Axius repair on used boat Cobalt 303

[muc]

we did not make anything for bleeding the system......besides, there is no i formation about bleed the system in Axious service manual, so we supposed that the bleeding will be made it self during use, just like power trim .....

I haven’t looked at the service manual but I seem to remember something in class. I’ll see if I can find me notes from back then.

 

[muc]

we did not make anything for bleeding the system......besides, there is no i formation about bleed the system in Axious service manual, so we supposed that the bleeding will be made it self during use, just like power trim .....

It's possible that you have repaired this problem, just that you/your mechanic didn't follow the proper process.

Manual 8M0098996 OCTOBER 2016 MerCruiser Axius
You really need to read this manual. It contains a lot of information that IS
required to correctly service this system.

This manual is almost 400 pages, but the first 84 pages are the most important. Most people want to jump right into the troubleshooting section that starts on page 85. But without the knowledge base that's in those first 84 pages they have a very good chance getting something wrong!

Most of the questions you have asked are covered in those 84 pages.
Filling and bleeding --- with the correct fluid for your application ---- is covered in...... Section 1B-Maintanance.
Section 1C- Important Information. Covers swapping components.
Section 3A - Configuration. and the reflashing checklist at the end makes sure you get it right by following the correct order.

You don't have to read and understand this information, neither does your mechanic. But I'm pretty sure the person who ends up fixing this problem will.

Please read these 84 pages (or hire someone who has) and if you have any questions after reading them, I will try to answer them. Because some of the information might be hard to understand. Before I took the Axius and Total Command class, I had to take the SmartCraft 2 and DTS class and before that I had to take ECM 1 and ECM 2 and ECM 3+. My point is that some of the information in these manuals builds on previous information. And this is what you're paying for when you hire a well trained technician.

A quick story to end this post.
Many many years ago I attended a boat manufacturer class on installing high end electronics that some of our customers had started asking for (satellite TV, night vision, auto pilot, fancy depth finders and chart plotters, ect.). The class started ---as most of these types of classes do--- with the instructor asking what problems we were seeing out in the field so he could tailor the instruction. I was seated next to a female and wow did she know her job! At break I complimented her on her knowledge. She told me how surprised she was that someone who worked on engines, drives, transmissions, heating/air conditioning and more would even attempt high end electronics.

And then she said "I'll tell you my secret" "I'm a professional and I read the instructions"

After that I started spending more time with the manuals. And it really paid off!

Good luck on this journey you have started, I'll try to help if I can.

 

[silver_power]

I will get access to this service manual and hope help me solve my problems.
Thank you so much, you gave me directions to follow!!!!
I will post again when i try all we mention and i hope to have good news.!!!!
Thank you again!

 

[Fun Times]

Silver Power, what is the hull ID number to your Cobalt 303 boat?
I have a friend that works at a Cobalt dealer, I'll try checking in with them to see if maybe they can help find some sort of helpful info regarding your boat say from new... Maybe a software load file or something of the like.

 

[silver_power]

Silver Power, what is the hull ID number to your Cobalt 303 boat?
I have a friend that works at a Cobalt dealer, I'll try checking in with them to see if maybe they can help find some sort of helpful info regarding your boat say from new... Maybe a software load file or something of the like.

That would be perfect!!
US-FGE33003K910
#3632
These are the labels at the back of the boat concerning hull ID.
Thank you very much!

 

[silver_power]

It's possible that you have repaired this problem, just that you/your mechanic didn't follow the proper process.

Manual 8M0098996 OCTOBER 2016 MerCruiser Axius
You really need to read this manual. It contains a lot of information that IS
required to correctly service this system.

This manual is almost 400 pages, but the first 84 pages are the most important. Most people want to jump right into the troubleshooting section that starts on page 85. But without the knowledge base that's in those first 84 pages they have a very good chance getting something wrong!

Most of the questions you have asked are covered in those 84 pages.
Filling and bleeding --- with the correct fluid for your application ---- is covered in...... Section 1B-Maintanance.
Section 1C- Important Information. Covers swapping components.
Section 3A - Configuration. and the reflashing checklist at the end makes sure you get it right by following the correct order.

