Engine Hour (LCD) Meter Repair

[Boffin]

Me too , the information is great . I just remove the silicon film from the IC surface and the reading is steady. BTW , there is a technical bulletin MSB 03-015 by Yanmar describe how to adj the digit panel . When I got the new 1GM10 , the tachometer was factory set to 2GM engine . it show incorrect rpm . I wrote to Yanmar and they sent that bulletin to me . I don't know whether I can post here because of the copyright .

 

[jacktheflyer]

I have finally had the time to troubleshoot and repair my Yanmar Tach-Hour meter. I believe what I found to be the cause of the chronic failures of this unit. I have attached what I discovered and did, with photos, as a PDF file to this email.

I believe this PDF content is as definitive a problem resolution as anything I have read on the subject over the last three years including emails on other sites that discuss cleaning the display ribbon cable connection at the circuit board. I did that too but in my case, this action alone did not resolve the display problem.

What I did goes well beyond what most of us will be able or willing to get involved with. So I agree that installing a Hobbs meter is still the best approach for most of us, I did that as well last season. The good news is that I believe all the display units could be repaired. I am very disappointed that Beneteau, Volvo, Yanmar or VDO North America has not stepped up to this simple manufacturing procedure and material problem as it seems to persist with this model.

North Star

Thnaks for the tip. I'm not familiar with the Tin Oxide substrate. I may have been too diligent with my first tacho. after wiping it with a damp absorbent paper to remove last of the residue it now doesn't work a t all. I spent minimal time with the second one and it work brilliantly. Could I have damaged the tin Oxide?

JOhn

 

[nigelmercier]

Good write up, but if that doesn't work I've got a more drastic fix that replaces the whole hour meter. Look in the Downloads section of my Bavaria Yacht Info site, see signature.

 

[MichaelStacy]

Well, I went the easy route (I think) by buying the [FONT=&quot]HONEYWELL HOBBS 169635 ELECTROMECHANICAL BOAT HOUR METER [/FONT][FONT=&quot]for $16.95 from eBay and installed it. The existing LCD display works intermittently, but is keeping accurate record of engine hours. I had to haywire 12v to the meter at home for a couple of weeks to get it up the the 345+ hours as indicated on the LCD display.

Michael
[/FONT]

 

[BigEasy]

Had the same problem on my 2006 Beneteau; digital hour meter failed at 6 years / ~150 hours. I tried to clean up connections on ribbon as well as clean up the silicon sealer to no avail----threw in the towel and installed a mechanical hobbs meter. Connected the hobbs to a battery at home and ran it up to 150 hours prior to installing on boat. Would be interesting to determine if the Teleflex digital meter could be installed in a Yanmar panel & programmed appropriately.

 

[mavasu]

Repair of yanmar tach hour meter by Northstar WORKS Excellen

I did the repair that you Northstar recommended and it works!Excellent and clear instructions.Thank you.

I have finally had the time to troubleshoot and repair my Yanmar Tach-Hour meter. I believe what I found to be the cause of the chronic failures of this unit. I have attached what I discovered and did, with photos, as a PDF file to this email.

I believe this PDF content is as definitive a problem resolution as anything I have read on the subject over the last three years including emails on other sites that discuss cleaning the display ribbon cable connection at the circuit board. I did that too but in my case, this action alone did not resolve the display problem.

What I did goes well beyond what most of us will be able or willing to get involved with. So I agree that installing a Hobbs meter is still the best approach for most of us, I did that as well last season. The good news is that I believe all the display units could be repaired. I am very disappointed that Beneteau, Volvo, Yanmar or VDO North America has not stepped up to this simple manufacturing procedure and material problem as it seems to persist with this model.

North Star

 

[Blade]

NorthStar, Rick486, and Mavasu

Did your engine hour meter fixes using the "NorthStar procedure" have lasting results?

I have the same problem on my 3 year old Yanmar 3JH5 panel after 6 months in tropical Mexico. Headed back down to try and repair it but I wonder if it is a lasting fix.

I was quoted by a Yanmar dealer $425 for a new tach/hourmeter assembly. Which I would pay if I thought I would not have the problem again. But the dealer seemed to indicate this issue may be a known design weakness.

Thanks!

 

[NorthStar]

Recently a poster sent me an message asking if my repairs have lasted. I owe the group an update on my repair results since posting what I thought was a complete fix.

My repair did not last.

I suppose the electromechanical interface between the integrated circuit and the substrate has failed. This could be due to incompatible temperature coefficients between the substrate or it's coatings and the flipped chip integrated circuit and its solder balls.

I suppose disassembly changed the mechanical stress on the substrate resulting in temporary reconnection of the broken IC/substrate interconnect. I was fooled by this. Months later, reassembled and back in service, temperature cycles, vibration and humidity ultimately caused the unit to fail again, within months, in the same way.

I now have a separate engine hour meter and have abandoned the use of the LCD display for logging engine hours. Just like everyone else.

Others who have posted, report new units failing in the same way, in the same time frame as previous units. It seems there is no hope for a reliable unit replacement.

Sincerely, Dale, S/V North Star

 

[edramon]

Hello Northstar! Hi everibody!
Sorry, could you explain me how to connect the tach-hour meter for a home-test?

 

[Stu Jackson]

You simply need a source of 12V DC power. Got a battery lyin' around?

 

[edramon]

Yes I have a 12V source. Do you think I don't need the alternator input to check if the hour-meter is working now?

 

[Stu Jackson]

The hour meter only works off "power when present." Only the tach works off the alternator signal. So, if you connect 12V DC power to the gauge, the hour meter should start moving. That's how those things work.

 

[edramon]

Many thanks Stu Jackson!

