Major ZO issue.

[usaski1]

I have a 2016 MC, and ZO has decided to intermittently stop working. When it doesn’t work, the screen shows all zeros. I have replaced the computer under the dash with a new one last month. I have also removed, sprayed with  electrical cleaner spray and reattached all ECM plugs thinking there may be a loose connection. Very frustrating. Any other ideas? 
 

[Horton]

so the head unit for that boat is covered by a black circular cover roughly 3 and 1/2 in in diameter with three screws that's more or less at the driver's feet. have you replaced that?

[usaski1]

6 minutes ago, Horton said:

so the head unit for that boat is covered by a black circular cover roughly 3 and 1/2 in in diameter with three screws that's more or less at the driver's feet. have you replaced that?

Yes. That’s what I replaced 2 weeks ago. 

[Horton]

@Jody_Seal ?

[Jody_Seal]

put the system in rec mode and run the boat. check and see if rpm drops out any time. if that is the case it is loosing canbus circuit..

[usaski1]

How do I put it in rec mode? 

[Mastercrafter]

Maybe GPS puck issue? Have you updated to single puck? It is showing zero satellites and therefore has no idea how fast you are going.

 

Edit. oops, did not see that the rest of your screen showed zeros as well.  
 

This seems like a screen issue or CAN-bus communication issue. 

[MISkier]

Where is says "Slalom Change Event" in the lower left corner of your first picture, press that to reveal a menu of choices.  One of those will be Recreational or Training Slalom. 

One of the things that worries me is no ZO serial number or ZO software version displaying in the third picture.  I think it reads those from the ECM on the engine.  Maybe there is a lost connection of the head unit to the ECM, which would be the CANBUS connection Jody mentions.

Edited April 12 by MISkier

[jpwhit]

The screen shows what you're seeing when the screen can't communicate to the ZO head unit in the firewall under the dash. The part you replaced recently. This can be caused by one of three things. 

1) There is an issue with the CANBUS drivers in the screen

2) There is a CANBUS wiring or termination issue between the screen and the black ZO head unit

3) There is a problem with the black ZO head unit

Given you already replaced the head unit, and it sounds like you were having the same problem before and after the replacement, that would seem to rule out 3. It's rare, but new electronics can be faulty. But if the same symptoms are happening with 2 different ZO head unit, then that rules out a problem with the head unit.

First thing I'd do is look very closely at the black 23pin connector on the screen. Unplug it and look carefully at the pins inside the connector. Make sure none of the pins are bend or have been pushed back into the connector. Then do the same thing for the 23pin connector going to the ZO head unit. For reference here are the CANBUS hi and low pins in each of those connectors. If you look really carefully inside the connector there are small numbers to identify pin numbers. If you have a meter, you can check continuity of the CANBUS signals between the two connectors. Checking for proper CANBUS termination at each end is pretty hard. You have to know the physical order of all the CANBUS wiring. I've never had a need to figure that out. 

Black HV700 screen connector - CANBUS Low: pin 5, CANBUS High: pin 6

ZO connector - CANBUS Low: pin 10, CANBUS High: pin 9

If you want to send me any of your parts, I'm happy to test them out for you. I have a setup of screens, wiring harnesses, and a ZO head unit setup on my workbench. So I can test any of the piece parts. For example, if you still have the old ZO head unit you can send me that and I can verify it works with screens and the wiring harness I have. Or I can verify your screen. Of course it's not realistic to send the wiring harnesses. 

Actually, looking back at your screen shot. I think the issue is with your screen and/or the CANBUS connections in the connector to the screen. I think this because your screen isn't showing info for other things on the CANBUS such as the engine hours from the engine ECU, or water temp from the AIRMAR biducer. 

[jpwhit]

If you can't get it figured out fairly quickly, I'm happy to fly from Raleigh to Austin and get it fixed. I can bring an extra screen that I know works from being tested in my ProStar, another ZO head unit, a bunch of wiring harness connectors, pins and parts, Rhinda Diacomm, and a CANBUS sniffer. 

All I'd ask in return is some ski sets. 

I also have some friends in Austin I'd like to visit as well as a ton of unused frequent flyer miles. 

[DW]

@jpwhit - if you jumped on a plane today, you could also catch the MotoGP race at COTA, probably one of the best motorsports events to soak up:-)  Friends, Texas BBQ, racing and skiing, what else do you need.

[jpwhit]

I had time to go through the ProStar wiring diagram last night. The 120 ohm termination resistors for the CANBUS are built into the engine / ECM wiring harness on one end and the other end is right behind the HV700 screen. I think I remember seeing it, if I'm right it's a connector with a yellow thingy plugged into the wiring harness very close to the screen. I don't think you need to worry about the termination on the engine end. But I'd check for the one behind the screen. If you see the yellow thing plugged in, unplug it and measure it with an ohm meter. It should read right around 120 ohms.

I also through of a fourth thing that could cause your problem. If another device on the CANBUS in malfunctioning in a way that is loading or disrupting the bus, that could be the issue. In a ProStar there's not that many things on the CANBUS. The engine ECM, the single puck ZO gps receiver, ZO head Unit, hv700 screen, Power Distribution Module (PDM), and the airmar biducer. There is also a connector shown in the wiring harness labeled "3-n-1". I'm not sure what that is, but I think the connector is not actually used. 

Just fyi, on older ZO systems with the dual puck, they aren't on the CANBUS, they are wired directly to the ZO head unit.

Since the airmar biducer isn't required, I'd go ahead and just unplug that. It's in the engine box right in front of the engine down next to the bilge pump. You'll lose depth and water temp reading with it unplugged. Turn off the main battery power switch while unplugging stuff and then turn it back on once the device is unplugged.

Next thing I'd unplug is the PDM. It's on the front side of firewall. You should be able to get to it from behind the bow cushions. Unplug the green connector. That's the connector with the CANBUS wiring. With the PDM unplugged most of the electrical accessories in the boat won't work. Such as lights, heaters, and stuff like that. 

If you still have issue, I'd try unplugging the GPS puck. Of course, ZO won't work with it unplugged, but if the screen can read the ZO serial number from the head unit, and the other reading such as engine hours from the ECM come back, then you'll know the GPS puck is messing up the CANBUS communications. 

One clarification that would be useful to know. It sounds like in the past, the problem has been intermittent. Is that the case now? If so, how often does it happen?

[usaski1]

Great info Jpwhit! Great offer I may take you up on! An update for everyone today.. I started the boat.. all zeros.. dang! Parked at the dock.. turned the master switch on/off a few times. No change. Reached under the dash and jiggled wires close to the screen. It all came to life, showed all numbers, got gps sats, and I took a set. Something is loose under the dash by the screen. 

[jpwhit]

Ok, then it’s definitely a CANBUS wiring issue right around the screen. The wiring harness on MasterCrafts are setup to work with both the 4.5” and 7” screens. They never offered the 4.5” screen in the ProStar, like they did in the wake boats, but nonetheless the wiring harness is setup the same way. 

So there is a small adapter harness right at the screen, to adapt the connectors on the 7” screen to the connectors used for the 4.5” screen. The base wiring harness is setup to plug directly into the 4.5” screen. Net, the CANBUS wiring goes through a few different connectors right around the screen. So any of those connectors / connections could be the problem. 

Here are a few pictures

 

And a picture of just the adapter harness that I labeled. I'll be at my lake house tomorrow so I can verify some of this by checking my boat.