volvo ips problem

[nova]

We have a new boat in Spain with Volvo IPS and engines have twice cut down to limp home mode whilst at sea. Volvo have attended boat,say all O.K. and say it is Raymarine autopilot fault. They have now come to boat,say it is not their fault and have disconnected autopilot to prove their point. How long are we supposed to use boat without an autopilot. First time fault happened was 38 hours, Second time it went was eight hours after it had been fixed.It really wont prove anything either way, besides which we have paid for a top of the range autopilot which we now cannot use!No-one seems to be able to come up with an explanation - any ideas anyone before we ask for our money back?

 

[Anthony]

Its difficult to comment specifcly without knowing many more details / seeing it; but if it was my boat I would be seeking clarification from the volvo dealer as to what they believe the nature of the autohelm interference to be, and put that to the raymarine dealer for comment. Idealy the two dealers would work with each other to resolve the situation, but unfortuantly that doesnt always happen.

Anthony

 

[nova]

Thank you for your comments - we are grateful for any help. The engines are D6 310 IPS. Volvo say their tests tell them that the problem is 'from an external source' and that the autopilot is the only thing it can be. Raymarine say it can't possibly affect the engines.

 

[gjgm]

might be worth asking over on mbchat...

 

[No Regrets]

Raymarine have done the right thing, by taking the autopilot out of the equation.
If the problem does not occur again, ask them to turn it all back on, and see if the problem happens again.

At that point you will be sure who is to blame.

That said, I'm not sure what would make the engines management system switch onto 'limp home' as that would indicate an engine problem, but how do they explain both engines???

Better still, is there a way you can reset the limp home feature, as this might give you the ability to still use the boat.

 

[jimg]

A few volvo engineers hang out on the Motor Boat forum and may not see this post.
I suggest you try over there. "Spannerman" is usually very helpful, you could always PM him.

 

[nova]

Thank you, I will contact him and see if he has any ideas.

 

[spannerman]

As others have already made valid points. I would just add that this system has fly-by-wire steering, so any conflict or software problem between the autopilot and the EVC could result in both engines going into limp home mode. It happens also with faults in the electronic shift of which we have had many, basically Volvo don't want boats with their engines installed charging around if there are problems with the steering or manouvering, so idle speed is all you get.
Its difficult to establish who is responsible as I guess it only happens under a certain set of circumstances, but you really need to get Volvo and Raymarine to work together on this, I would press the seller to get this sorted out otherwise take the boat back.

 

[nova]

Comments really appreciated - you are right - we should ask the manufacturer (Rodman) to take the boat back.

 

[Cary]

Hi,

Have you made any progress?

I have experienced several similar issues with the IPS 500 system entering SAFE mode. When I checked the EVC display it showed a huge spike in transmission oil pressure, both sides, for about 0.5 secs. This has happened 3 times. Restarting clears this error.

In addition, the EVC display has shown a warning about Auto Pilot error, when in Docking Mode.

I am certain that this is a Volvo Software issue, but as the faults are intermittant, they have never existed when a VP visits!

Good Luck