Bennett OBI9000H (with sensor-less actuators) stops working / times out?

[BlueComet]

Among many other upgrades to my Overnighter 20 last winter (besides a repower, new transom, and awesome paint job) was replacing my tired hydraulic tab pump.

My marine mechanic re-used my old sensor-less tab actuators, but since my old tab control switch was also old and tired (ES2000 with the brass flat-head screws), I decided to try and modernize to a newer controller.

OBI9000H wasn't too painful to wire up to the old pump, but I didn't have time to separate the tabs from my shiny new transom to insert the position sensors, figured that's a good winter-time job. I'd like to be able to at least control the tabs like I did with the Euro-rocker (know my tab position by watching my bow).

The new digital controller powers up once battery connected, and as expected I get flashing amber lights since no position can be read. I'm still able to use the bow down/up controls to drive the pump, at least for a few minutes.

It appears though that after some time period, maybe 5 minutes, the controller stops working. If I disconnect/reconnect battery however, it will start to work again (and I'll get the sensor position indicator lights to flash again).

Is there a fault/timeout in the MCU in the OBI I'm tripping, where it gives up and goes to sleep/power off? If so, is it possible to update the program in the MCU to not go to sleep after X seconds of not detecting the tabs?

Hoping Tabman or anyone at Bennett might be able to help me troubleshoot, and anyone else can learn (vs me PM-ing).

Thanks!

 

[DennisG01]

Tabman passed away a few years ago. Best bet is to call Bennett directly. Use that thingy where you can talk, in real time, to a real person

 

[BlueComet]

Boy that's some cold water to pour on this thread. Sorry to hear that, sounds like he was very responsive with useful knowledge (vs empty replies) to his customer base (i.e. us boaters). Thanks for the SA, Dennis.

I definitely know how to use a phone, figured though maybe the community at large could learn from the answer. That and given that I work for a living and didn't want to take vacation to make a call to what's likely a robot for 2 hours (if they followed suit like most companies have), figured I'd try this first.

FWIW I'm still waiting for calls back from Grady for info regarding my side window seals (no reply), if I held my breath waiting I'd be floating in the Charles...

I'll update with what I hear from Bennett (Yamaha).

 

[DennisG01]

Boy that's some cold water to pour on this thread. Sorry to hear that, sounds like he was very responsive with useful knowledge (vs empty replies) to his customer base (i.e. us boaters). Thanks for the SA, Dennis.

I definitely know how to use a phone, figured though maybe the community at large could learn from the answer. That and given that I work for a living and didn't want to take vacation to make a call to what's likely a robot for 2 hours (if they followed suit like most companies have), figured I'd try this first.

FWIW I'm still waiting for calls back from Grady for info regarding my side window seals (no reply), if I held my breath waiting I'd be floating in the Charles...

I'll update with what I hear from Bennett (Yamaha).

Most of us work for a living.

I offered that advice of calling them directly since it would be the most efficient way for you to get the correct answer the first time. And, yes, we can benefit from the answer... after you figure it out. It's a very uncommon question - again, hence the reason for the suggestion of calling them.

 

[BlueComet]

Update:
I have yet to try it, but had a great conversation on the phone with Tom from Bennett. Took 30 minutes on hold to get ahold of him, but worth the wait.
He asked me to report back to him on my findings, which I gladly will do, but he confirmed my suspicions: it's likely timing out after not detecting the positioner and shutting down.

The suggestion was to connect the position sensors anyways, even though not installed in the actuator, to give the MCU something to read (even if it never actually moves). That way, it's a signal (some load for the controller to see).

I'll update again when I try it out, but Dennis, thanks for the suggestion to this skeptic. Glad to know someone still willing to answer the phone in today's online age.

 

[Automated14]

Following this. I have the upgrade kit for my OE 2004 Bennett rocker switches. I’m a little fuzzy on what’s involved converting it. My old boat had the indicators and auto retract and I loved it

 

[BlueComet]

Sure Automated. Let me detail a little more about how I skinned this cat.

The kit I bought was the BENOBI9000H, see the installation instructions here:
https://bennetttrimtabs.com/installManuals/OBI9000H-Installation-Sheet-WEB-052123.pdf

I bought it from Hodges Marine. Here's the link to the product: https://www.hodgesmarine.com/benobi9000-h-bennett-one-box-indication-unit-fhydraulic-syst.html

The controller is a round hole with a large jam-nut to mount, I find more secure vs the smaller square hole I had with my ES2000. Suggested from one of the reviews was to use a piece of 2x4 taped to the console temporarily to act as a template helped. I used a hole saw in reverse, slowly, and made a nice hole. I forget the diameter, I remember it wasn't what was in directions though (I just sized it up when I had the controller).

So going from the euro rockers (I have the hydraulic pump, NOT electric), I had spade lugs crimped to the ends of my 4-colored wires. The OBI9000H has a great Deutch waterproof connector on a pigtail already connected, so instead of cutting and butt-splicing like the install manual says, I actually got the mating connector and crimper to make it more professional (and easier to remove/replace if the controller craps out in my lifetime). Here's some links to the connectors and the crimper I used:
Deutch Connectors (4-pin): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TZMT4TK
Crimper tool: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V1C6N2V
I forget if the pigtail from the OBI controller was male or female, the kit comes with both ends and pins/receptacles.

After the physical install, I wired up per the manual, at least mostly. I don't have separate "helm power" so both orange wires went to my 12V fuse panel, 20A for the thicker orange and 1.5A for the smaller one. Remember to pass all the pigtail wires from the OBI through the big jam-nut before you try to thread it on the bottom of the OBI. It took me a few tries to get it not cross-threaded since it's a blind mate reaching my arm way up to my elbow from the bottom in my helm.

** To Anyone from Bennett/Yamaha, here's a design suggestion for your next rev: don't make the OBI panel cutout profile a double-D. Take a lesson from RF connector manufacturers, and use a Single-D if trying to make it so it can't spin in a hole. Single D's are far less prone to cross-threading than the Double-D, will save lots of time/pain in installation.**

Note: the purple wire isn't just an optional wire to ignition if you want the auto-retract feature. It's necessary to get the unit to turn on. You need 12V on this line to wake-up the controller, otherwise it will never turn on (trust me). You can wire it up to fixed power (same as the small orange) if you don't care about the auto-retract, when the system loses that signal only (if wired to ignition switch) while the orange wires still powered that it does the auto-retract function. I learned this the hard way after a lot of head scratching and swearing worse than "the old man" dealing with the boiler in the basement in the Christmas Story.

So I got everything I could wired up, but since I did the switch replacement after the boat was in the water, and my actuators are old and don't have position indicator wires, I left those connections open until season ends and I can pull off the actuators to insert the position rods.

That's where my saga was until this update, with the unit working for a bit before timing out. I'll try Tom's advice and hook up the position indicators (even though not in the actuator cylinders just yet) and see if the controller stays powered for the duration. I'll get the actuators off in the winter and hopefully not ruin the new paint on my transom in the process (I suspect they used th 3 screws + 5200 to secure the actuator to the transom).

Hopefully this level of detail is what you were looking for. It's not hard, just time consuming.