You don't have to read and understand this information, neither does your mechanic. But I'm pretty sure the person who ends up fixing this problem will.

Please read these 84 pages (or hire someone who has) and if you have any questions after reading them, I will try to answer them. Because some of the information might be hard to understand. Before I took the Axius and Total Command class, I had to take the SmartCraft 2 and DTS class and before that I had to take ECM 1 and ECM 2 and ECM 3+. My point is that some of the information in these manuals builds on previous information. And this is what you're paying for when you hire a well trained technician.

A quick story to end this post.
Many many years ago I attended a boat manufacturer class on installing high end electronics that some of our customers had started asking for (satellite TV, night vision, auto pilot, fancy depth finders and chart plotters, ect.). The class started ---as most of these types of classes do--- with the instructor asking what problems we were seeing out in the field so he could tailor the instruction. I was seated next to a female and wow did she know her job! At break I complimented her on her knowledge. She told me how surprised she was that someone who worked on engines, drives, transmissions, heating/air conditioning and more would even attempt high end electronics.

And then she said "I'll tell you my secret" "I'm a professional and I read the instructions"

After that I started spending more time with the manuals. And it really paid off!

Good luck on this journey you have started, I'll try to help if I can.

Well, today i told my mechanic to come and check the versions of ccm, tvm and do some disgnostics.... As i told, the engine's pcm have an orange sticker which say that they are compatible only with CCM version 76 and not to mix versions. The target was to find the version of ccm ,check if it was the correct version and if not to reflash with version 76.
He told me that G3 can not do this, and he has made already update to new version. In fact the G3 had available the version 81 for update. I then told him that pcm is compatible only with version 76 and maybe this is the problem. He was absolutely sure that when G3 say that there is update, we must make it and all the other components will work. Is it true??? The funny was that he could not find the version of ccm, but since G3 had available the 81 version maybe the current is 80.....
Do you believe that if an update to CCM to another version than 76that pcm suggests could cause the tvm not to work??
Well, i was wondering to buy a G3 .
I know that except the cable, i will need a licence too. This is something i can buy, or this is available only to dealers??
Before uninstall all the axius hardware to make the boat work with steering cable i want to try make diagnostics according to service manual.
So, can anybody buy the G3 and use it for himself??

 

[muc]

Well, today i told my mechanic to come and check the versions of ccm, tvm and do some disgnostics.... As i told, the engine's pcm have an orange sticker which say that they are compatible only with CCM version 76 and not to mix versions. The target was to find the version of ccm ,check if it was the correct version and if not to reflash with version 76.
He told me that G3 can not do this, and he has made already update to new version. In fact the G3 had available the version 81 for update. I then told him that pcm is compatible only with version 76 and maybe this is the problem. He was absolutely sure that when G3 say that there is update, we must make it and all the other components will work. Is it true??? The funny was that he could not find the version of ccm, but since G3 had available the 81 version maybe the current is 80.....
Do you believe that if an update to CCM to another version than 76that pcm suggests could cause the tvm not to work??
Well, i was wondering to buy a G3 .
I know that except the cable, i will need a licence too. This is something i can buy, or this is available only to dealers??
Before uninstall all the axius hardware to make the boat work with steering cable i want to try make diagnostics according to service manual.
So, can anybody buy the G3 and use it for himself??

I’ll try to answer your questions, but I should tell you I don’t have a lot of experience with G3. It came out many years after I had become MerCruiser master certified and I rarely used it in the field. Most of my time spent with it was in the classroom. The dealership I worked for back then had switched to mostly Volvo and we only ordered 2 Axius boats. They were serviced by the other master tech on staff who didn’t have much Volvo experience.
G3 has been updated many times since I last used it so I’m going off of my memory from the classroom. So what I tell you here my no longer be correct.
What I remember is that when you go to the reflash screen it will show all versions of the available software. If there is a newer version available that MerCruiser thinks will be better, you are instructed to download it. I remember that you didn’t have to but don’t remember if you could download an older version. MerCruiser trained us to always use the latest version. So I would assume that because G3 is recommending the latest version be installed, you should. But this is a question that only MerCruiser tech support can answer.

