Zero off fails to initiate, 0 satellites, ‘18 ProStar

[ztarum]

Dropped my boat today for the first ski outing of the year, and the zero off doesn’t work. Speed setting stuck at 10 mph for all events (but won’t actually control at 10 when turned on) and can’t be changed on the screen or by buttons. Zero satellites found. Diagnostics shows no errors in the log but says “ZO did not initialize. Try restarting system” in red at the bottom of that screen. Tried multiple restarts from the battery switch with no change.

I also noticed that on Software Version page the "ZO Serial Number" and "ZO Software Version" are both blank. I assume these numbers are usually displayed when everything is working as it should?

What should I try next to troubleshoot?

[jpwhit]

Check the CANBus connection between the ZO head unit and the Murphy Display. The symptoms you describe happen when the Murphy screen can't communicate to the head unit. Also check the power to the head unit including circuit breakers.

[FourFourty]

Check the CANBus connection between the ZO head unit and the Murphy Display. The symptoms you describe happen when the Murphy screen can't communicate to the head unit. Also check the power to the head unit including circuit breakers.

Z/O Functionality/Controller should be integrated in to the screen on a 2018 Prostar.

That said, there is a CANBUS used for communication between the screen and engine ECU. If OP is getting good fast updating of engine hours, oil pressure, coolant temp, charging volts, etc., if shown on the screen, then that CANBUS should be operating well. Z/O communicates over the same twisted pair.

First thing to do, would probably be to check for screen updates. The issue is not likely software related, but the screen may need a sort of factory reset, and updating should do that. Does the boat have dual GPS pucks, or just one? I have seen an instance where one failed and screwed up the readings. Unplug one or the other and check it (and if no help, swap which one is plugged in).

[ztarum]

Single puck. Engine parameters all display fine. Speed displays and seems accurate.

On the PDM diagnostics screen under CAN COMMUNICATION, Engine shows green dot - no fault, GPS show no dot at all, and PDM shows yellow dot - overcurrent.

[jpwhit]

Z/O Functionality/Controller should be integrated in to the screen on a 2018 Prostar.

That said, there is a CANBUS used for communication between the screen and engine ECU. If OP is getting good fast updating of engine hours, oil pressure, coolant temp, charging volts, etc., if shown on the screen, then that CANBUS should be operating well. Z/O communicates over the same twisted pair.

First thing to do, would probably be to check for screen updates. The issue is not likely software related, but the screen may need a sort of factory reset, and updating should do that. Does the boat have dual GPS pucks, or just one? I have seen an instance where one failed and screwed up the readings. Unplug one or the other and check it (and if no help, swap which one is plugged in).

For 3-event ZO, the display functions are integrated into the Murphy display, but there is still a separate "ZO display-less head-unit" that has accelerators and other hardware required for true 3-event zero-off.

[ztarum]

Thanks. What does the head unit looks like, and where is it located? I assume it should be pretty easy to find just by tracing wires from the display or the GPS antenna, but it will help to know what I'm looking for.

[jpwhit]

I won't be back at the lake house until Friday. I'll try to get a picture then. If memory serves, it's your basic black box with electrical connectors and it's mounted to the firewall. It's in a bracket because the orientation of it is quite important. So you need to make sure the orientation is correct.

I can't remember if you get to it by removing a cover under the dash, or if you get to it by removing the seat back in the bow. It should have deutsch connectors.

[ztarum]

Ok, I think I found it. It's a round box labeled "3E BLACK BOX". Part number E1886031A. Board inside is smoked.

[jpwhit]

Yep, that's it. 3E stands for 3-Event.

[FourFourty]

For 3-event ZO, the display functions are integrated into the Murphy display, but there is still a separate "ZO display-less head-unit" that has accelerators and other hardware required for true 3-event zero-off.

Interesting! Thanks for the education!! Admittedly, I don't really get in to the ProStars all that much. We only have 2 newer ones (2014+) that come in to the shop. I always figured the ZO was integrated in to the screen like the wake models. Good information to know if we ever have an issue!!

