IPS Joystick and Steering Wheel Fault

[GilkyAus]

Hi all

First time poster here and have enjoyed the threads, but now I am stuck and need help. I have a Maritimo 440 with 2 IPS D6 (EVC-C). I have been getting Fault on Joystick and Steering wheel (with and without engines started).

Error codes:
Check Joystick (Starboard)
Mid 164, PSID 64, FMI 9
Check Joystick (Port)
Mid 164, PSID 67, FMI 10
Check Steering Wheel
Mid 164, PSID 133, FMI 9

Error only occurs when turning on Starboard side. I swapped the Joystick leads, steering leads, the X8 harness plugs at HCU starboard to port. Error stays with starboard. As PSID suggest sync issue, I then started thinking about the Multilink side of things. So swapped around the X5 cables. I cleaned all plugs and terminals with contact cleaner. I disconnected various components (Active corrosion a, auto pilot etc) to try and isolate a faulty lead then put it all back together. This seemed to resolve the issue for a few hours but then returned.

Issue only occurs when turning on Starboard. I cannot get it to fault on Port with lead swaps etc.

The boat was serviced recently and reported the issue. They did a software update and auto calibration (assumed) but issues remains. Issue went away for a short trip but has returned.

At first I suspected faulty HCU but after reading the workshop manual and checking codes the fault codes suggest faulty joystick.

For history: replaced PCU to port engine last year. At the same time the tech tidied up the HCU cables behind the helm. I suspected that he may have overtightened things but nothing seemed to be overly strained or kinked.

Any ideas or experience shares would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jamie

 

[jrudge]

There is a Facebook group " Volvo penta victims " that may give some suggestions. They have a large number of ips problems and potential solutions.

 

[MapisM]

There is a Facebook group " Volvo penta victims "

I wasn't aware of that. Interesting wording choice - normally you would expect "ripped-off", or something along these lines.
But coming to think of it, victims is more appropriate, considering how frequent it is to have a holiday ruined courtesy of IPS, DPH, and other stuff...!

 

[Boat2016]

I wasn't aware of that. Interesting wording choice - normally you would expect "ripped-off", or something along these lines.
But coming to think of it, victims is more appropriate, considering how frequent it is to have a holiday ruined courtesy of IPS, DPH, and other stuff...!

And you never hear of the thousands of happy boaters out there enjoying their VP powered boats, I remember a conversation with someone at the marina saying he would never have an electronic VP engine but had a nearly new high end Range Rover…I know what I would rather have yet marina car parks are always full of them.

I can also tell you of a couple of friends who have had the turbo fall off their CAT inboards, one resulted in a £24k repair bill and month of waiting, could have replaced your IPs and had change from that but that doesn’t satisfy the nay sayers.

 

[MapisM]

I know what I would rather have

I take it that neither is the answer - It would be mine, anyway.

 

[jrudge]

I don't think vp stuff is particularly flawed.

There are some issues. D6 out drives has external steering rams. The had a dud batch of strainer caps are the ones I know of personally.

IPs is clever but seems far to picky and there are dozens of reports of sus unit failures - steering unit I think. To me it is more complex than the marine environment allows but I think the same about all the pod drives etc. the reality is that in a boat you can be quite remote and the ability for the owner skipper to solve / bodge issues or get the local diesel mechanic to fix it is valuable. For things like IPs you stand no chance.

The thing I really hate is they offer no customer suppport it is all via their dealers. So a problem requires you to use one of their dealers as opposed to just asking support for a suggested resolution.

 

[MapisM]

I don't think vp stuff is particularly flawed.

Just for clarity, neither do I, at least not VP products in general.

But in their range there's the good, the bad and the ugly - the latter mostly designed after bean counters took over the company.
Case in point being not just the DPH outdrive that you mention and the IPS, both notoriously expensive to maintain and prone to out of the blue faults like emulsified oil, that is a show stopper requiring a liftout PDQ - assuming you actually notice it, because if you keep running them you'll soon be dealing with a full replacement bill.

Problem is, on top of that, also some of their more popular engines like the D4 and D6 earned a reputation as disposable blocks, due to their integral, non-replaceable liners.
Not to mention injectors prone to be damaged by the tiniest fuel impurity, raw water circuit rubber hoses placed above the alternator and the starting motor, which are bound to be sprayed with salt water and eventually killed by rust when (not if!) such hose starts leaking with zero warning signs.
All of the above controlled by a myriad of ECUs which you should expect to replace not as often as the oil, but not much more rarely either - at ripoff prices, obviously.

BUT, that doesn't mean all VP stuff is flawed: the engines in your boat are an evolution of a block tried and tested for decades, with replaceable cylinder liners and valve guides+seats.
And if you were annoyed by the few EVC troubles you experienced, that's nothing compared to all the electronic gremlins that a boating mate of mine had to deal with on his D6+IPS boat.
In fact, even if in principle when I considered the Sq58 (among several other boat brands/models) ideally I would have preferred a Cat3406 powered one, I actually found only VP boats, which are in fact much more common. And the reasons why I ruled them out were strictly based on conditions vs. asking price, not because of their green engines.