I can only tell you how it works here in the USA, it maybe different in Greece. Here in the USA anyone can buy G3 and the license, but when you install it on your computer it will ask for your MerCruiser dealership account number and the dealership phone number that’s registered with Mercury Marine. Without this information it won’t complete the installation. I don’t know of any dealership here that would allow this, because the terms of our agreement with Mercury doesn’t allow it. I live in the USA state of Minnesota and we just passed a law called “right to repair” I’m told it’s the strongest law in the country, but it still doesn’t apply to boats. Maybe Greece has a better law? The manufacturer’s don’t want to allow boat owners to do these types of repairs (and they have some pretty good reasons) but sometimes there just isn’t anyone who has enough training that’s available and I think Mercury should allow a boat owner access to these tools. Maybe you can call them and plead your case?

I don’t know if this will help you but I have the diagnostic system that Mercury used before G3, it was called CDS. I got it from a dealer that I had worked for and they lost their dealership and gave me the system. I registered it using the information from the dealer I was working for at the time and mostly used it to help friends and family. A few years ago Mercury made it obsolete and it quit working. I tried installing it on a different laptop and it worked for 15 days and then quit and wouldn’t install again. I have a friend that bought an older boat and needed a scan so we used his laptop and installed the CDS and it worked for 15 days and quit, wouldn’t install again. He thought that there was some sort of timer code that could be deleted to allow it to work again but neither of us know enough about computers to feel comfortable trying that. So it’s possible that G3 is the same and you know enough about computers to do this?

I don’t know if any of this will help you, but it’s the best I can do.

Did you get the special tools to purge the steering system per the service manual. You didn’t post the exact codes you were getting but they seemed to be pressure related and that could be due to refilling the system wrong.

 

[silver_power]

I’ll try to answer your questions, but I should tell you I don’t have a lot of experience with G3. It came out many years after I had become MerCruiser master certified and I rarely used it in the field. Most of my time spent with it was in the classroom. The dealership I worked for back then had switched to mostly Volvo and we only ordered 2 Axius boats. They were serviced by the other master tech on staff who didn’t have much Volvo experience.
G3 has been updated many times since I last used it so I’m going off of my memory from the classroom. So what I tell you here my no longer be correct.
What I remember is that when you go to the reflash screen it will show all versions of the available software. If there is a newer version available that MerCruiser thinks will be better, you are instructed to download it. I remember that you didn’t have to but don’t remember if you could download an older version. MerCruiser trained us to always use the latest version. So I would assume that because G3 is recommending the latest version be installed, you should. But this is a question that only MerCruiser tech support can answer.

I can only tell you how it works here in the USA, it maybe different in Greece. Here in the USA anyone can buy G3 and the license, but when you install it on your computer it will ask for your MerCruiser dealership account number and the dealership phone number that’s registered with Mercury Marine. Without this information it won’t complete the installation. I don’t know of any dealership here that would allow this, because the terms of our agreement with Mercury doesn’t allow it. I live in the USA state of Minnesota and we just passed a law called “right to repair” I’m told it’s the strongest law in the country, but it still doesn’t apply to boats. Maybe Greece has a better law? The manufacturer’s don’t want to allow boat owners to do these types of repairs (and they have some pretty good reasons) but sometimes there just isn’t anyone who has enough training that’s available and I think Mercury should allow a boat owner access to these tools. Maybe you can call them and plead your case?

I don’t know if this will help you but I have the diagnostic system that Mercury used before G3, it was called CDS. I got it from a dealer that I had worked for and they lost their dealership and gave me the system. I registered it using the information from the dealer I was working for at the time and mostly used it to help friends and family. A few years ago Mercury made it obsolete and it quit working. I tried installing it on a different laptop and it worked for 15 days and then quit and wouldn’t install again. I have a friend that bought an older boat and needed a scan so we used his laptop and installed the CDS and it worked for 15 days and quit, wouldn’t install again. He thought that there was some sort of timer code that could be deleted to allow it to work again but neither of us know enough about computers to feel comfortable trying that. So it’s possible that G3 is the same and you know enough about computers to do this?

