linc issue - 2011 210 SANTE

[DaveP]

So didn't use the boat a lot this year. First time ever. Wife and I were putting about the lake and I noticed that the linc screen has flipped upside down. All the gauges were working but everthing was upside down. Took the boat in to be winterized and asked the dealer to look into it. They called today to say that Nautique suggested we replace the linc unit....but of course not with this model. Nope, we needed to upgrade to a newer version for the low low cost of $4,000!!! But wait...there is more. That doesn't include shipping or labor.

Has anybody ever had this happen to them? It will literally flip back and forth as we cruise around the lake. I figured it would be something simple like a bad connection. Not in the mood to spend that kind of money.

Funny that when they introduced the new linc system, they wouldn't let me upgrade. Now it seems to be ok.

[DaveP]

Found another thread regarding screen failures but have never heard of the image flipping upside down. Anybody experience this before? Is it the beginning of the end? It kills me to think this is going to be $4k++ to repair something that should be relatively simple. How could they not figure these were going to fail at some point?

The next question is if I have to upgrade to a newer linc system, will that allow me to add NSS? Or do I just get the cost without the benefits? This is the one thing Nautique did that really disappointed me. They went to linc 2.0 in 2012 and simply orphaned the previous generation. I'm sure the other companies do the same with their customers, but it really made me leary of buying their product in the future.

[jpwhit]

Enovations Controls / Murphy stopped making the model of the HV series displays that was used for the original LINC system. So, if something goes wrong with them, the only option is to replace them with LINC 2.0 now. I haven't seen a LINC screen flipping upside down like you're describing, but I have seen it happen with other LCDs, and I likely know why it's happening. The controller chip on the LCD has settings that control the orientation of the screen. The controller chip on your screen is likely failing and is getting an error reading those orientation settings out of its configuration flash storage. Unfortunately, it's not fixable without replacing at least the LCD panel in your screen. It's hard to know for sure if it'll get worse, but chances are pretty good that it'll get worse.

I've been working on these screens for a couple of years now as one of many projects to keep me busy after I retired, and because between my boats and ski club boats I maintain I've had to deal with failures and also wasn't willing to pay the retail cost of replacing these screens. I may be able to fix your screen by replacing the LCD panel, but I haven't had one of the original LINC 1 screens apart yet to know exactly which LCD panel is in there. I have a boat with a LINC 1.0 in it as well, but it hasn't had any problems yet.

I also have at least one LINC 2.0 screen available that I've fully reconditioned.

If you did install a LINC 2.0 screen in your boat, then yes, it is certainly possible to also install NSS. The only unknown is what changes will be needed to the wiring harness for wiring between the PDM and the actuators on the transom of the boat for the NSS tabs. If Nautique doesn't have a ready-made wiring harness for that, then it may be that dealer will say they can't do the install. But anyone with skills and tools for crimping Deutsch pins could make the wiring updates.