So do the new 2016's still display the wrong voltages?

[subysti]

just wondering if they fixed the voltage display issue on the new 2016's? I know on the 2015's the voltages for the starting battery and aux battery are not correct. They only show the voltage of the aux battery within .1 VDC. Easiest way to check is to run the stereo for a couple hours and then measure the battery voltages at the battery posts and compare to what is displayed on the screen. I've spoke to Yamaha about this and their answer was basically oops. Sorry. Ain't gonna fix it though.

 

[Julian]

I asked the Yamaha rep at the boat show that very question, and he answered confidently that they'd fixed that issue.....be interesting to see if he is right!

 

[Mainah]

I should be picking up my 2016 242 ls by the end of the month and will verify then if someone else has not. I am planning full days out on the lake with a good bit of floating and just off beach mooring. I negotiated having 2 group 31 agm installed as part of my deal since the the dealer pays for and installs the batteries anyway. If the house battery runs to low for the stereo I can switch over to use the start battery as well but will need to monitor it. If they did not fix it I am going to install a dedicated meter for it. Of course I will have a good pocket jump starter as well.

 

[Julian]

I should be picking up my 2016 242 ls by the end of the month and will verify then if someone else has not. I am planning full days out on the lake with a good bit of floating and just off beach mooring. I negotiated having 2 group 31 agm installed as part of my deal since the the dealer pays for and installs the batteries anyway. If the house battery runs to low for the stereo I can switch over to use the start battery as well but will need to monitor it. If they did not fix it I am going to install a dedicated meter for it. Of course I will have a good pocket jump starter as well.

Did you get a chance to check this out?

 

[Mainah]

I hope to provide an unqualified confirmation one way or the other by the end of next week. I am waiting to have the house battery on with the stereo long enough to see a real delta. Initially based on the system info screen reading in hundreths and not ever being equal I would say yes. I went with 2-group 31 Interstate AGMs (dealer pays for and installs the batteries so I initiated the battery upgrade as part of my negotiation). Once I have my audio upgrade complete (two 400 watt jl audio amps drawing power) I should be able to tell for sure as that should draw the house battery down quicker and hopefully see a delta in the tenths. As an aside I read elsewhere that the start battery charges first which with a VSR that cuts in at 13.7V is not the case. As soon as the engines are running the magnetos put out more than 14 volts (in fact a good deal more but that are regulated) and amps are determined by rpms. Given equal battery chemistry the battery with the lower voltage (usually the house battery) will actually draw slightly more amps in this scenario as it has a grater voltage delta from the charging source. If the start battery is a normal marine deep cycle and the house an AGM the AGM will certainly draw amps faster than the marine deep cycle. Ideally if you have two linked (always linked when engines running) batteries they should be the same chemistry and size as they will be drawing amps at the same time which is part of the reason I went with 2 group 31 AGM instead of upgrading the house battery only. With the solar panels on your soon to be new floating chariot you are in a better position than I but if not looking at it already my unsolicited advice is that AGM batteries are superior in charging, discharging, number of charge cycles, temperature sensitivity, degradation over time, and sealed. If your dealer won't upgrade them gratis as part of the negotiation perhaps they will be willing to have you cover the delta between what they normally install and what you want.

 

[MrMoose]

Did you get a chance to check this out?

I think that @Britboater posted that the problem still exists on the 2016 ar240

 

[Britboater]

I asked the Yamaha rep at the boat show that very question, and he answered confidently that they'd fixed that issue.....be interesting to see if he is right!

Yep, problem still exists .

My overall opinion of a Yamaha boat has dramatically fallen. Dispite still loving my boat I'm amazed how such trivial things are over looked. I've always been a massive Yamaha fan but I've come to realise I don't need to defend a massive company just because it's the brand I choose to buy, we all work hard for our money and deserve to get what we pay for, not excuses, or no acknowledgement at all!
I noticed @ScarabMike ditched his Yamaha Jet ski to purchase a Seadoo, I did exactly the same because of the lack of trust with the engine. I was very mistrusting of the Seadoo power plant in the Chaparral boats but it's turning out to be a reliable, beautifully made boat with quality fittings, not second grade S/S like Yamaha use.

I do still love Yamaha products but I've come to realise don't get hung up on brand loyalty, they don't even know you exist, you owe them nothing.

 

[subysti]

Well this just sucks. Kinda hoping they would have fixed it and the I could get the fix. @Mainah the charging system puts out up to 16.4 VDC but is regulated to 13VDC. The charging relay is designed to first charge the starting battery then after it is fully charged then it will charge the house battery. This is directly from the shop manual in my lap. I have also confirmed this when I got a low battery alarm on my house battery. I started and drove the boat for 15 minutes and kept stopping to measure my voltages manually with a DVM and the house battery didn't start charging until about 25 minutes after start up. You can also look on the BEP website and they also confirm that is how their system works. As for the tenths voltages neve being equal I think that is just a variation through the electronics. Mine are never equal on the screen either but usually the aux voltage is what I actually measure directly on the battery.

 

[Rod5]

Hum this is a little disappointing, however if you need to immediately charge the house battery during run time; first start your engines then flip on the emergency parallel switch. Not ideal I know, but still an effective work around...