 

[pakoenig]

Following the spirit of NorthStar's repair guide, I noticed corrosion on the contacts at the end of the ribbon cable that connects to the circuit board. Cleaning the corrosion resulted in the contacts getting voids. So I took a big chance and cut off the bottom part of the flexible strip to get to a virgin part of the flexible strip. It worked! The LCD display is working and as reported elsewhere, the hours still accumulate and are now showing in the LCD.

What I did
1) I cut off lower 1/2 of the white tab and attached flexible connector to eliminate the bad contact area
2) I peeled back the clear plastic insulating top strip enough or expose a new area on the flexible strip. I cut that small plastic strip off. I estimate is was about 1/32 of an inch.
3) I reassembled the tach and installed it back in the Yanmar B Panel and it worked!

I was so focused on getting it workin again that I didn't take any pictures of the process. Now that it works, I go back to the boat (50 miles away) and take pictures as well as cleanup the installation. I'm going to put some dielectric grease on the ribbon connector to hopefully prevent further corrosion on the ribbon contacts.

Long term, I am installing a Noland RS11 Engine gateway to provide engine data to my Raymarine e95. The Noland will also track engine hours based on time that the RPM is greater than 100.

 

[Blade]

Following the spirit of NorthStar's repair guide, I noticed corrosion on the contacts at the end of the ribbon cable that connects to the circuit board. Cleaning the corrosion resulted in the contacts getting voids. So I took a big chance and cut off the bottom part of the flexible strip to get to a virgin part of the flexible strip. It worked! The LCD display is working and as reported elsewhere, the hours still accumulate and are now showing in the LCD.

What I did
1) I cut off lower 1/2 of the white tab and attached flexible connector to eliminate the bad contact area
2) I peeled back the clear plastic insulating top strip enough or expose a new area on the flexible strip. I cut that small plastic strip off. I estimate is was about 1/32 of an inch.
3) I reassembled the tach and installed it back in the Yanmar B Panel and it worked!

I was so focused on getting it workin again that I didn't take any pictures of the process. Now that it works, I go back to the boat (50 miles away) and take pictures as well as cleanup the installation. I'm going to put some dielectric grease on the ribbon connector to hopefully prevent further corrosion on the ribbon contacts.

Long term, I am installing a Noland RS11 Engine gateway to provide engine data to my Raymarine e95. The Noland will also track engine hours based on time that the RPM is greater than 100.

thats encouraging, I will try it. Are you saying you cut the ribbon cable and reinserted the leads into the terminal plug?

 

[pakoenig]

Thats encouraging, I will try it. Are you saying you cut the ribbon cable and reinserted the leads into the terminal plug?

Yes. The end of the ribbon cable is attached to a white piece that is inserted in the ribbon cable clamp on the circuit board. By default it sticks up about 1/8" above the clamp so there was still enough of the white piece to hold and position the ribbon cable in the clamp.

I'll try and get some pictures posted later this week.

 

[Blade]

Yes. The end of the ribbon cable is attached to a white piece that is inserted in the ribbon cable clamp on the circuit board. By default it sticks up about 1/8" above the clamp so there was still enough of the white piece to hold and position the ribbon cable in the clamp.

I'll try and get some pictures posted later this week.

Thanks, looking forward to seeing somd good photos for clarity.

I was really surprised to have this problem at only 500 hours on my new Yanmar.

 

[pakoenig]

Update: not working again

Thanks, looking forward to seeing somd good photos for clarity.

I was really surprised to have this problem at only 500 hours on my new Yanmar.

No luck on my repair - it was only temporary.
I installed the repaired tach on Friday (1/2/15) and it worked and showed engine hours. The boat was used on Saturday (1/3/15). When I went back to the boat this week to install my Noland NMEA2000 engine monitor, I noticed the LCD wasn't working. I pulled the tach apart and took a look at the ribbon cable and noticed the contact pads on the cable were compromised and not making contact. So the repair didn't work.

I'm not going to worry about it anymore since the Noland has an Engine Hours counter, counting the seconds that the RPM > 100. The tach will still also accumulate hours and if I ever need that number, I guess I'll try and find a way to get the data to display somewhere. Or maybe try to completely bypass the ribbon cable with small wires instead.

Sorry for the enthusiasm on my (temporary) repair, but I thought I had it fixed.

 

[Ron20324]

... I was really surprised to have this problem at only 500 hours on my new Yanmar.

I think mine died between 100 and 200 hours- maybe. I was on the boat for the parade of lights, and the meter was on all the time- maybe because the nav lights were on? Doesn't make sense, but I find I have 840 hours. Maybe it's just too dim to see in the daylight?

 

[Blade]

No luck on my repair - it was only temporary.
I installed the repaired tach on Friday (1/2/15) and it worked and showed engine hours. The boat was used on Saturday (1/3/15). When I went back to the boat this week to install my Noland NMEA2000 engine monitor, I noticed the LCD wasn't working. I pulled the tach apart and took a look at the ribbon cable and noticed the contact pads on the cable were compromised and not making contact. So the repair didn't work.

I'm not going to worry about it anymore since the Noland has an Engine Hours counter, counting the seconds that the RPM > 100. The tach will still also accumulate hours and if I ever need that number, I guess I'll try and find a way to get the data to display somewhere. Or maybe try to completely bypass the ribbon cable with small wires instead.

Sorry for the enthusiasm on my (temporary) repair, but I thought I had it fixed.

Pakoenig,

Thanks for the update. What a pain. Its seems messing around with the LCD display wiring interface can give temporary fixes. Did you ever trying spraying some DeOxit contact cleaner on the ribbon cable contacts? How is that Noland NMEA2K install going? I may be interested in doing the same.
Thanks