ZO Not Working

[PT Mike]

My ZO head unit is blank. When I start the boat ZO beeps 3-4 times and screen is completely blank. The diagnostic menu in the ZO manual doesnt help as the screen doesnt work, Any Ideas? I sent an e mail out to ZO this morning.

[PT Mike]

BTW, Engine is a 2007 PCM ZR6 that I used to repower an older MC.

[skierjp]

Just curious, was the sun shining on it? If the screen gets hot it will go blank.

[Phil]

Try turning the master switch off on the boat and then back on again

 

[Hockdog]

Your email to the ZO people will go unanswered, very poor customer service.

[PT Mike]

@skierjp I always throw a towel on the dash when I'm at the beach.

@Phil No master switch, but I did disconnect the battery.

@Hockdog Thanks, I've heard that about ZO I'll call today. Makes me miss my old PP

[rockdog]

I hope they're not like the older PP displays that went blank. They wore out and had to be replaced. Happened to my ski partners 2005.

[PT Mike]

Got my ZO figured out, bad puck or pucks. Called ZO today and got a guy named Eric from tech support. He walked me through the checklist. Basically check for steady 12 volts at the red and pink wire that was on my key switch. Check. Verify ZO has a good ground. Check. Unplug pucks and reboot system, voila, my head unit works! My next dilemma is do I replace the Garmin pucks or do the upgrade to single puck. With the single puck I need to hunt down the cable to do the software update.

[Gloersen]

Definitely go with the ZO ECI single puck and head unit reflash.

[buoyboy1]

Personally, I would stay with the two puck system unless you buy a spare and have it ready to use should you switch to a single puck system. We all know how temperamental these pucks can be.

[Gloersen]

@PT Mike - Chances are your ZO system was operating on one functional puck for a while. Among the reasons ZO went in-house with its proprietary antenna is due to the high failure rate of the Garmin pucks as well as Garmin changes to the firmware which created ZO compatibility issues.

 

If you can find a Garmin compatible puck, it may well cost about the same as ZO's ECI puck, so it makes more sense to go with the ZO (time will tell if more reliable) ECI puck, especially if you can borrow a $250 ECOM cable to re-flash the head unit.

 

Reputedly, the ZO ECI puck has a greater frequency response rate, which may be an advantage, assuming you're looking for the most up to date ZO type pull, considering the re-power on your MC.

[LeonL]

You spoke with Eric Carmen, I'm sure. Why replace the pucks? I thought the screen was blank and that was the only problem. Does the system work now? You can run the diagnostic screen to determine if pucks are bad. I've heard that PP sells pucks that are compatible with ZO much cheaper.

[rfa]

Hi @PT Mike, Rui here. Good to see you at Pangaea last Saturday. Sent you a PM but just in case...

See my previous posts below on this matter back in 2014. I just checked and it looks as these are still available at the same price at gpscity.com. Hope this helps. Best luck getting it fixed! I have no experience with the single puck, so cannot comment on its merits.

@LeonL, in may case I was able to run the diagnostic screen and confirm the pucks were bad, but my screen was never blank.

(Note: sold the LXi to a neighbor last year and can confirm that the ZO is still working well)

 

Replaced the two pucks on my '08LXi this summer. Called ZO tech support. He told me the price of new pucks AND without my prompt said I should be able to find them for less money elsewhere. Gave me the part # Garmin GPS18x-5Hz. At that time, the cheapest I found was at www.gpscity.com...$139.95. Installed them and ZO system worked fine immediately.

 

The cheapest I found was at http://www.gpscity.com/search/q=gps+18x+5hz+high-sensitivity

Garmin OEM GPS 18x High-Sensitivity 5Hz Sensor with Bare Wire Connection

$139.95

 

 

[LeonL]

My comment was directed to @PT Mike . Didn't understand why he would need pucks based on his description of blank screen.

[rfa]

@LeonL understood your comment and I had the same question

[PT Mike]

@LeonL As per Eric's instructions I disconnected both pucks then did a system shutdown/restart and the screen came on. I plugged in puck #1 and screen went blank. Unplugged puck #1 did a shutdown/restart and screen came back on. Plugged in puck#2 screen stayed on but no GPS signal even after a lengthy restart/idle period. I got Eric on the phone and he thought puck #2 went bad but system was still operating with one puck. Then puck 1 went bad and shorted out the screen display.

 

I think.....

[PT Mike]

@rfa Great seeing you again Rui! I need to pencil in Pangea for next year, I forgot what a great time there is to had at Vosburghs. Thanks for the links on the discounted pucks. Not sure what route I will go yet on the pucks.

[LeonL]

A guy at our lake had both pucks go out. Not at the same time, but one and later the other. Didn't know anything was wrong til the second went out. Screen never went blank, just said "No GPS". Replaced one and back in business.