Volvo D6 EVC PCU unit dead - £2,300 !!!

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poltergeist

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Went to use the boat last Friday, but that idea was cut short when my port side Volvo D6 would'nt fire up. Phoned RK Marine, and after a fault read/ Vodia diagnosis session, it was found that the PCU controller - one of the three units that control the port engine is dead/faulty.

Anyway, the quoted price for a replacement to get it all back up & working is £2300 + £300 labour! To say I am aghast at what is essentially a plastic box the size of a Nintendo Wii costing 10 times as much, is a master of understatement.

I fully realise that boating is an expensive pastime, but this has knocked us for six. We plan to lay the boat up now (she is still in the water at the moment, as we had envisaged to use her over the winter), but we never bargained on an electronic problem costing this much to rectify.

The worrying aspect of all this, is that between the two engines, there are 4 control units plus 2 ecu's. My love of boating is being severely tested!!!
 
not considered repairable doesnt mean you cant repair it, even sealed it can still be opened and as long as they're not epoxy raisin filled the components are still accessable , measurable and can be replaced
Do you know any electronic engineers ? , let them open it up and they might be able to repair it
 
Check yourself to see if its filled, I was offered software the other month to remap these and it was via BDM, basically connecting onto board directly using points on the board. there are a couple of good companys repairing car ecu's, if you pm your number I will try and sort there number out for you, worth a try.
 
ecu

yes its a b$tch,we had same problem

a couple years ago tamd 73p edc 1,700 plus

fitting.In the mean time I have learned they

may be able to be repaired by a an electrical

genius, try your local technical college,they
will have someone who can analyse it .
 
Havent looked but I do no there are some companys selling volvo non standard ecus out there for cars I got one for mine quoted 900 but replaced with one for 160 about 2 years ago..... just broke off cant find recept got it of a site through google

Best of look
 
fergie_mac66 said:
Havent looked but I do no there are some companys selling volvo non standard ecus out there for cars I got one for mine quoted 900 but replaced with one for 160 about 2 years ago..... just broke off cant find recept got it of a site through google

Best of look
Click to expand...

Many thanks.
 
According to trading standards, it is little know that suppliers of goods can be held liable for faulty products for up to 6 years, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) or the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (as amended).

You have to be able to show that the goods were faulty at the time of supply, that's the tricky part. If you have an ecu that's encapsulated and free of effects from external influences, you may be able claim that is was faulty at the time of supply. Also, strictly, it's the supplier who is liable, not the manufacrurer.

May be worth extra reaearch and a try.
 
We're used to cheap electronics, but that's mainly because the development cost of a Wii is spread across millions of units, and becomes a tiny part of the unit cost. Also the manufacturing cost per unit shrinks as the numbers go up.

For a marine engine ECU, the cost breakdown is going to be very different: smaller marketing budget, for starters! But the development cost is shared over only a few thousand units, and the manufacturing costs for a run of a few thousand is going to be higher.

I'm still not sure what gold-plated components and fancy software can end up costing £2300 a throw, though.
 
Just in case poltergeist.
Can you whip the unit of tother engine
See what happens then.
I have experienced lots of times.

'Oh, it's the flux capacitor' etc etc.
When in the end (even after experts had stuck diagnostic gadgetts into the mix) that the prob has been so basic as a poor earth
Broken wire.
Dodgy isolation switch etc etc.
Not saying this is the Prob.
But at so much money fer a new un
Got to be worth a try?

Daft things like this can happen
Last year, trying to help a Bod
Sealine S 34
Port eng no go.
'Yer need a flux capacitor mate'
That'l be many beer tokens'

The isolation switch was tested for 'continuity' and pronounced ok apparently
I by passed it and the eng worked!
By pass switch £12.99!!

Just a thought.
Worth getting another techie to have an hour to check maybe?
 
Thanks for the replies.

The PCU was swapped with one from RK Marines test stock. As soon as theirs was in situ, the engine fired up, and also went into gear when selected. My PCU was swapped back in, and the engine wouldn't start & instruments were again dead. The only thing that would work was the fuel gauge and the display on the tacho, & this was indicating the EVC fault.

Full praise to RK Marine - they made several trips to the boat to try various things out, and the time/amount they charged me was more than fair. Wish I could say the same for Volvo and their pricing!!!!
 
Fair play to RK Marine.
Some would not have bothered.
So
It seems the choice is a new un?
Tother thought
Last chance Hotel I know!
Try
www.coastalrides.co.uk
I have bought used leccy stuff there
D6 a bit new however.( for used stuff maybe)
Some on here have had mixed dealings
Myself?
So far so good.

Just @ over 2 Grand?

Worth exploring every avenue
Good Luck
 
Hi jerry, glad you found the fault but sorry for the news.

Anyway I might be able to help I will make a call tomorrow, didnt realise you were geting RK in I could have got the vodia on it for you at the weekend, will see if I can get the part for you, what about some warranty from CL im sure paul may be able to source the box for you, but and the big but is why has it failed? maybe there is something in the system that will cause another failure later.

Also remember our conversations before you bought as per miss matched ecus etc ie hours, data, be very careful what you fit next and find the source of the problem before you spend ££££££££££££££££££££££.
 
Is the faulty PCU te silver aluminium type or the plastic type? The early aluminium ones had problems when mounted with 4 screws as it could twist and distort the board if not mounted on a perfectly fat surface. They should be mounted with 3 screws and spacers to pevent this.

Yes all the PCU's ang HCU's ect are resin filled making them almost impossible to repair.

Alot of the cost is the program that needs to be put into the PCU, not sure how they can put a price on this but it must cost alot to develop.
 
"4 control units plus 2 ecu's" price £2300 plus fit eeek

So as soon as one of these gold plated units fails the engine wont start, no instruments at all, sounds like this little bugger controls all things to do with that engine and its associated monitors.

I know we have to rely on these electronics, as the engines/controls have been developed for us by the likes of Volvo "for our benefit dont you know".

To be frank I am glad I have the old fashioned hydraulic levers (seperate trottle and gears) and no fancy control units. I am going to the boat today and providing she has power in the batteries she will start, and I reckon the instruments will work.

And if the engine did not start it would be either not enough battery power of dirty fuel filter, simpels
 
Sun_Coast said:
"4 control units plus 2 ecu's" price £2300 plus fit eeek

To be frank I am glad I have the old fashioned hydraulic levers (seperate trottle and gears) and no fancy control units. I am going to the boat today and providing she has power in the batteries she will start, and I reckon the instruments will work.

And if the engine did not start it would be either not enough battery power of dirty fuel filter, simpels
Click to expand...

I really coudn't agree more with Sunquest.

I am looking to buy a new boat circa mid 90's, so what popular engines DONT have electronic black boxes controlling them? In my experience with cars e.g. BMW/Jaguar/VW/Porsche etc...... almost every fault that develops seems to require a new ECU! After reading tbis thread, all the problems experienced in cars with ECU's has reminded me that I really would like to avoid ECU's on my next boat if possible. TAMD63P seem to crop up in several boats I have been looking at. Do these engines have electronics controlling them?
 
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