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Frustrating electrical problem on new boat - dealer can't figure out

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gab519

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Got a 2024 24LXSSB with a 250 merc and dual batteries last August. Took it out 3 times, then the muskrats got it. It spent the winter with the dealer getting fixed (or so I thought).

Boat was returned a month ago - went out 3 times for quick runs about the lake - just 20-45 minute rides a few times. On the 4th attempt....

- 2 minutes into drive everything seems fine, cruising about 20mph
- notice the Simrad flicker out of the corner of my eye and thought "that's weird, never seen that before."
- 2 minutes later, lose power steering, radio goes dark
- flickering on simrad intensifies, then it goes dark as well
- entire time the throttle/engine/trim are operating 100% normal
Return to dock

1st dealer contact:
- they come to collect boat while I'm at work, I get a call that "we took it out and it operated completely normally, maybe it was a fluke, so we left it, try it again."
- After work I go down, I can't back out of the slip without the power steering failing, simrad flickering etc. It's on long enough for me to see the battery voltage on the simrad is reading 9v.

2nd dealer contact (week later)
- they come to collect boat while I'm at work. Person picking it up thinks the boat is fine, calls his manager, manager says bring it in because I was claiming adamantly something was wrong.
- Several days later they tell me "we can't find anything wrong with your boat, we had several people "test" it (which I think means drive it) and we can't duplicate your problem." I asked "so the voltage isn't reading low?" "The voltage is reading normal. You need to meet us and show us what you're doing to get it to malfunction."
- I take time off work, meet them at the ramp. We turn the boat on. Voltage reads 10.2. I say "this is the problem." They say "oh" and take the boat back.

3rd dealer contact (week later)
- they have the boat for a week. Service writer now says "we took the boat out and you were right the power steering failed. We're going to replace the battery."
- they replace the battery and claim it's running 12.5-12.7 at rest and 13-14 with engine on and out running around with the ACR closed charging etc. They test it 3 times over the space of a week.
- they redeliver the boat tonight.

Upon starting the voltage on the display is 11.2. The power steering IS working, but now the throttle is acting really strangely. Normally there is a very linear increase in thrust/acceleration - but this sounds and feels very odd - very much like revving a car in neutral. RPMs shoot up but the boat doesn't (or barely) go anywhere.

At this point I'm beyond frustrated. The dealer has now had the boat 4 times, told me it's fixed 4 times, and 0 times has it actually been fixed. I realize the muskrat damage was not Bennington's fault, or the dealer's fault. But at this point I have spent thousands of dollars fixing, storing and servicing a new boat I really haven't even been able to use yet. After these recent experiences I have no confidence that the dealer service department is capable of finding and fixing this problem. Since they dropped the boat off after work and close of business, I cannot contact their department until Monday. I'm going to visit their sales showroom which is (of course) open tomorrow.20230827_122305.jpg
 
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What acr does your boat have? Did it come with you're boat or did the dealer install it? Id honestly start by checking how they wired you're boat to the acr. Check all you're grounds. Something is loose somewhere. I know a lot of the acr installs ive seen, people don't understand how to split engine and house loads and kind of defeat the purpose of the acr. Id start tracing wires out and verify its wired correctly. Or try to temporally eliminate it.
 

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You mentioned muskrats. I recently had intermittent electical problems do to muskrats. The critters crawled up on the top of the tubes and started to chew. They even chewed on copper wire strands (see photo). Ground wire strands lying on the aluminum tubes made diagnosis with a meter difficult. I finally broke down and removed side trim and underdeck sheeting. With visual inspection the problem was obvious. If it is a muskrat problem it will most likely be on the top of the tubes. Bennington does not make visual inspection in this area very easy.
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Yes, I'm suspicious it's either leftover muskrat damage from the initial damage, or something new that occurred this season, or perhaps something wasn't put back together quite correctly.

I stopped in at the dealer this morning and they happened to be having a boat show, so the owner, salesperson, bennington rep were all in attendance. They reviewed my file and agreed something more complicated is going on and are committed to fixing it. They also have offered a loaner boat since I've basically been without my boat since purchasing last summer. With their help I'm hopeful this all gets resolved with a functioning boat.

Most of them suggested I put the boat on a lift to help reduce (but not completely prevent) the risk of muskrat damage. Any thoughts on that? What am I looking at cost wise for a no-frills electric pontoon lift?
 
Separately, your boat looks beautiful! Love the colors inside and out complimenting each other. I hope it can all get straightened out for you.

Not sure if this will help: Something happened somewhere in my wiring on our 2017 at the very start of 2021. Boat almost caught on fire - smoke coming from everywhere, crackle and popping, burnt rubber/plastic smells, the works. My entire electrical system melted down and the boat nearly caught on fire. Took 11 months, 3 weeks and my entire boat was taken apart and re-wired. Being spring of 2021 initially, we had challenges with securing the main electrical harness set up in the midst of covid and supply chain issues.