I don’t know if any of this will help you, but it’s the best I can do.

Did you get the special tools to purge the steering system per the service manual. You didn’t post the exact codes you were getting but they seemed to be pressure related and that could be due to refilling the system wrong.

I am willing to buy the g3 software and have it for 15 days fully functional. I hope during these days to solve the problem and make it work OR find out why it refuses to work.... after i will see what can i do and how i can purchase a licence.
Concerning the service manual, my mechanic can not give it to me till now as ExtraNet seems to be hacked and he does not have access....he does not have access even to spare parts codes, prices etc.... is it true???....to be honest i believe him. He actually called me today to tell that untill now he has no access yet...
So i did read something new...i am still waiting this service manual.
But let me ask you something....if it was a bleeding problem, why this tvm actuator worked to the starboard engine and not to port?

 

[muc]

If you buy G3, you might still need the dealer numbers.
Yes, all of Mercury Marine is down. Nothing online works and as of yesterday, no one seems to know when it will be fixed.
I don’t know why it would work on the starboard. The starboard engine is the “master” engine. The port engine is the “slave” engine. Maybe software is different? Maybe you didn’t run it long enough when hooked to the starboard? Maybe something to do with where the air bubble is (if there is a bubble, I’m not sure if there is)? Maybe the computers got confused during this test because there wasn’t a TVM connected to the port engine? The only way I would have full trust is if both steering ram assemblies were switched and the boat was run long enough to be sure.

 

[silver_power]

I’ll try to answer your questions, but I should tell you I don’t have a lot of experience with G3. It came out many years after I had become MerCruiser master certified and I rarely used it in the field. Most of my time spent with it was in the classroom. The dealership I worked for back then had switched to mostly Volvo and we only ordered 2 Axius boats. They were serviced by the other master tech on staff who didn’t have much Volvo experience.
G3 has been updated many times since I last used it so I’m going off of my memory from the classroom. So what I tell you here my no longer be correct.
What I remember is that when you go to the reflash screen it will show all versions of the available software. If there is a newer version available that MerCruiser thinks will be better, you are instructed to download it. I remember that you didn’t have to but don’t remember if you could download an older version. MerCruiser trained us to always use the latest version. So I would assume that because G3 is recommending the latest version be installed, you should. But this is a question that only MerCruiser tech support can answer.

I can only tell you how it works here in the USA, it maybe different in Greece. Here in the USA anyone can buy G3 and the license, but when you install it on your computer it will ask for your MerCruiser dealership account number and the dealership phone number that’s registered with Mercury Marine. Without this information it won’t complete the installation. I don’t know of any dealership here that would allow this, because the terms of our agreement with Mercury doesn’t allow it. I live in the USA state of Minnesota and we just passed a law called “right to repair” I’m told it’s the strongest law in the country, but it still doesn’t apply to boats. Maybe Greece has a better law? The manufacturer’s don’t want to allow boat owners to do these types of repairs (and they have some pretty good reasons) but sometimes there just isn’t anyone who has enough training that’s available and I think Mercury should allow a boat owner access to these tools. Maybe you can call them and plead your case?

I don’t know if this will help you but I have the diagnostic system that Mercury used before G3, it was called CDS. I got it from a dealer that I had worked for and they lost their dealership and gave me the system. I registered it using the information from the dealer I was working for at the time and mostly used it to help friends and family. A few years ago Mercury made it obsolete and it quit working. I tried installing it on a different laptop and it worked for 15 days and then quit and wouldn’t install again. I have a friend that bought an older boat and needed a scan so we used his laptop and installed the CDS and it worked for 15 days and quit, wouldn’t install again. He thought that there was some sort of timer code that could be deleted to allow it to work again but neither of us know enough about computers to feel comfortable trying that. So it’s possible that G3 is the same and you know enough about computers to do this?

