Cutwater 30 Fusion Media Player replacement & NEMA cable

[Dritchie]

My boat is a 2015 Cutwater 30, hull number FMLC3015j415. The Fusion media player, MS-IP700i has failed and is being replaced, I am told, with the equivalent “current” unit, MS-UD/AV750. The old 700i was connected to a remote-control unit NRX 200i. The unfortunate fact is that the new unit , UD/AV750, is not a 100% plug and play replacement for the old unit, as Fusion has changed from a 8 wire NEMA cable to a 5 wire NEMA cable connection with the new unit. The installed remote-control unit, NRX 200i requires an 8-wire connection.
Do you have a schematic of the layout of the NEMA cabling circuitry for the Cutwater 30 as I can not find the NEMA tee where the NRX 200i and MS 700i connect? I have located the cable exiting and connecting to the “old” 700i but where does this cable connect to the NEMA circuitry? A schematic with boat locations would be appreciated. Also, any thoughts on how to connect the new 5-wire cable to the old 8-wire system….is there such a connector or tee? And an even more fundamental thought is….is the MS-UD/AV750 unit the proper replacement product?... Thank you.

 

[Kevin Lamont]

My boat is a 2015 Cutwater 30, hull number FMLC3015j415. The Fusion media player, MS-IP700i has failed and is being replaced, I am told, with the equivalent “current” unit, MS-UD/AV750. The old 700i was connected to a remote-control unit NRX 200i. The unfortunate fact is that the new unit , UD/AV750, is not a 100% plug and play replacement for the old unit, as Fusion has changed from a 8 wire NEMA cable to a 5 wire NEMA cable connection with the new unit. The installed remote-control unit, NRX 200i requires an 8-wire connection.
Do you have a schematic of the layout of the NEMA cabling circuitry for the Cutwater 30 as I can not find the NEMA tee where the NRX 200i and MS 700i connect? I have located the cable exiting and connecting to the “old” 700i but where does this cable connect to the NEMA circuitry? A schematic with boat locations would be appreciated. Also, any thoughts on how to connect the new 5-wire cable to the old 8-wire system….is there such a connector or tee? And an even more fundamental thought is….is the MS-UD/AV750 unit the proper replacement product?... Thank you.

Hello,

Looking at a new head unit there is a connection on the backside that has a tag labeled "For NEMA 2k wired remote", this would be where the remote would plug into. Unfortunately we do not have a diagram of where the NEMA system runs through out the boat, however I can tell you that the NEMA backbone is located under the main helm shifter pad. The easiest way to access this is via the 1/4 berth. Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to email me direct.

Thank you,
Kevin Lamont

 

[rheimb1]

Interesting. My MS-IP700i also went out late last year on my R25 2015 and in talking with Fusion they said a MS UD 650 would be a plug and play and the same hole size. It should be coming in this week and will let you know if it is a true P/P. This doesn't have the features of the 700 but should do the job quite nicely. About the only real difference is that has 3 zones.

 

[asm777]

On our 2016 C30, Fusion replaced our factory installed MS-IP700i with the MS-UD750 under warranty back in January 2017.

Found an old e-mail where I reported to Ralf:

Fusion sent over a replacement stereo (newer model UD-750; I think our original stereo must've been discontinued) and I was able to get it all hooked up and installed. Updated the firmware on the new unit and the existing remote and everything is working fine and communicating with each other and the Garmin system. Yay!

I recall I just pulled out the old unit, noted what was plugged in and then just hooked everything back up to the new unit. All the connections were behind the unit and didn't have to poke around anywhere else on the boat. Apparently, I also updated the firmware (don't remember how though!) per my e-mail.

Not sure if your boat is set up the same way but just sharing my experience.

 

[rheimb1]

If you haven't solved your problem yet, the MS UD 650 that I installed was a true plug and play. All the connections fit the old MS 700. There was one thing that I had to do to make it work and that was the NEMA cable had a 5 pin to 8 pin adapter cable. And if that was your problem then dig back in there a bit farther and remove it. The 650 is a quite a bit cheaper with monochromatic screen and the screw holes fit perfectly.

 

[Dritchie]

Job completed...the local Fusion tech support (3 of them) came to the boat and searched by feel only (blind search) for the cable behind the installed 700 stereo unit for the infamous 8 wire NEMA cable to 5 wire NEMA connector. The third fellow (read several attempts by each) could feel three cables. Working each cable he thought he could feel a NEMA connector on one of the cables. After much discussion as to where to take a "saws-all saw" and cut the back of the stereo cabinet open to view this connector, the technician was able to undue the connector and reattach the pig tail 5 wire NEMA connector from the new 750. By the way, when the cable was not connected, it would have been curtains had the technician accidently dropped the cable while attempting to connect the new 5 pin wire...he didn't. Thank you Cutwater....the connector was there...Success, the impossible takes a touch longer.

 

[Boatagain]

After much discussion as to where to take a "saws-all saw" and cut the back of the stereo cabinet open to view this connector...

.

😱 I shudder thinking about that.
If you ever have to reach the back of the head unit again you can gain much better access by removing the port windshield blower (just a few screws) above it. Or did you already know that?