Connectx system and "Err" speed

[David James]

I have the exact same issue. Took it in and dealer of course said 'We can't duplicate it, must be GPS interference." I'm like, Interference in the Middle of a Lake? I now have this video to show them, plus I'm going to show them this thread. Hopefully, they will fix it. I just bought the boat 4 months ago. If you listen close, you'll hear the engine cut out when the display goes to Err.

 

[captras]

yep, with the engines cutting in and out it doesn't make for a good steady speed. At first my dealer tried to tell me it might be the GPS reception, but he took it out on the lake and was able to duplicate it. I have called Yamaha and complained to them, telling them it was my third time for this exact same issue! They have replaced the antenna, the module, reinstalled the software and checked all the connections. Wont take mine back til the end of the season, but they need to figure this out! Good luck with yours, and keep us advised!

 

[swatski]

I think this has got to be some kind of EMI (electromagnetic interference).
Don't know what and why, I suspect you guys are not running with high powered VHF radios in transmission mode etc., but there has got to be something doing it. Those symptoms are totally consistent with an EMI error, after re-reading all the posts, although more trivial explanations are still in the differential and could not be excluded.

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[captras]

yep, with the engines cutting in and out it doesn't make for a good steady speed. At first my dealer tried to tell me it might be the GPS reception, but he took it out on the lake and was able to duplicate it. I have called Yamaha and complained to them, telling them it was my third time for this exact same issue! They have replaced the antenna, the module, reinstalled the software and checked all the connections. Wont take mine back til the end of the season, but they need to figure this out! Good luck with yours, and keep us advised!

I don't think it is that. THey have fixed it twice, and it works for about 5-8 hours, then starts screwing up again. I have nothing but phones on board and it does that even when they are not. Also, I have a Garmin GPS mounted right on the dash...never a hiccup, and the CONNEXT messes up no matter where you are....open water or not.

 

[swatski]

I don't think it is that. THey have fixed it twice, and it works for about 5-8 hours, then starts screwing up again. I have nothing but phones on board and it does that even when they are not. Also, I have a Garmin GPS mounted right on the dash...never a hiccup, and the CONNEXT messes up no matter where you are....open water or not.

I agree. It's just the mode in which you get the error that makes me suspicious - only E-series while in the GPS cruise control. We know that aftermarket GPS cruise controls including PerfectPass and Ridesteady can suffer an error due to EMI.
You are most likely right though, I'm just kind of perplexed. Again, the Connext is, conceivably, quite overtaxed in your boats as compared to non-E, so it could be something else.

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[Brad Dunn]

Captras yours is back doing the same thing? That's not good, I got my dealer to order the same parts in hope it would fix it.
I get an err even when not using the pre sets, not as often and it does not hesitate nearly as bad or at all. The pre set speed is useless at this point.
Does our speedo work at all times bye GPS?

 

[Mainah]

I would not rule out emi (even chartplotter emi) given all of the different communication protocols ruuning simultaneously, at a fast rate with high throughput over with some signals sent over wires that also supply power or ground the smallest thing interfering could cause the issue.

There is no doubt that the e/x series is a modern network communications Frankenstein. IMO the network is very poorly designed by just piggy backing more stuff on not to mention that some of those piggybacked components probably are not even shielded or splash rated.

I am hoping that Yamaha learns from this and vastly improves the design when/if they do a complete redesign. In the mean time heres hoping that someone at Yamah figures out what the real culprit is and publishes a service bulletin.

 

[captras]

Captras yours is back doing the same thing? That's not good, I got my dealer to order the same parts in hope it would fix it.
I get an err even when not using the pre sets, not as often and it does not hesitate nearly as bad or at all. The pre set speed is useless at this point.
Does our speedo work at all times bye GPS?

