Volvo Drops off Network when Garmin Autopilot is Turned On

[mlanger]

Here's a weird one.

2019 R-29 CB I've owned for three weeks and cruised about 35 hours.

Two Garmin GPSMap 7612s at the inside helm and one 7612 on the command bridge. Garmin Autopilots at both stations. Volvo computer readout at inside helm only. All networked together with NMEA 2000.

Turn on engine ignition first. Start networked chartplotters. Chartplotters see engine data. So far, so good.

Turn on either autopilot unit and the engine data disappears.

In chartplotter communications, I can see all devices with names before autopilot is turned on. After autopilot is turned on, Volvo engine disappears from its listed gateway.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

I called Garmin and, after holding for 50 minutes, got someone who told me it sounded like a power problem. He thinks turning on the autopilot is overloading the system, resulting in Volvo being kicked off the network. But I know that all of these have been turned on and have worked together in the past.

Before I call a wiring guy in to look at it, is there anything I can do to troubleshoot it?

 

[Gin]

When things have worked before, but now don’t, I’ve learned (principally from folks on this forum) that the first question to ask is: What’s the last thing I did before it stopped working? (or started malfunctioning, or whatever)

I assume you’ve rewound the tape and can’t identify anything relevant. Why the autopilot would cause the engine data to cut out is a mystery to me. I have only one chart plotter and one autopilot. Which makes me wonder if having three chartplotters is related to your problem in some way. My suggestions aren’t genius level, but here are two things I would do.

(1) Turn on one chart plotter, leave the others off. Watch the engine data come up. Then, turn on the autopilot and see what happens. If the engine data keeps coming through, turn on a second chart plotter. If it still keeps coming through, turn on the third. And if that’s not helpful, maybe then rotate the order in which you turn on the chartplotters to see if there is a magic combination where the engine data disappears. I’m not sure exactly what that would tell you, but it seems like it would tell you something that should be diagnostically helpful.

(2) If #1 doesn’t produce insights, check the NMEA 2000 connections on the backbone to make sure all are tight. I might also find the autopilot or the Volvo engine connection and move one or both around on the backbone closer to the power connection. I don’t know a lot about NMEA 2000 wiring, but I think at some point there can be too many devices on the backbone. So maybe moving some closer to the power would suggest an issue. But since the problem is new, that seems less likely than a lose or bad connection.

The best advice will come from anyone on the forum who has seen the same or a similar problem on their boat, if anyone has.

Good luck!

Gini

 

[mlanger]

I did indeed rewind (a good word for it), but the problem has been intermittent since I got the boat. I had the chart plotters updated by a Garmin guy and it seem to work right after that. But then it stopped after I inserted a map update card in the chart plotter. So of course, I removed the card. The problem did not go away. I subsequently traced the problem to turning on the auto pilot — whether the card is in or not.

The three chart plotters and two auto pilot units are networked together. When I turn on one chart plotter, they all go on. It may be possible for me to turn one or two of them off without turning off the whole system. I will try that today; good suggestion.

As for tracing wiring, that is beyond my skill set. I’ve opened up the panel behind the helm (behind the bathroom mirror) and have not noticed anything loose or burned back in there. I think I’d rather have someone with more experience do poking around back there. I suspect that this problem has always existed but the previous owner used the boat so infrequently that he just didn’t care.

It’s funny that the boat is in nearly new condition despite being three years old, yet because little problems that could have been fixed by Ranger Tugs were not addressed when new, I’m stuck fixing them myself. A good example is cabinet latches — I adjusted four of them yesterday and I know that they were likely needing adjustment from day one.

 

[OdyseaII]

We have a 2019 R31 CB and while we have not had the problem you mentioned we have had problem with the engine readout on the Garmin.

After some research and trial and error we round that the key was that all Garmin electronics must be on before turning the ignition on. To be sure I turn on everything on the bridge as well.

At the end of our cruise I then make sure the ignition is turned back off and then batteries disconnected.

This seems to have fixed our problem of the communication between Garmin and Volvo. Maybe this would help you.

Good luck,
Keith

 

[dbsea]

We have a 2019 R31 CB and while we have not had the problem you mentioned we have had problem with the engine readout on the Garmin.

After some research and trial and error we round that the key was that all Garmin electronics must be on before turning the ignition on. To be sure I turn on everything on the bridge as well.

At the end of our cruise I then make sure the ignition is turned back off and then batteries disconnected.

This seems to have fixed our problem of the communication between Garmin and Volvo. Maybe this would help you.

Good luck,
Keith

I agree with Keith here. Order of operations seems to matter, but why is beyond me. I always turn my electronics on in the following order:

-Autopilots
-chartplotters
-ignition unlock
-start engine

If you are experiencing issues, disconnect your shore power and turn off your house bank switch, and count to 20, and then turn it all back on. I find this reset helps solve a lot of gremlins. I also find that if I don't turn on my auto pilots as the first item, the course computer doesn't always grab the proper heading and send it to the Garmin display, resulting in my boat appearing to move sideways on the screen. This shouldn't happen, but with all things electronic the unexplainable sometimes happens. Good luck!