I don’t know if any of this will help you, but it’s the best I can do.

Did you get the special tools to purge the steering system per the service manual. You didn’t post the exact codes you were getting but they seemed to be pressure related and that could be due to refilling the system wrong.

The exact faults port tvm has are:
Pump_Press_RangeLow
SteerCoil_A_Pin_Fault
Steer_A_Press_Fault
Steer_B_Press_RangeLow
Pump_Press_Fault
Steer_A_Press_RangeLow
Steer_B_Press_Fault

And please remember that this tvm actuator is functional on starboard engine and we have swapped power steering pump, hoses, coolers etc from starboard to port.........

 

[silver_power]

Hello....
After about 2,5 years axius seeems to work !!! The main problem was 3 pressure sensors, three position sensors and a lot of study at the axius service manual which tells absolutely everything about axius components, sensors and how to diagnose, troubleshoot etc. Mercury gave me the vessel personality of the boat as well....but with a lot of effort and mails... The sensors were hard to find with big time of wait and totaly about 3500€. Now the boat seems to have fully functional axius premier with skyhook, autopilot etc!!!. I managed my Garmin 741xs to cooperate with Smartcraft and axius system, giving coordinates, waypoints, speed data etc to the total system and so the auto heading and waypoint sequence works!!
Now i cant wait to try it in to the sea!!! I will have finally 100% available power, since till now, guardian system limited the power of engines at 50% because i had the tvm actuators disconnected.
For now i have to make a perfect clean of the boat and i am ready!!!!
I hope that the problems are finished!!!!!!

 

[nola mike]

Wow! Strong work!

 

[muc]

Congratulations @silver_power !
You have my utmost respect. What you did couldn't have been easy. Did you buy G3 or find a good tech to work with?

 

[silver_power]

The merc techs here told me that they could not do something further...but one of them borrowed me g3. So, i started the diagnostics by myself. Step by step....
I was scanning faults, read the service manual to see what it sais and keep going....i tested all the wirings, measure signal volts at tvm ecm pins, traced faulty sensors and transducers and so i made them work.....
It is really awesome how good, detailed and helpfull is the axius service manual (8Μ0098996). After i made the tvm's work, i tested axius compass and IMU . A new harness was needed and they are both fully functional. After that, i searched to the net to make my chartplotter cooprate with axius autopilot.......i did it as well........
A lot of work!!!!!!!

 

[muc]

Time is money to a marine tech, many don't want to do big jobs like this. It is hard to charge what a job like this truly costs. A marina owner once said to me "I would rather you spend this 50 hr week making 20 customers happy, then making one customer happy"

It was very nice of them to let you use G3, I worked for some very good dealers, and none would have allowed that.

You have a very good mind, that Axius manual isn't easy!

Enjoy your boat.

 

[silver_power]

Time is money to a marine tech, many don't want to do big jobs like this. It is hard to charge what a job like this truly costs. A marina owner once said to me "I would rather you spend this 50 hr week making 20 customers happy, then making one customer happy"

It was very nice of them to let you use G3, I worked for some very good dealers, and none would have allowed that.

You have a very good mind, that Axius manual isn't easy!

Enjoy your boat.

Thank you very much!!!

 

[tpenfield]

@silver_power That is awesome news . . .

Hopefully you can share your newly gained knowledge with the folks here on the forum.

I know from my experiences so far, these high-tech boat engines are not easy to work on. I'm going to look up that Axius manual . . . the Axius books that I have are more the installation and operation material.

 

[Scott Danforth]

congrats

 

[silver_power]

@silver_power That is awesome news . . .

Hopefully you can share your newly gained knowledge with the folks here on the forum.

I know from my experiences so far, these high-tech boat engines are not easy to work on. I'm going to look up that Axius manual . . . the Axius books that I have are more the installation and operation material.

Of course ,...i will be glad if i could help someone in the forum having problem with axius......!!
Obviously you have the manual 8m0061781....

 

[alldodge]

Info for future lookers
Manual has been superseded by 8M0098996