Zero Off course mapping is drifting frequently

[MISkier]

Our club boat is a 2021 Nautique 200. On the first day, the mapping of the course drifted some 10 feet after two sets. We remapped. A few days later, it drifted again. We remapped. Last night, I noticed it was nearly 20 feet off and remapped. Two sets later, it was off again by nearly 10 feet.

 

We are theorizing that there is some sort of antenna issue, but want to check to see if anyone else is experiencing this and/or knows the solution. Thanks in advance.

[LeonL]

Someone else is likely more knowledgeable, but in the past there have been anomalies with satellites that cause mapping to drift. The frequency and distance does see rather much however.

[Jody_Seal]

Pull or pry up your receiver and see if it is a 3ev or wk in the identification numbers.

Check the mounting of the zo unit under the dash.

Sometimes they get mounted incorrectly and or deformed in their mounting fixture.

[MISkier]

@Jody_Seal, I tried to figure out where to look in the boat for the receiver, but no luck. We removed the vinyl panel under the helm, but all I saw in there was a power distribution module. I didn't see immediately see how to open the housing around the Panoray display. I also could not locate the ZO module on the engine. Admittedly, I am not really familiar with Nautiques.

 

I also looked at the antenna for the ZO, but decided against pulling on that. It looked to be strongly mounted.

 

If you (or anyone) has some pictures or diagrams of where to located the receiver and get its info, that would be helpful.

 

And, the mapping was off again today. About 10 feet. I didn't bother to remap it.

[thager]

Did you erase the other mappings for that course? If not it will select the closest course it senses.

[MISkier]

@thager, there is only one mapping. When I have remapped, I have selected that sole course and executed the remap. It drifted on the first day the boat was new (after two sets). I didn't see any other mappings when I mapped the boat on day one. I can look again to see if there is a test mapping from the factory somewhere, but I seemed to recall there was nothing listed at all when we started.

[LeonL]

If there is no other mapped course that is close by, it's a non issue.

[MISkier]

Today, I removed the mapping for our course and ensured there were no other mappings. I mapped the course anew. It lasted a couple of sets and drifted again.

 

However, a new symptom has emerged. Later in the evening, the Zero Off decided to stop timing through the course and registered no beeps in the course and no wait timer at the ends. Basically, it was no longer recognizing the course was even there or that we had driven a pass through it. So, I powered the boat down and turned off the battery switch for a minute or so. Then, I started everything back up and drove through the course. The mapping was still off by at least 10 feet, but the timing and beeps worked. On the very next pass, no timing and no beeps. I'm not sure what this does to the pull characteristics that the skier experiences. One other item of note: when it was working and the mapping was off, it seemed like it was easier to complete passes in one direction versus the other in the same conditions. So, it did seem to me that the drift may affect how the boat feels in the actual/physical course.

 

With this latest symptom, I am wondering how long before the unit malfunctions badly enough that it does not lock in the speed. It appears to still be handling speed control - at least we think it is. We have not been able to independently confirm that it is accurate. It seems to be in the ballpark, though.

 

I'm hoping the club president can start working with the dealer to get it fixed/replaced, but it's obvious that something is drastically wrong with the ZO unit.

[skiinxs]

If there are no error codes present, I would unplug all of the connectors and ensure all of the pins are fully inserted. If all is good there I would request a new head unit under warranty.

[LeonL]

@MISkier this doesn't fix your problem, but maintaining set speed is not dependent on mapping and consequently timing. Pull characteristics will still be in relation to skier and letter/number settings.

[MISkier]

@LeonL, the reason I was concerned about the loss of speed control is that I saw the number of available satellites drop to 5 during some of the session. At some point, I wonder if it will not have any.

 

I believe the pull characteristic will be slightly different when it does not detect a course. This is because it will be running a bit faster pre-gate speed and waiting for the gates before settling into the actual speed range for a pull through the course. When it never detects the course, it will pull you through slightly faster. It will respond to your pulls, etc., but it won't be quite the same.

 

I also wonder if there isn't any location-specific anticipation built into the algorithm to "expect" a turn/hookup or other skier activity in relation to where the boat is within the course. That is, does the boat do something slightly different when it knows where it is within the course? Response to the pull would follow the letter/number, but is anything else occurring as a more subtle event?

 

Our club president is going to contact the dealer tomorrow.

[Drago]

@MISkier zo only reacts. If the skier just stands there , your virtual times will be In, even the gate. Old (version R and older) + (plus) might overspeed your gate, but I don't think v.S + does.

Regardless, you have a problem that you should address with the dealer ASAP so you don't pay for it. Have you tried turning off Auto-dectect even though there is no course nearby?

[MISkier]

@Drago, I have not turned off Auto-Detect yet. If I make it out there this week (weather is iffy), I'll try to remember to test that.

[skiinxs]

Only 5 satellites is an issue. The new single puck should be seeing a lot more that that. Are you sure you aren't seeing "gps error" in red at the top left of your screen?

[MISkier]

@skiinxs, I will look for that error, but I don't recall anything like that in the display. And, the 5 satellites was not the entire time. But, the usual number of satellites also seemed low to me. It was less than 15 most of the time.

[skiinxs]

Also, give it time after you boot it up to acquire as may satellites as possible and verify you have a d( for differential) after the number of satellites before you map.

[LeonL]

Not addressing the real problem, but try running through the course w/o a skier and video the digital speedo. See if the speed changes at the gate. I say not.

[Jody_Seal]

Not going to know till you pry up the puck and make sure it is a3 event unit..its only two sided tape holding it down..

[MISkier]

@Drago, I set the system to not auto-detect the course tonight.

 

@skiinxs, it only showed a few satellites for a while, but slowly (very slowly) increased to 17-18. It did not show the "D" on the display. There were no errors and nothing on the GPS diagnostics screens.

 

It did not lose the course all evening and the timing worked. The course mapping was still off by 10 feet from before and I did not change it during our sets. I did remap it at the end of the night and, weather permitting, I will check for any drift over the next couple of days.

 

@Jody_Seal, the photo of the bottom of the antenna is below. I am assuming it is a 3 event antenna.

 

Do you know if the diagnostics/information screen where it shows the ZO part number and ZO version number has any information on it to determine if other components are the wrong type? The part number ended in "A". The version number ended, as expected, in "S".

 

We have spoken with the dealer, who is talking with Nautique and said they will get back to us.

 

 

[Jody_Seal]

@MISkier

Eliminates one variable, or does it? Does it have the correct firmware installed and do you have access to a known good performing receiver you can temp swap in?

Has anyone checked the power supply conections? A loose ground or poorly attached ground can create havoc.

Look on the bell housing ground lugs check and make sure the attachment nuts are not rusted or loose.

Check for a ground bar under deck dash area and make sure it is secured and tight as well as battery connections.

Is there any other components in the boat not functioning correctly aside of the speed control?

 

[MISkier]

The dealer's consultation with Nautique suggests that it is likely a bad dongle and they are sending a new part to be replaced. We will see if that is the issue or not.

 

In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the operational state of it and look for bad electrical.

[MISkier]

Course mapping was off by at least 10 feet tonight, but it recognized the course and did not lose timing all night. Dealer says that Nautique may think it is a software issue. But, it does appear to be isolated. So, we will see what happens next. It's a mystery at the moment.

[LeonL]

So, Nautique says it's a "dongle" then says it's a software issue. For your sake I hope that they come up with something. It would appear that they don't know.