So excited to use my new (used) Chaparral Vortex VRX 203 boat out on my lake then…..

[MaineLakeJetDude]

Ok first of all I am a complete noobie though I have been reading a lot of the helpful stuff here.

Just bought a 2019 Chaparral Vortex VRX 203 beautiful boat with low hours (88) and in pristine shape. Test piloted it on Saturday and it worked great. loaded it up to drive 4 hours to my house/lake and then it all went downhill from there.
Battery dislodged during towing and lost charge even though it was new. While trying to jump it I think there was a reversing of polarity by my good samaritan neighbor. Ended up putting a new battery and it started up fine, got it out on the water ready to go and then……the dreaded eReverse module error, which is scary by the way because the boat is really difficult to handle….especially for a noob!

Anyway read threads on here and have tried the following:
-checked breaker near the battery and that is fine
-replaced the two relay switches
-lanyard reset
-tried to see if I could override on medallion screen but it doesn’t let me

So any other suggestions? Also, noticed that the radio doesn’t work so need to hunt for the 10A fuse that is supposedly behind Port area.
Please tell me I don’t have to replace the iNR module, it seems those things are $1000.
Any help appreciated, I just want to get out there and take my boys tubing and enjoy the summer.

Oh and one more question is it ok to start it on dry land for a couple of minutes because otherwise I have to take it out on the water to see if the eReverse was fixed.

Also, some interesting details about when it fails, the reverse hood just drops down and the boat starts going backward while the thrust is in neutral. I have to push thrust forward for it to start going forward then it never can go in reverse again after that.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Many questions and issues there, in no particular order:

- Reversed polarity... of the jumper cables or the battery to the boat cables/switch? Was the master switch on? If the battery was connected in reverse, yeah, you could have fried many things. You'll have to check each and every system (and fuse as you noticed). One person in the past did this and fried the entire wiring harness. So it's hard to diagnose without you checking each and every component.
- You can run the engine out of water using the proper procedure AND within the time limits. Officially, the answer is 2 min, unofficially, you should be able to do pretty much everything under 1 min and I'd keep it under 1 min. You will overheat the carbon seal otherwise which is never cooled unless the boat sits in water. To do this, you need to follow this exact order, otherwise you risk hydrolocking (getting water in) the engine. 1. Engine on. 2. Water pressure on. 3. Water pressure off. 4. Engine off. In essence, there should never be water pressure unless you are running the engine. Make sure to connect the hose to the flush port WITHOUT having pressure in the hose. Many people forget and end up turning the pressure on by mistake. Don't be that person.
- Steering takes some getting used to. But once you DO get used it, you'll love the control you have. It's one of the main selling features (in my opinion) of these Rotax systems.
- eReverse module errors are common because it seems whenever something goes wrong with electrical, it defaults to this error. lol Not a great one to default to. Voltage fluctations can often manifest themselves as this error too. So it's entirely possible you have no issues with the reverse and it's all related to your battery issues.
- Perfect neutral (or close to it) is achievable. I don't have the new medallion computer, but I'm pretty sure you have a neutral adjustment in there. But you'll need to be on the water to adjust this.

Note that your boat uses the same systems as the Scarab brand. So that section of the forum can be very useful to you.

 

[MaineLakeJetDude]

Many questions and issues there, in no particular order:

- Reversed polarity... of the jumper cables or the battery to the boat cables/switch? Was the master switch on? If the battery was connected in reverse, yeah, you could have fried many things. You'll have to check each and every system (and fuse as you noticed). One person in the past did this and fried the entire wiring harness. So it's hard to diagnose without you checking each and every component.
- You can run the engine out of water using the proper procedure AND within the time limits. Officially, the answer is 2 min, unofficially, you should be able to do pretty much everything under 1 min and I'd keep it under 1 min. You will overheat the carbon seal otherwise which is never cooled unless the boat sits in water. To do this, you need to follow this exact order, otherwise you risk hydrolocking (getting water in) the engine. 1. Engine on. 2. Water pressure on. 3. Water pressure off. 4. Engine off. In essence, there should never be water pressure unless you are running the engine. Make sure to connect the hose to the flush port WITHOUT having pressure in the hose. Many people forget and end up turning the pressure on by mistake. Don't be that person.
- Steering takes some getting used to. But once you DO get used it, you'll love the control you have. It's one of the main selling features (in my opinion) of these Rotax systems.
- eReverse module errors are common because it seems whenever something goes wrong with electrical, it defaults to this error. lol Not a great one to default to. Voltage fluctations can often manifest themselves as this error too. So it's entirely possible you have no issues with the reverse and it's all related to your battery issues.
- Perfect neutral (or close to it) is achievable. I don't have the new medallion computer, but I'm pretty sure you have a neutral adjustment in there. But you'll need to be on the water to adjust this.

Note that your boat uses the same systems as the Scarab brand. So that section of the forum can be very useful to you.

Thanks for the quick answers!
Reversing Polarity: my friend who had it on their battery accidentally reversed. The master was on because we were trying to jump start the boat it was only for about 5 seconds, didn’t seem to fry anything though as everything works now although the reverse could be a symptom of. something we fried.

As for running the motor, and sorry for being naive but when you say water pressure do you mean you take a water hose and run it into something to simulate the water cooling? So you wouldn’t run completely dry for even 10-20 seconds?

Also a battery question, is there a chance the new battery I put in isn’t strong enough? It is a 12V and right size but is there a minimum type of battery strength I need? Everything seems to work with it (except reverse module).

 

[MaineLakeJetDude]

One other question is there a guide to find out where all of the breakers, relays etc are located? I found on box on the port side of the engine and it seems there are some fuses behind the port side of the pilot area too.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Noted on the polarity. You probably didn't cause melting with 5 sec... but yeah, you can definitely blow fuses in a fraction of a second.

That's correct on the hose. 10 seconds would be fine with no water. I wouldn't run it any longer than that personally. The exhaust system heats up really fast and needs water cooling.

It's unlikely that the battery is too small. These are the same engines in jet skis that use pretty small batteries. But it is possible your battery is damaged with the polarity issue.

Finally, I strongly recommend you read the BRP Operator's Manual, go here: BRP GUIDES

Then click on:

Rotax > JPS > Two letter code reprensting your year (2014 = AA, so 2019 = AJA) > Engine HP

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

The fuse box on the port side will be shown in that BRP manual since it's the engine fuse box. The fuse box itself should have a sticker on it showing what they are too. The second fuse box by the pilot area is likely the boat manufacturer for that one. So you'd have to get a hold of the Chaparral manual. @Micah Thompson is an excellent resource for Chap boats (amongst many things!). At the very least, look at his past posts.