White noise from steering wheel

[haknslash]

i forgot to post about this but this past weekend while out on the lake I was driving the boat with the bolster down. Naturally you're able to hear more since you're out of the wind and I noticed this faint sound which I can only describe as 'white noise from an old tv on a wrong station". The noise seemed to go away if I turned the steering wheel to the left a bit. Only seemed to come in at a certain RPM too and if going straight. This noise could have been with the boat since new as I normally drive with the bolster up with my head in the wind.

Has anyone ever noticed this sound before and if so what could it be? I'm guessing maybe steering cables rattle against the fiberglass or something? The sound kind of oscillated in/out depending on a certain speed. It was real faint. I wished I would have thought to record it on the GoPro.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I'm guessing harmonic vibrations carried through the cables to the helm.

 

[haknslash]

Anyone else have this noise? Would noodles or something help? I need to look in the to see if the cables are resting against fiberglass and maybe when I turn the steering wheel the cables move just enough off the fiberglass to not touch it or make noise.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Do you feel any slight vibration in the controls ? if so make sure the reverse gate is clearing the water exiting the nozzle.

 

[njmr2fan]

I had something like this. I bundles all the cables under the gas tank hatch in the floor of my 190 and covered them in a pool noodle so they wouldn't bang againot the hull structure and the tank itself. It helped.

 

[Rob9550]

I had something like this. I bundles all the cables under the gas tank hatch in the floor of my 190 and covered them in a pool noodle so they wouldn't bang againot the hull structure and the tank itself. It helped.

I did the same on my 192 and it cured most of the vibrations in the steering cables. Cheap and easy.

 

[haknslash]

Do you feel any slight vibration in the controls ? if so make sure the reverse gate is clearing the water exiting the nozzle.

No vibes in the steering wheel or throttle and everything feels normal.

 

[Rob9550]

My 2015 AR240 has a weird noise that comes from the tach...has a white noise sound. Sounds like gear mesh is off a bit.

 

[pete4180]

Same thing with my 2016 AR190, dealer adjusted the cables and it got better but it's still there.

i forgot to post about this but this past weekend while out on the lake I was driving the boat with the bolster down. Naturally you're able to hear more since you're out of the wind and I noticed this faint sound which I can only describe as 'white noise from an old tv on a wrong station". The noise seemed to go away if I turned the steering wheel to the left a bit. Only seemed to come in at a certain RPM too and if going straight. This noise could have been with the boat since new as I normally drive with the bolster up with my head in the wind.

Has anyone ever noticed this sound before and if so what could it be? I'm guessing maybe steering cables rattle against the fiberglass or something? The sound kind of oscillated in/out depending on a certain speed. It was real faint. I wished I would have thought to record it on the GoPro.

Same thing with my 2016 AR190, dealer adjusted the cables and it got better but it's still there.

 

[MrMoose]

My 2015 AR240 had the same kind of noise that @Rob9550 described. It went away on its own around the 10 hr mark. It sounds like a tach that has worn gears in it, but I don't think it is that because I think that the tachs are electronic based on the fact that they swing from zero to full scale when the electronics are turned on.

 

[haknslash]

I don't think mine is tach related as it seemed to go away when I turned the wheel just a bit. I looked at the service manual for a 190 and it doesn't show steering cables running back up to the helm but rather only showed the throttle cable, which didn't make sense to me. The only steering cable it showed was at the jet pump area. How exactly does the steering work from the steering wheel to the jet pump?

I'm hoping to get to the lake at least once this weekend so I will record some video if the noise is still there. I wonder if the rudder doesn't introduce some sort of slight harmonic and it travels up thru the steering wheel assembly somehow?

 

[gmonarch]

I have a brand new 2016 ar240ho. This is my third Yamaha jet boat. My friend and I both bought new Yamaha boats. His is fine and my has a vibration in the dash from the steering cables chattering. Over 5000 rpm the cables make this annoying noise that comes thru the dash. Sounds like you have your tv on no station and it is turned up super loud. Drives me crazy. Took it to the dealer and they told me it wasn't normal. They spent a few weeks trying to fix it but They couldn't. I told them I would bring it back after the season. Since then I have rode in 2 brand new yamaha's that did not make the noise. I just got word today that Yamaha is telling dealer that it is normal. Yamaha did this by a video dealer sent them of my boat. Really. Dealer told me that Yamaha said one dealer has changed the complete steering box and cables and it didn't fix this issue. So other people must be complaining to. I see no other posts what so ever about anybody complaining about this though. Does anybody have this issue or know the cure. I believe this is happening on a small basis and it is getting swept under the rug. I asked yamaha to send a tech out and they won't. Spent over 50k for a new boat and I'm so dissapointed. Should of kept my old one.

This is exactly what is happening to my boat. Who has the fix.

 

[bronze_10]

I like the pool noodle idea.. wrap one in some kind of foam or even stuff a towel between the two cables and see if he noise continues... the factory may have missed a bracket or something... if the noise stays like normal it must be in the pumps somewhere.

 

[haknslash]

Yea I'm going to try the pool noodles to see it it helps insulate the cables. I'm not sure what causes it exactly but it's annoying sometimes. Thankfully I ride with the bolster up most of the time so I'm not able to hear as much it for the wind.

It's doubtful I'll get the boat back out this season but if I do I'll try and remember to record some video if it.

 

[gmonarch]

Yes I agree. Mine is really bad. Sound is coming from your steering gearbox. They pulled mine apart and lubed it. It helped a little.

 

[haknslash]

Does yours go away or not as loud if you turn left or right too?

 

[gmonarch]

Yes steering affects it dramatically. I don't think there is enough room for noodles under the flooring. It's tight. I tried grabbing and squeezing steering cables and no change in sound.

 

[gmonarch]

I made 3 recordings of video. You can't really tell because there is so much engine noise in the background. My noise starts at 5000 rpm.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Is there clearance to slide some of the 1/2 inch water pipe insulation over the cable ?

 

[MrMoose]

My 2015 AR240 has a weird noise that comes from the tach...has a white noise sound. Sounds like gear mesh is off a bit.

@Rob9550, did your noise issue correct itself? The reason that I'm bringing this up again is that while I had my boat in my driveway last week, there was no environmental noise or wind blowing. When the power is turned on in the boat (i.e. connext turns on and tachs go through their calibration steps), I noticed that the noise that comes from the tachs as the needles move to preset spots on the start-up calibration is the same noise that I heard when my boat was brand new, that subsequently went away. If you're still having the "white noise" problem, compare the noise to that of the tachs when the power is first turned on. If it's the same sound, then that should narrow things down.
The above observations are without the engines running.