Since a cause couldn’t be definitively determined it became an insurance claim (darn deductible!). As long and frustrating of a mis-adventure as it was, that all slid away when we got it back in May of 2022 and got back out on the water again. It’s been great ever since. We still love our boat!!!

Hang in there. The key is diligence on their part. Tracing/testing every wire will be important so something isn’t overlooked. Better safe than sorry with electrical IMHO.
 
gab519 said:
Yes, I'm suspicious it's either leftover muskrat damage from the initial damage, or something new that occurred this season, or perhaps something wasn't put back together quite correctly.

I stopped in at the dealer this morning and they happened to be having a boat show, so the owner, salesperson, bennington rep were all in attendance. They reviewed my file and agreed something more complicated is going on and are committed to fixing it. They also have offered a loaner boat since I've basically been without my boat since purchasing last summer. With their help I'm hopeful this all gets resolved with a functioning boat.

Most of them suggested I put the boat on a lift to help reduce (but not completely prevent) the risk of muskrat damage. Any thoughts on that? What am I looking at cost wise for a no-frills electric pontoon lift?
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I had wire mesh placed over the stern holes when I kept it in a marina to prevent muskrat damage. A basic lift is going to cost thousands of dollars.
 
Michiman said:
I had wire mesh placed over the stern holes when I kept it in a marina to prevent muskrat damage. A basic lift is going to cost thousands of dollars.
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We did this same thing after Michiman suggested it when my boat was on order way back in 2016-17. I think it helps. They certainly cannot get in through it. Basic lift costs some money…but provides other benefits too. Keeps the boat out of the water, no more banging around in bad weather, pontoons drip dry every outing, etc… But, it costs a decent amount. Also costing a lot are things like Sea Legs, Ultra Legs, etc…. But options…if one has the $.
 
Yes as part of this initial repair they placed the guard over the center transom hole (why is this not standard??) and wrapped expose cabling in metal coil.

The techs are telling me that there are still gaps in the steel panels that they could get in and get access to other wires. If the boat has to be disassembled for diagnosis/repair, I'm going to see if they can wrap the internal wiring in something similar. The bennington rep said the cables are wrapped in a sort of sleeve or guard, but its just plastic and muskrats will chew through it easily.
 
I know you have a serious muskrat problem, but what size batteries are you using? (Just curious here)
 
Julianna said:
I know you have a serious muskrat problem, but what size batteries are you using? (Just curious here)
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I honestly don't even know. They were just what came with the bennington dual battery option. They're in blue plastic cases.
 
Couple things:

1) If you're running a Mercury (looks like it?) a common fix for flaky power steering issues is to leave the battery switch on 1+2. The big motor PS pumps seem to draw more than a single battery can comfortably handle.
2) You asked about lift pricing - a good, hydraulic lift with canopy can go from $18k to $35k+ depending on what you're looking for. Non-hydraulic will be slightly cheaper, and the used market varies widely. Shop around FB marketplace, Craigslist and local spots to find something that works for you. If I had to do it again I'd get a "bottom lift" vs a bunk-style lift. The rubber guides on our bunk lift marks up our toons when landing.

Good luck!
 
Sorry to hear this, what a pain. Another factor to consider that was mentioned by a top flight Merc mechanic I know. When dealing with voltage fluctuation, it's actually more important for the array of microcomputers on the boat (mostly low current loads - engine, plotter/nav, drive by wire throttle/steering, etc) to have constant clean voltage than for the starter motor and power steering pump itself (higher current loads). He's had many occasions when the battery was perfectly capable of spinning the starter and going through its start sequence without issue, even if a little low on voltage. However once that sequence is done that load is zero, but the various computers didn't have stable enough voltage levels to keep the smart systems running. Drive by wire is one of them. There is actually a lower current wiring connection in the harness called "clean power".

It's a bit counterintuitive, since the starter seems like it runs like a top, but we experienced this exact issue on our (non-Bennington) twin Merc engine boat. Turned out to be a faulty AGM battery, which was 1 month new, and some excessive corrosion on an improperly torqued ground connection. Sad to say, it's not easy to track down at all.

I'm with other posters though. Getting inside the wave shield to inspect the wiring on top of the those tubes is most critical.
 
Just as a follow up, they have replaced the charging relay between the two batteries. They said it was faulty and the house battery was never getting charged by the engine/alternator. We have been out a few times now and it seems to be working OK. House battery reads 12.1-12.4 on the simrad without the engine, and once the engine on goes up to low 13s, and running around > 2000 rpm it holds a steady 13.8-14.1. All the electronics seem to work normally again now, so I'm hoping that was it.
 
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