 

[Gin]

Keith's and Dave's tip looks promising.

It reminds me of something that I didn't know when I first got my boat -- the ignition has to be on (though the engine doesn't have to be running) for certain data to show up on the chartplotter. For example, the trip data doesn't display some parameters unless the ignition is on (e.g., fuel usage for the trip). Now, I habitually leave the ignition on (but not the engine) until I've recorded my trip data.

If you try their sequencing and it doesn't help, I can think of two ways to start the autopilots and chartplotters manually if you want to test what happens with various combinations of them.

First, there should be a setting on each unit that lets you select whether it comes on automatically with the power. Changing that setting should mean you have to start the unit manually. Or you could just disconnect the NMEA 2000 cable at the back of each unit, then reconnect it to start. Either should work. It just depends on which you'd find easier.

I've also wondered if you could have battery issue that is causing an intermittent voltage drop on the backbone. I don't know whether NMEA issues like that occur, let alone how to troubleshoot them. But it seems like battery issues inject all kinds of gremlins into electronics, so I throw the idea out for whatever it might be worth.

Gini

 

[TBates]

Hi M Langer, if I remember correctly this issue was specifically related to software. To be sure I would update the Garmin software (you can do this yourself at garmin.com), but also have a Volvo service center update the Volvo software. In the meantime, just be sure to turn on all Garmin electronics prior to the Volvo ignition and everything will communicate correctly.

Feel free to reach out directly with any other questions.

Thank you,

-Tim

 

[mlanger]

We have a 2019 R31 CB and while we have not had the problem you mentioned we have had problem with the engine readout on the Garmin.

After some research and trial and error we round that the key was that all Garmin electronics must be on before turning the ignition on. To be sure I turn on everything on the bridge as well.

At the end of our cruise I then make sure the ignition is turned back off and then batteries disconnected.

This seems to have fixed our problem of the communication between Garmin and Volvo. Maybe this would help you.

Good luck,
Keith

Hmm. I was told (by someone) engine first, but I will definitely give this a try. Thanks!

 

[mlanger]

Hi M Langer, if I remember correctly this issue was specifically related to software. To be sure I would update the Garmin software (you can do this yourself at garmin.com), but also have a Volvo service center update the Volvo software. In the meantime, just be sure to turn on all Garmin electronics prior to the Volvo ignition and everything will communicate correctly.

Feel free to reach out directly with any other questions.

Thank you,

-Tim

Thanks so much, Tim. (I left you a message about this yesterday.) The Garmin software has already been updated, so I’ll have to track down a Volvo service center in my travels. I will do as you and someone else here recommended: start all the Garmin stuff first. Hopefully, that will provide a temporary resolution until I can get the service center to update my Volvo stuff.

 

[mlanger]

Keith's and Dave's tip looks promising.

It reminds me of something that I didn't know when I first got my boat -- the ignition has to be on (though the engine doesn't have to be running) for certain data to show up on the chartplotter. For example, the trip data doesn't display some parameters unless the ignition is on (e.g., fuel usage for the trip). Now, I habitually leave the ignition on (but not the engine) until I've recorded my trip data.

If you try their sequencing and it doesn't help, I can think of two ways to start the autopilots and chartplotters manually if you want to test what happens with various combinations of them.

First, there should be a setting on each unit that lets you select whether it comes on automatically with the power. Changing that setting should mean you have to start the unit manually. Or you could just disconnect the NMEA 2000 cable at the back of each unit, then reconnect it to start. Either should work. It just depends on which you'd find easier.

I've also wondered if you could have battery issue that is causing an intermittent voltage drop on the backbone. I don't know whether NMEA issues like that occur, let alone how to troubleshoot them. But it seems like battery issues inject all kinds of gremlins into electronics, so I throw the idea out for whatever it might be worth.

Gini

The Garmin folks suggested that it might be power related. But I think it’s software related. I know it has worked in the past without any problem but I cannot recall the order in which I turned things on. Other folks here, including the Ranger Volvo guy, say to turn on engine ignition last so I’ll give that a try today. I hope it works because tracing electrical problems could be a nightmare.

 

[mlanger]

SUCCESS!

On my set up, the order in which I turn things on really does matter. As at least two people here suggested, I need to turn on all of the Garmin equipment BEFORE I turn on the engine ignition. Yes, it’s true, none of the engine data will show up in Garmin until I turn on the ignition, but it shows up — and more importantly, remains onscreen — when I do start it.

Tim, I’ll try to track down a Volvo guy to update my system as soon as possible. The boat is being shipped out to Chicago to get on the Great Loop next week, but I assume I’ll be able to find someone to take care of this for me along the way. Right now, I’m just glad to be able to get that engine data up in the command bridge where I can monitor it.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I’m just relieved that I don’t have to track down a possible electrical issue.

 

[Automaticman865]

had a problem with the autopilot where it looses the heading connection. I reseated all the cables to the autopilot and the problem went away. This started happening year 9.

Stuart