neutral switch did not work. I have never used this to rev an efi boat, so I was not planning on spending the money or time to fix it. I did not know at the time they were connected.
This season the same issue got worse to where I had to play with the throttle for minutes to get the boat to crank. I could also hear the throttle base clicking like a solenoid. The clicks were not predictable and sometimes it would half-click. I can describe it as a dirty slow click. This is when I started to do the research. I pulled the box out and confirmed the clicking was coming from the box. I adjusted the neutral (set screw closest to the throttle) and it seemed to get a little better, but still was not reliable. This is when I called and spoke with Fred at Livorsi. He said that if you can hear it click it is dying. Livorsi will rebuild it for about 1/3 of the price of a new one, but that has a few weeks or more lead time. I think talked to Nautique Parts to ensure the throttle bases have a current manufacturing edition. I read in a few places that the newer versions are less prone to fail, not sure if this is true or not. My new one was stamped with 2023 in the serial number. I installed the new assembly and all is good, plus this resolved the neutral switch issue.
This is the process I used for the install
Disassembly.
1) Remove the top trim piece where your armrests and has the quick control buttons and knob. I did not fully remove this as the last clip at the back was still in. I think I may have had to pull a large backrest trim cushion off to get this all the way off. I could swivel it out of the way with no issues still attached at the back.
2) Unplug the quick control/knob wire harness so you can swing the trim our of the way.
3) Remove the Throttle Handle. Pop off the plastic nautique logo covering the allen head screw. Unscrew the allen head and the throttle handle pulls out and away
4) Remove the Side Trim piece that partially covers the black plastic around the throttle.
I used a trim pry tool i have for my vehicles to do this. you could also use a screwdriver, just be careful not to scratch the gelcoat where you can see it and to not bend too much as you do not want to break the trim backing.
5) Remove the screws on the hard plastic trim around the throtte. Mine had a few at the bottom and a few at the top where you tool off the armrest trim
6) Remove the throttle base. Mine had a screw into the fiberglass on the upper rear and 3 botls on the other 4 corners. At first I did not realize they were bolts and stripped one out. Mine were course thread 20-24 botls.
7) unplud the throttle base wire harnesses (2)
Do everything in reverse to put it back together. Some notes on this:
1) Make sure you plug the quick control button and knob back it
2) I have read elsewhere that you may need to adjust the neutral set screw (one closest to the throttle lever) This would to be hard to adjust once in place, maybe you can get to it. I dd not have to adjust mine, but I did screw the throttle lever back on to test it out before I mounted it.
3) Make sure that the number of clips on the trim is the same as in the fiberglass - my trim had an extra clip and I did not realize this until I had it partially mounted. I had to remove it to figure out why it was not working properly.
4) I would buy some new clips, I reused some, but some were pretty bent.
5) When pushing the clips into the trim before mounting I used the closed part of a 9mm wrench to drive them down. It fit perfectly on the clip flange and allowed enough pressure to drive them in.
6) You can also put the clips in the fiber glass first. I am not sure which way is better. Maybe a mix of both depending on how they come out.
Hopefully this helps someone in the future. Send me a message on here if you have any other questions about my experience.
This is the part I am describing: -
https://nautiqueparts.com/throttle-base-assembly
The issue presented itself last season in two ways. First, sometimes the boat would not crank. Everything looked good. This would normally happen when you shut down on the water after some use. A quick joggle of the throttle in neutral would allow it to crank. At this point, it was not a big issue as it only happened once in a while and it always started after the jiggle. Honestly, I did not know the boat was fly-by wire and assumed that the throttle cable may be needed to be adjusted or some other issue, hence the jiggle should always fix it and I would worry about it over the winter. Second, the neutral switch did not work. I have never used this to rev an efi boat, so I was not planning on spending the money or time to fix it. I did not know at the time they were connected.
This season the same issue got worse to where I had to play with the throttle for minutes to get the boat to crank. I could also hear the throttle base clicking like a solenoid. The clicks were not predictable and sometimes it would half-click. I can describe it as a dirty slow click. This is when I started to do the research. I pulled the box out and confirmed the clicking was coming from the box. I adjusted the neutral (set screw closest to the throttle) and it seemed to get a little better, but still was not reliable. This is when I called and spoke with Fred at Livorsi. He said that if you can hear it click it is dying. Livorsi will rebuild it for about 1/3 of the price of a new one, but that has a few weeks or more lead time. I think talked to Nautique Parts to ensure the throttle bases have a current manufacturing edition. I read in a few places that the newer versions are less prone to fail, not sure if this is true or not. My new one was stamped with 2023 in the serial number. I installed the new assembly and all is good, plus this resolved the neutral switch issue.
This is the process I used for the install
Disassembly.
1) Remove the top trim piece where your armrests and has the quick control buttons and knob. I did not fully remove this as the last clip at the back was still in. I think I may have had to pull a large backrest trim cushion off to get this all the way off. I could swivel it out of the way with no issues still attached at the back.
2) Unplug the quick control/knob wire harness so you can swing the trim our of the way.
3) Remove the Throttle Handle. Pop off the plastic nautique logo covering the allen head screw. Unscrew the allen head and the throttle handle pulls out and away
4) Remove the Side Trim piece that partially covers the black plastic around the throttle.
I used a trim pry tool i have for my vehicles to do this. you could also use a screwdriver, just be careful not to scratch the gelcoat where you can see it and to not bend too much as you do not want to break the trim backing.
5) Remove the screws on the hard plastic trim around the throtte. Mine had a few at the bottom and a few at the top where you tool off the armrest trim
6) Remove the throttle base. Mine had a screw into the fiberglass on the upper rear and 3 botls on the other 4 corners. At first I did not realize they were bolts and stripped one out. Mine were course thread 20-24 botls.
7) unplud the throttle base wire harnesses (2)
Do everything in reverse to put it back together. Some notes on this:
1) Make sure you plug the quick control button and knob back it
2) I have read elsewhere that you may need to adjust the neutral set screw (one closest to the throttle lever) This would to be hard to adjust once in place, maybe you can get to it. I dd not have to adjust mine, but I did screw the throttle lever back on to test it out before I mounted it.
3) Make sure that the number of clips on the trim is the same as in the fiberglass - my trim had an extra clip and I did not realize this until I had it partially mounted. I had to remove it to figure out why it was not working properly.
4) I would buy some new clips, I reused some, but some were pretty bent.
5) When pushing the clips into the trim before mounting I used the closed part of a 9mm wrench to drive them down. It fit perfectly on the clip flange and allowed enough pressure to drive them in.
6) You can also put the clips in the fiber glass first. I am not sure which way is better. Maybe a mix of both depending on how they come out.
Hopefully this helps someone in the future. Send me a message on here if you have any other questions about my experience.
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