Yes, you will get the ERR message in the speed window all the time. The displayed speed is GPS speed. This is what is used in the drive mode. When you are in the Cruise mode, it is actually RPM based and not really speed based, so you wont have that problem. To confirm....set your cruise and make some sharp turns...the engines will maintain their RPM and the speed will drop. When you are in the DRIVE mode, it is GPS speed based. If it is working and you have it engaged, when you turn you will hear the engines rev to maintain your set speed.

 

[captras]

I would not rule out emi (even chartplotter emi) given all of the different communication protocols ruuning simultaneously, at a fast rate with high throughput over with some signals sent over wires that also supply power or ground the smallest thing interfering could cause the issue.

There is no doubt that the e/x series is a modern network communications Frankenstein. IMO the network is very poorly designed by just piggy backing more stuff on not to mention that some of those piggybacked components probably are not even shielded or splash rated.

I am hoping that Yamaha learns from this and vastly improves the design when/if they do a complete redesign. In the mean time heres hoping that someone at Yamaha figures out what the real culprit is and publishes a service bulletin.

I don't rule anything out, but the only reason that I don't think it is EMI is that when new, it was about 10 hours before it happened...prior to that it was perfect. After the first repair, same deal. It worked perfectly, and I watched it like a hawk even when not in the DRIVE mode...then at about the 8-10 hour mark it started doing the same thing. So after the 2nd repair...it worked perfectly....then again at about the 8 hour mark it started it all over again. The EMI would be the same if it were something generated on the boat...and the fact that it is the same scenario for 3 times tells me that it is a hardware problem. Honestly, I really don give a flying rats butt what it is, I just want the brain children at Yamaha to get off their asses and fix it RIGHT! Or give me about $10,000 and I will use that to buy a Perfect Pass system....which BTW, seems to work perfectly.....no EMI problem there

 

[sapperfitz]

I have the same issue. (2016 242 Limited S "E" Series) I have had the issue since I bought the boat last summer, but it didn't bother me until I just recently started using the "Drive Mode". This problem is unacceptable, since those who purchased the "E" Series boats paid a pretty penny for this feature. The "ERR" message on my boat seems to come on for less than a second and then goes away, and then will come back. I would think maybe even a software patch could fix this. Have the drive mode system ignore an err message that lasts less than 5-10 seconds? The system could just assume the boat is still travelling at the same speed it was before the message. You would still get the "ERR" message, but without the engine cut out.
Also, in my case, the message occurs less frequently the longer I have the engines running which leads me to believe it may have to do with how fully charged the batteries are. I haven't experimented enough with this to call it definitive. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet because it is so random and they will have to drive the boat. I'm hoping there will be a service bulletin soon. (I realize I am not helping by not taking mine in.)
Does anyone of anybody who has an "E" series or "X" that does not have this problem?

 

[captras]

I have the same issue. (2016 242 Limited S "E" Series) I have had the issue since I bought the boat last summer, but it didn't bother me until I just recently started using the "Drive Mode". This problem is unacceptable, since those who purchased the "E" Series boats paid a pretty penny for this feature. The "ERR" message on my boat seems to come on for less than a second and then goes away, and then will come back. I would think maybe even a software patch could fix this. Have the drive mode system ignore an err message that lasts less than 5-10 seconds? The system could just assume the boat is still travelling at the same speed it was before the message. You would still get the "ERR" message, but without the engine cut out.
Also, in my case, the message occurs less frequently the longer I have the engines running which leads me to believe it may have to do with how fully charged the batteries are. I haven't experimented enough with this to call it definitive. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet because it is so random and they will have to drive the boat. I'm hoping there will be a service bulletin soon. (I realize I am not helping by not taking mine in.)
Does anyone of anybody who has an "E" series or "X" that does not have this problem?

Been service for this issue twice and it has appeared again. I have read some say that it may be battery issues, but for mine, at least it is not. Makes no difference whether it is right after a start or after running for an hour and I keep my batteries fully charged all the time. You are correct in that you can still use your boat to 90% of its use, but these systems were expensive, and if Yamaha thinks it is just an isolated anomaly and not a system wide problem, they wont have any reason to push hard to fix it. Call Yamaha Customer Relations and let them know also. I haven't had a lot of luck with them, but I still bug them about all of this.

