How I Replaced Yamaha's AIRMAR Transducer for half the cost (WITH PICTURES)

[The Canuck]

Grabbed a couple photos of the install. Looks exactly as described in this thread.

 

[William2234]

I found a substitute Airmar Transducer for my 195S model year 2021 that works great. The Yamaha P/N is F2K-U8K1W-00 but if you tried to find one recently, you know the exact replacements are simply not available. Yamaha cannot provide a date for availability. There are great ideas in this tread for substitutes but I cannot find anything for my specific boat model and year.
The OEM Yamaha transducer in this model is a IDST- N2000 and has a paddle wheel to measure speed. Interestingly, I found that the speed comes from the GPS sensor not the DST transducer. I cannot determine that the paddle wheel provides any value. Accordingly, I bought the DT-800 (depth/temp) transducer (without the paddle wheel) as mention in an earlier post. I also purchased the NEMA 2000 adapter cable mention in the same post. In lieu of splicing the adapter cable with the Yamaha connector from the original failed transducer, I purchased the Yamaha connector model number Deutsch DTM04-4P and the associated pins. The pins were crimped into the adapter cable and inserted into the body of the DTM04-4P. One end of the adapter cable plugs into the new transducer cable and the other end plugs into the socket-end of the Yamaha connection in the engine compartment. The DTM04-4P is easy to assemble without any splicing. Even though it was reported earlier that the DT-800 is a substitute for the K2D-U8K1W-00, i can confirm that it also works as a substitute for the K2W-U8K1W-00. Temp and depth reported from the substitute transducer is accurate. Total cost was less that one half of the Yamaha Price and it was off the shelf. Best of all, the annoying alarm sound is gone. No longer have to frequently reset the alarm. Hope this helps those of you that have a 195S.

 

[CBallr]

Thank you both @William2234 and @The Canuck!

 

[jpdaley1026]

So I called my dealer to ask about the transducer I have had on order for exactly 2yrs. He said he had some come in ( other people had them on order too) but they weren't OEM parts. Yamaha authorized a different model ( not sure yet what that is) along with a jumper that they would have to splice. They want me to bring my boat in to test it. I will be bringing it in after the holidays ( January) to have them test it. I requested they leave the one in place, and will use that one as spare. Kind of crazy after all this time Yamaha couldnt offer an OEM part for that. SMH

 

[CBallr]

I'll add a cautionary tail to this thread, and some info/lessones I have learned throughout the process. I tried to get Yamaha to replace my transducer under warranty.

Here is my experience.
All warranty work is driven by "cases" that the dealer needs to open and not by Yamaha. You must have an active case open and they deal with them in the priority they were opened. I had 3 dealerships involved. 1 refused and argued it was not covered, even after I showed them paperwork. Dealer 2 had their certification pulled by Yamaha (or no longer wanted it), and thus no longer could servce it. Dealer 3, after being called by Yamaha, failed to file the proper "paperwork" and never got the case open. After speaking with Yamaha, who said they would indeed certify an alternate method of fixing the transducer issue with an alternate part and jumper/splice cable, I was told I'd go back to the end of the line. After a year+ of wating, I am no closer to resolution and in fact am further away trying to go the OEM replacement route.

Here is what i learned
If anyone else has this happen to them, do not go on a waiting list for the transducer. Per the statement above, I asked the yamaha rep point blank if they would cover an alternate part and they said YES! (hah..pun) We all know iIt's likely we will never see another DST 800, unless someone finds one in a dark back room somewhere. The person I spoke with last at Yamaha was WELL aware of the transducer issue and WELL aware of the fact that the part has been on backorder for a very long time. They know the deal and if that particular individual does not their manager does.

- Use my story and the story of others on this thread and press the Yamaha reps, telling them you have proof others have been waiting for months and years for a part that will never come.
- Order the 810 somewhere and have yamaha cover the costs.
- Ask the rep to speak directly with the dealer/service tech at the start. Further more, be on that call if you can because many dealers will play he/said, she/said.
- Get documentation and proof at every stage you can. Document the exact dates and what was said. Even reocrd it if you have to.
- Remember you are dealing with individual personallities. Some are good and care, others are there to collect a paycheck, so try and be kind to each person, but don't let them play pass the buck and try not to lose it after repeating yourself for the 10th time. It was my experience Yamaha will place blame on the dealer and avoid responsablity when they can. The dealer will do the same.
- Finally remember that even though you spent 10s of thousands of dollars, you are just a drop in the bucket in their total revenue. Don't expect that money to buy you anything, you spent it. It's gone.

From my research, Airmar has discontinued the DST800 in favor of the DST810, which is why there is a back order of the part. When I called Airmar, they refused to help and got pretty rude saying it was an OEM part and I had to deal with the OEM of the boat. Further reasearch leads me to believe that the DST 810 will always be a 0 degree because degree can be adjusted via bluetooth, so a 20 degree 810 is likely not a thing. If you have a boat with a 20 degree hull location for the transducer, get the 0 degree bluettoth DST 810.

I hope this helps someone down the road.

 

[jpdaley1026]

So, I just spoke with my Dealer, I was going to bring my boat in and have them test the Transducer using the jumper. Turns out they got the OEM part in and they wont have to test it, just need the boat to do a download off engine for Warranty purposes. Then I can just take the part home with me as spare, in case DST810 fails at some point. Got lucky I guess. Too bad you, @CBallr , had to go thru all that.

 

[CBallr]

Great news @jpdaley1026 . Glad to hear you finaly got one. We'd love to know what model the transducer is if you wouldn't mind takin ga pic when you get it back. If not, all good, but it's great to have documentaiton of what the replacement are. Perhaps Yamaha finally has an official procedure to replae with 810s. Guess I need to call Yamaha again

 

[The Canuck]

Shame everyone is having difficulties in getting this done. I mean I am glad Yamaha is approving the alternate option to keep people happy/safe, but what a pain.

Since it doesn't appear to be a hard fix, hopefully more people will just bit the bullet and do it themselves. Spring time is coming and I know the dealerships are going to get busy as the new models come in as well as prepping the existing boats for another season.

 

[jpdaley1026]

So I was able to get the transducer today. Went smoothly. I dont think I was there more than 15 min. They gave me the transducer, downloaded what they needed from in back of the screen and I was out of there. Here are the pics.

 

[CBallr]

That looks like a legit Yamaha OEM DST 800 replacement to me. Maybe they are starting to get OEMs back from Airmar.
Is there a splice in the cable @jpdaley1026 ? I can't see one in the picture.

 

[jpdaley1026]

No, there is no splice in the cable

 

[jeremywbaker]

I know this is a few years old but I wanted to add my thanks for the step by step instructions and the links to the parts. Thanks to this write up, the fix only took an hour and a half. The next time will be much faster now that I've done it once. Thanks again Cyclops. 2020 AR240