Perfect Pass won't work correctly at start of each day

[Ian Brantford]

Howdy. I couldn't find any older thread with these symptoms, so here goes...

At the start of each boating day, my Perfect Pass will struggle to maintain a set speed. I have to give extra throttle just to make it stop complaining (the # symbol will flash as it tries and fails until I give throttle). Speed will vary up and down quickly.

This will continue for perhaps the first 20-30 minutes of use. The symptoms gradually disappear and the system is then usable for hours afterwards.

I'm going to visit my boat at the marina briefly this afternoon. I won't be putting it in the water (it's on the trailer), but I can inspect for any specific things that you forum members might point out.

I'm guessing either:

1. Slipped fastener on a cable end, or
2. Failing cable. Being tight, but loosen-able for a while each day was a symptom that my steering cable also had before it needed replacement.

Hints? Thanks.

[wolfeman131]

I think you're looking at the right spot with the cable and it may just be a loose or mis-spooled cable that is tightening/spooling properly as you use it.

[Ian Brantford]

It's cottage time again, so of course this must still be an issue. the string at the end of the cable is a stained a bit dark, bit appears to work fine when turning the knob manually.


The manual's diagnostics quickly point to the linkage with the throttle, but that appears to be behind the driver's side wall. Hopefully I am mistaken about this. Is there something else that I can check without tearing the boat apart? These components are not illustrated in any of the manuals.

[Ian Brantford]

Interesting: the hunting problem is barely present at 20-24 mph since I adjusted the speedometer down 2 mph to agree with GPS. However it is still a problem at the lower speeds that I use for beginner riders.

[parrothd]

Did you reset the perfect pass to defaults or add remove ballast, you need to adjust the kdw settings... that or when my servo motor begins to die it starts out acting weird, too fast then to slow, or takes forever to settle in then to not engaging at all...

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[Ian Brantford]

No change to system. Yesterday we started noticing that, at no wake speeds and PP off, speed readings on pp go nuts occasionally. One moment it shows zero, then 60 mph. Then goes back to normal. Paddle wheel moves freely. Maybe a bad sender?

[Ian Brantford]

My local marina's mechanic wasn't familiar with PP, so I took it to a local Malibu dealer (not very close to my marina, but the closes inboard shop around). They recommend a full and expensive replacement of the PP system, and the replacement might not be compatible with my existing speedometer. He says that they have seen faults with replacing just one part of the system,

I can live with losing the old speedo, but I'd like to try replacing just the servo myself.

Comments? I did not find the part on skidim.com. There are so many threads on Perfect Pass issues that I cannot find one that's helpful in this case.

[parrothd]

Why haven't you called pp?

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[jmb]

Man, call perfect pass. Just had to order a part for mine. Overnight no less. They will tell you what's wrong

[Ian Brantford]

I wish I had called PP earlier. The shops have made me wait days only to tell me that they can't fix something or that they'll want to do something I don't think is necessary. Both shops took a week to tell me that they weren't qualified to work on my trailer either. I'm just not on their short lists to get service.

I'm just not used to a manufacturer (rather than local service) being a contact point. I'll give them a try on Monday.

[jmb]

And they are Canadian. Nova Scotia. I had to get another satellite receiver. The guy that answered the phone told me wbat was wrong.

[Ian Brantford]

And they are Canadian. Nova Scotia. I had to get another satellite receiver. The guy that answered the phone told me wbat was wrong.

Oh, snap! I just returned from a road trip to NS! I could have just walked in with the part and asked for another one!

[Wax]

Your symptoms are different than mine except mine also only happens at the start of a day. My screen will go out, the system will still work but I can't see anything. I have to guess which setting I'm on and which buttons to press lol.

I think I've narrowed it down to moisture behind the screen. If I leave my boat cover off and moisture develops in the whole boat it happens. If I put my cover on, it doesn't happen. As the day goes on, the screen eventually comes back slowly. It's odd, but I'm pretty sure it's the moisture.

Just another idea, even though our failures are much different, the failures seem to begin and stop about the same.

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[parrothd]

My screen does the same... :)

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[Wax]

Well at least I'm not alone. What do you think about my moisture theory?

Sent from my piece of crap Galaxy SII that Sprint won't replace...

[parrothd]

It is.. Happens a lot more if you leave the cover of and dew forms.. Call pp and see what they recommend, it only happens every once in a while for me..

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[Ian Brantford]

Interesting... this summer, my marina cut back on staff and stopped offering storage and launching service in the boat barn because it takes them away from the desk on busy weekend days. My boat has spent quite a lot of time without its cover, including many rainfalls.

Now I have to wonder if just consistently keeping it dry will make the problem go away. There have been some days when it worked more or less fine, but I haven't kept track. Due to weather and other commitments, my boating this summer has been quite irregular.

Oops, it's still at the shop after a starter replacement, probably sitting outside in the rain that is due tonight.

[dusty2221]

Fwiw..mine stays covered and never works the morning after an outing from the previous day. Mine has been doing this since it had 100 hours on it. I called pp and let them know..along with the hours and I was told to buy a new screen....

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[REDFIVE48]

Mine does this intermittently,I thought it was battery voltage, but that isn't consistent either as it did it with a new battery also

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[parrothd]

Keeping it covered helps mine..I noticed when my other gauges have moisture in them pp has issues..

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[Ian Brantford]

I finally got back on the water today. The boat was unfortunately exposed to rain throughout the first three weeks of August, but I got it back to my own marina a week ago and threw the cover over it just as the next storm started.

Today, speed readings on PP were ready very high 39 MPH when real speed was 5) initially. However, things returned to normal over a period of about 10 minutes. It was still having some trouble controlling speed. I figured that having the electricals going was providing some heat to dissipate internal condensation in the dash unit, so I made sure to put the key back on after we stopped to set up our riding gear. By the time we were done, the PP was working fine.

For the time being, I'll assume that moisture was the problem and go with the "do nothing" option for repairs to the PP.

Thanks very much for your feedback, folks. You probably just saved me a four-figure repair.

[Wax]

Glad it worked out.

Sent from my piece of crap Galaxy SII that Sprint won't replace...