 

[fraserjr]

I have the same issue. (2016 242 Limited S "E" Series) I have had the issue since I bought the boat last summer, but it didn't bother me until I just recently started using the "Drive Mode". This problem is unacceptable, since those who purchased the "E" Series boats paid a pretty penny for this feature. The "ERR" message on my boat seems to come on for less than a second and then goes away, and then will come back. I would think maybe even a software patch could fix this. Have the drive mode system ignore an err message that lasts less than 5-10 seconds? The system could just assume the boat is still travelling at the same speed it was before the message. You would still get the "ERR" message, but without the engine cut out.
Also, in my case, the message occurs less frequently the longer I have the engines running which leads me to believe it may have to do with how fully charged the batteries are. I haven't experimented enough with this to call it definitive. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet because it is so random and they will have to drive the boat. I'm hoping there will be a service bulletin soon. (I realize I am not helping by not taking mine in.)
Does anyone of anybody who has an "E" series or "X" that does not have this problem?

I am having the same issue, but didn't notice it until a few weeks ago when trying to use the drive control for my nephews who were learning to wakeboard. Very annoying.

 

[Coheeba]

I have the same issue, I have noticed it but don't use the drive control at all. I get the ERR message frequently when cruising, it doesn't seem to affect the engine speed but I haven't watched it close enough. I will monitor it closer next time out and try drive mode.

 

[yoyi]

Hey folks! I'm new here. Read all the posts trying to find an answer. I have the same problems plus more:
Speed err
Ballast system not working
Cruise Control not working.
I used for the first three months, no problem. Winter came. After that i started using it again about april and started having problems. To make things worse for me, i live in arizona but the boat stays in San Carlos, Mexico. And i have brought it twice to Arizona for service and the haven't fixed anything connext-related. They don't seem to know much about it. Anybody in Arizona or Cali with better luck than me??

 

[Thom]

I'm seeing the ERR message as well. It started a couple weeks ago when I was up on Lake Pend OReille and did it again this weekend on my "home" lake, where it has worked perfectly all summer. I have 50 hours on the boat now, and it was around the 40 hour mark when the error started displaying. It's definitely annoying when you're pulling someone on a board, more so for those on the boat than the person being pulled. It doesn't seem to make a huge difference in actually maintaining the desired speed, but hearing the engines cut out is obnoxious. At this point, I'll probably wait until the end of the season to have the dealer address it.

 

[Khalid]

So, I have had this frustrating issue for months. I took it to the dealership several times to no avail. So, stopped even trying to use it for a couple of months.

Suddenly, it started working perfectly (3 outings in a row and many pulls).

The only thing I did between was loosening the GPS antenna and put it back in (I wanted to know the part number to order the right one). Unlikely that's what led to it fixing itself.

 

[sapperfitz]

Finally got a chance to take the boat out again. Used drive mode for about two hours. Worked perfectly with no ERR message. I haven't changed anything since the last time I took the boat out. I hate intermittent issues.

 

[Khalid]

Finally got a chance to take the boat out again. Used drive mode for about two hours. Worked perfectly with no ERR message. I haven't changed anything since the last time I took the boat out. I hate intermittent issues.

The same thing happened to me. After months of Err and several trips to incompetent dealerships, the problem went away on its own

 

[cwracer]

Same problem. Intermittent ERR for speed. Not interference, happens w/ no extra electronics or cell phones on boat. I have no problem ignoring it, but my wife who did not grow up with boats, uses the computer to set water skiing pull speeds. Every time it flashes, it cuts power to the engines. When it picks up the lower speed it reaccelerates making for a nauseating ride. Have changed antenna already. If they can't fix this season, I will trade boat for a different make. It is taking up too much of my time arranging service.

 

[t.gordon]

Mine was fixed last year when they replaced the tachometers. Both were done under warranty.