 

[MrMoose]

@Britboater, I really appreciate that you are willing to say it like it is. I assume that brand loyalty, pride of ownership, and maybe even just lower expectations cause many new boat owners to accept things as they are and fix most things their selves. A prime example of this is the falling sound foam on the 2015 24 footers. I think that 100% of the engine hatch foam fell off in 100% of the boats, but most owners fixed it their selves. I fixed mine after two dealerships failed to fix it and told me that there was no fix.
It's my belief that dealership professionalism and competence has the greatest impact on the ownership experience. I decided not to purchase an extended warranty for this reason. If something catastrophic happens to my boat, I'll sell it as-is, and just walk away from the situation. The next owner can discover the level of incompetence of the dealerships, and will have to live with owning an unusable boat for who knows how many months. My boat leaked excessively from day one. I had to guide the dealership toward detecting the root causes (two major ones: drive shaft hull fittings, and two minor ones: clean-out tray, and scupper hull fitting). 5 months later, after multiple visits (because they said it was fixed, but it wasn't), they fixed all leaks except the scupper (which they said that they had fixed, but they actually didn't). At one point during the process, they failed to reinstall the hose clamps on the clean-out tubes.
This same dealership sells Chaparrel, so I guess that you know where I'm going with my point. I met a guy who purchased a 24 foot Chap from them, and he had nothing but great things to say about his boat and about the dealership. I later found out that the second time that he took his new boat out, the engine failed, he had to get towed in, and he lost access to his boat for 6 months while things were investigated and fixed under warranty.
I think that this kind of crap happens more often than most folks are willing to let on. Misery loves company, and I think that we have lots of company, but they're a little shy.

 

[Mainah]

Well this just sucks. Kinda hoping they would have fixed it and the I could get the fix. @Mainah the charging system puts out up to 16.4 VDC but is regulated to 13VDC. The charging relay is designed to first charge the starting battery then after it is fully charged then it will charge the house battery. This is directly from the shop manual in my lap. I have also confirmed this when I got a low battery alarm on my house battery. I started and drove the boat for 15 minutes and kept stopping to measure my voltages manually with a DVM and the house battery didn't start charging until about 25 minutes after start up. You can also look on the BEP website and they also confirm that is how their system works. As for the tenths voltages neve being equal I think that is just a variation through the electronics. Mine are never equal on the screen either but usually the aux voltage is what I actually measure directly on the battery.

@subysti - Thanks so much for your follow up and your in depth reading. I just had to go out and investigate having read it. After investigating with a DVM I can also independently confirm that the connext screen still only reads the house battery. Using a DVM with both battery switches on and the blower running I got 12.36 volts on the house battery and 12.74 volts on the start battery. Meanwhile the connext screen was reading ~ 12.3 volts for both. I started the port engine shortly and got 12.68 volts on both batteries with my DVM as the DVSR closed the circuit with the engine running since the start battery had sufficient voltage. As to my post about how a VSR works that is still true ( I thought we had the older analog style of VSR) but our models have a digital voltage sensitive relay (DVSR) that that have an IC that actuates the relay coil which does in fact charge the start battery first based upon its voltage. Also the charging system we have does regulate charging voltage further than older models which use to put out ~14 volts to actuate the coil on the analog style of VSR. After the DVSR circuit is closed with battery draws more of the available amps from the charging system will depend on battery chemistry, battery health, and the voltage deltas.

This is a good news bad new situation in that at least the start battery does charge first until at a sufficient voltage but we are unable to monitor the start battery without modification. Does anyone know if there is a +12v lead in the helm compartment that comes off the start battery? I am going to test to see if the ignition switch does tonight but given that in the on position the constant +12v red wire is connected to the normally open/cold (NO) yellow wire in order to give it +12v I am not sure which battery it would be linked to. I will also test the connext screen and the tachometers. I want to install a digital volt gauge in the helm compartment reading off the start battery without having to run new wire. Installing my dual 10 amp per bank onboard NOCO charger just hit the top of my mod list as well.

 

[subysti]

@Mainah I would think that the only 12V at the helm from the start battery is going to be from the ignition keys. They are the only things with power at the helm with the house battery turned off. I will look at the prints.

Edit. Ok. According to the prints. Connector SPU2. Pin 13 should be aux batt, pin 16 sys battery.

 

[subysti]

Ok forget that also. I forgot the spu is under the starboard rear seat. Maybe this will help. Keyswitch wiring.

 

[Britboater]

Just to throw a spanner in the works, I'm not really sure what's going on with my batteries.
I initially thought my house battery was going flat but now I've discovered that's it's my starter battery that's going flat and I'm having to permanently switch on the emergency parallel to use the boat.
I do suspect my batteries and switches are wired up wrong but having a connext system that only reads one battery hasn't helped, which battery it reads heaven only knows and my supplying dealer certainly won't be seeing my boat again, ever!

 

[subysti]

@Britboater make sure the small black wire from the charging relay is connected to the negative terminal of one of the batteries. If it isn't the relay won't work and will only charge one battery. Your battery cables may be reversed and it charges the house battery first instead of the starting battery. Just a thought.

 

[Britboater]

@Britboater make sure the small black wire from the charging relay is connected to the negative terminal of one of the batteries. If it isn't the relay won't work and will only charge one battery. Your battery cables may be reversed and it charges the house battery first instead of the starting battery. Just a thought.

Cheers @subysti , I have noticed the thin wire attached, I run a good 40-50 mins when going to the beach but the second battery still wasn't getting a charge, I've taken them both out and both fully charged ok .
I'm just about to return to the UK so the puzzle will have to wait.

 

[MIKEP]

All this battery talk is getting me charged

 

[Derek Fosbury]

Only first day with the boat, but can verify that the readings are for house battery only... checked with my DVM...

 

[Britboater]

Only first day with the boat, but can verify that the readings are for house battery only... checked with my DVM...

So we can now confirm Yamaha reps are not to be trusted .

 

[subysti]

I can't understand how Yamaha hasn't fixed this and people aren't making a bigger stink over it.