[jpwhit]

I saw in the thread you started on BallofSpray that you also saw an over-current indicator in the Diag Screen. That very well may be related. There should be a more detailed PDM diag screen that'll show which PDM output has the over-current error. It could be a PDM output that is powering the ZO black box. In any case, that may be a piece of the puzzle. May also be interesting to see if the PDM over-current error happens if the ZO black box is plugged in vs not plugged in.

Can you post photos of the whole front and back of the black box PCB. I do a lot of electronics design, and I may be able to tell if it's potentially repairable from full photos.

I agree it's important to figure out if this is cause or a symptom of a another issue.

Has the boat ever recently needed to be jump-started or charged on via a high power charger due to a dead battery?

[ztarum]

I looked at again last night, and concluded it wasn't an overcurrent indication after all. I had taken a photos of the screens with my phone and was reviewing those when I noticed it looked yellow instead of green, but I went back and looked in person last night it was just the coloring in the photo. It was green in person.

No, I had not charged or jump started the boat battery recently or changed the battery, nothing like that. When I commissioned it for the season I just switched on the power and it fired right up.

I have photos of the board. I'll try to get them posted.

[ztarum]

[tjones99]

Ouch. That doesn't look good to me and I do a lot of electronics repair.

That blistered chip in the second photo is a bad indicator. Typically thats what happens when a chip gets reverse polarity applied or high voltage applied (and for a chip like that high voltage could be 12V when all it really wants is 5V or even 3.3V)

Since this happened first ski outing of the year and I assume it was working last year my first guess is the battery was removed for the winter and when connected this season it was reversed. That could cause this and it could also cause a multitude of other issues in your boat as well so hopefully that was not the cause.

That isn't the only possibility.

It is possible that a voltage regulator on that board failed. A voltage regulator takes the 12V battery voltage (well in real world battery voltage is from 10V to about 14V... which is one reason it needs regulating...) and regulates it down to a rock solid 5V or 3.3V that the integrated circuits need for their power source. If the regulator failed and allowed the full 12V through instead of reducing it that can fry things. Let the magic smoke out as we say...

If you find other things damaged like blown fuse, tripped breaker, fried stereo, malfunctioning gauges or anything electronic then I would suspect reverse battery. If it is just this one board fried it is still possible it was reverse battery and this board isn't as well protected as other devices in the boat (fuses and diodes can be used to protect from reverse polarity)

[jpwhit]

The failure is clearly in the power supply circuit. The key question, which I can't tell definitively w/o having the PCB in hand, is it a linear or switching regulator circuit. Most likely it's a switching regulator circuit given the presence of the inductor connected to the burned PCB trace and the presence of a couple of diodes in the vicinity. But the inductor is 47uH which is large for a switching regulator unless the switching frequency is quite low. The other bad news, if it is a buck topology switching regulator which is most likely and given where the burned trace is in the circuit, it implies something is shorted to ground post the regulator circuit. I seriously doubt you can read a part number off of U5 given how burned that chip is but knowing that part number would answer a lot of questions. I think you are right to be concerned if this burned spot on the board is a symptom or cause of the actual failure. It would be good to test the GPS puck in a standalone test setup before putting another board back into the circuit.

I could tell much more if I had the board, and I'd be happy to look at it just because it would satisfy my curiosity and possibly help me down the road. And some chance I may be able to fix it for you.

Sorry not to have better news, but I guess it would suck worse to burn up another board in the worst case scenario. This also may be a case where letting a dealer handle it could make sense. I assume the boat is out of warranty. I'm also making the assumption that if they burned up another board in the process of fixing it, they wouldn't be able to pass that cost on to you. It also may be early enough in the season that the dealer maintenance departments aren't backed up for weeks yet.

It's also interesting that the board appears to be the same standard board used in the Zero Off head units that do have a display and keypad. I say that because that appears to be the standard connector for the display / keypad board used in the ZO head unit on the front side of the PCB. I assume nothing is plugged into the connector when the board installed inside the black plastic mounting holder.

Please let us know how this plays out. I suspect that board is a little pricey and I hope you don't have to source it directly from ZO, because they aren't known for good end customer support. Then again, MasterCraft is likely to mark the board up a bunch. And the new board will need to be flashed with the right version of zero off firmware and calibrations.