09 Rz2 Screen Problem

[BOATMONKEY]

New poster here! Enjoy the site.

I have seen the previous posts regarding screen problems on the 09 Tiges. I just wanted to share where I am on my screen problem and see if anyone else has experienced this. I have contacted Tige and they have been very responsive and have sent a new "black box" and software updates.
I have changed the "black box" Tige provided and updated the software version with the Tige cable. I took the boat out today and the screen still goes into "frozen" mode every 20 minutes or so. Today it was freezing when I was not using cruise control. The boat has no mechanical effects from any of this. It continues to run and perform (cruise or no cruise) as if the screen was not frozen. The only solution I have found is to to turn the boat off and restart it. No other buttons can take it out of this frozen mode as shown in the picture below. I have attached 2 pictures to this post. The first picture shows the frozen screen and the second picture shows the Vdig screen and the current version on the boat after the update. I just want to make sure the updated version was installed correctly so I took a picture.



Does my screen need to be replaced or is this something going on before it reaches the screen?

I have contacted Tige & Medallion again about this. They have both been extremely responsive and willing to help. My boat is absolutly awesome and our family loves it. I just really really wish this problem would go away.



[IMG][/IMG]

[bspot]

Don't see any pictures?

[bspot]

See them now, hope you get it figured out.

[Ewok]

My screen does this too, just not as often as your boat. My screen seems to freeze randomly every 2-5 hours. I'm subscribing to this thread hoping to hear if there is a real fix.

[Ewok]

Oh yeah, first post here requires pics of your boat, and welcome.

[Duncan]

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Welcome to the 09 controller debacle. There have been semi-happy endings (mine and others are "mostly" fixed) and not-so-happy endings (one owner sold his boat over this issue). I would guess (and hope) that the new Medallion controller and 2.0.H flash will fix most of your issues.

Some previous threads are here and here.

In short, there is an over-throttle issue (ie, does not catch set speed), a screen freeze issue, and a blank screen issue in the 2009s.

The 2.0.H flash reduced issues but did not eliminate.

There is a new Medallion controller available. This fixed the freeze and blank issues for me.

But my Speed Set will still miss frequently.

[BOATMONKEY]

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Welcome to the 09 controller debacle. There have been semi-happy endings (mine and others are "mostly" fixed) and not-so-happy endings (one owner sold his boat over this issue). I would guess (and hope) that the new Medallion controller and 2.0.H flash will fix most of your issues.

Some previous threads are here and here.

In short, there is an over-throttle issue (ie, does not catch set speed), a screen freeze issue, and a blank screen issue in the 2009s.

The 2.0.H flash reduced issues but did not eliminate.

There is a new Medallion controller available. This fixed the freeze and blank issues for me.

But my Speed Set will still miss frequently.

What is a "new Medallion controller" and what does it look like? Is that the black box that I replaced under the helm?

Thanks.

[BOATMONKEY]

Here she is.

[IMG][/IMG]

[BOATMONKEY]

This picture shows the black medallion box that Tige sent me and the upload cable for the firmware 2.0




This is a closeup of the black medallion box.




None of these updates (black box & firmware) worked.

[rmason256]

This picture shows the black medallion box that Tige sent me and the upload cable for the firmware 2.0




This is a closeup of the black medallion box.




None of these updates (black box & firmware) worked.

Same here. My screen doesn't lock up anymore but my speedset drops out. I love my boat but this is getting old. I hope they fix this soon.

[IDBoating]

As an Electronics Engineer with embedded controller experience, this feels very much like a firmware problem. However, since they've revved the firmware and it didn't solve the problem, it's likely the cause is elsewhere. (That doesn't mean it can't be FIXED [really, masked] by firmware, just that it probably isn't CAUSED by the firmware.)

One thing I've noticed is that I have a hard time getting a single actuation on my SpeedSet buttons occasionally. It's like they are not properly debounced, which can be handled in hardware or software. Since SpeedSet is enabled/disabled by the cruise control rocker switch, one idea I've had is that if the switch sensing in general has problems (including insufficient debounce and perhaps rescanning of the CC switch) the controller may be improperly reacting to noise on the switch inputs. Engine-powered environments like cars and boats are notorious for electrical noise (RFI, EMI, and conducted), which is why it's so important to incorporate proper debouncing and other redundant tests for inputs and state. On my 2009 24Ve, our biggest symptom is that SpeedSet simply "turns off", as if the rocker switch had been turned off - yet it's still in the on position. If that's simply a noise event on the switch input to the controller, it could be easily handled by a rescan of the input (i.e. standard debouncing) or perhaps a bypass capacitor at the controller to shunt noise to ground (to avoid a firmware rev).

Another possibility is also related to noise: It may be causing an overall system reset or partial restart. More severe events such as the screen lockups, and conditions that cannot be cleared without powering down the engine, are likely to be caused by noise. The system gets into a state that was never intended to occur and the firmware simply locks up. No graceful recovery is possible, and a full restart is required.

I've considered contacting Tige and/or Medallion to see if they'd be willing to release the schematics and source code for these now-obsolete controllers. That would present little to no economic downside for them (since they're selling their newer, fancier systems now) and permit owners to maintain and enhance the installed base. For example, I'd like engine temperature to be visible on more of the main screen options, and I'm willing to swap out other readings to have it. That would be a simple firmware change if I had the source code.

[Duncan]

^^^ Re noise in the system, would it make a difference if you had a multiple battery configuration with stereo/amps separated from control systems?

If so, perhaps this might explain why a new controller and flash fixes most of one boat's issues but not another boats.

(We have one starter/system battery and three auxilliary batteries).

[IDBoating]

^^^ Re noise in the system, would it make a difference if you had a multiple battery configuration with stereo/amps separated from control systems? If so, perhaps this might explain why a new controller and flash fixes most of one boat's issues but not another boats.

Maybe. Noise is a tricky thing. It often comes down to proper grounding, and the grounding systems of cars/boats are not laid out in keeping with proper RFI/EMI principles. That didn't used to matter much when things were simpler, but as our equipment gets more and more advanced electronics it becomes increasingly sensitive to (im)proper grounding. It also becomes its own greater source of noise (think ignition systems and engine controllers).

Maybe next Spring I'll throw the oscilloscope on a couple of grounding points in my boat. I'll bet there's some trashy noise on there.

[BOATMONKEY]

I'm not so much bothered by the occasional cruise control miss, I just don't want to have to stop, turn off my boat, and restart the engine just to have a working screen. I guess if worse came to worse, is it possible to have a big analog type gauge installed where the screen is???

[skippabcool]

Here she is.

[IMG][/IMG]

Sweet looking boat