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MAN Engine Hours Issue

Discussion in 'Engines' started by CaboFly, Nov 9, 2019.

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  1. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Then there are folks that don't have a note pad but a cell phone to keep records and ships data on.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    If it's installed on the boat, it should work. Otherwise, owners that do what you mention go to sell a boat and have 40 items on the survey of band-aids and booboo's.
  3. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    Had a call from my dealer this am and he quoted me $850 plus shipping for each board to be repaired. Went down to the boat at lunch and went to turn on displays to check hours on Stbd engine (the one that had correct hours) and I couldn't believe my eyes. Stbd lost hours as well. They are both erased. I haven't turned power off to engines since this all started and had the boat out 2 weeks ago and that engine had 1972 hours. I was already planning to do both as I suspected it would need it at some point but found the timing ironic. Jumped on phone with dealer and he walked me through removal of the board in each black box that needs to be shipped to MAN in Florida. Much more involved that I thought. The MMDS board is what is removed and is located behind the MPC unit. Not an easy task. I took my time and listened to his instructions and even built up a platform to rest the MPX box while I removed the MMDS board on each side. Documented each step with pics.
    I asked the dealer again why one would want to make this repair and he confirmed to have accurate visual engine hours for operator and alarm history. Permanent hours still located on main board in black box and accessed by MAN laptop. The other reason is for logging any alarms that have gone off on the engines. Without the fix you will have no history of any engine alarms should one go off and dealer needs access to determine issue. I am OCD so I am getting it fixed and I like to know how many hours I am putting on boat. If you do nothing every time you start engines you get a new number so tracking your hours annually or for each trip would be a real hassle.

    Dealer told me MAN in FL only repairs boards on Friday's during the quarantine and can turn them around quickly. Dropping them off at my dealer tomorrow and he will then do his paperwork and 2 day them to FL. If anybody would like me to post up some pics for visual of process would be happy to do so.

    If this isn't enough fun I am also in the middle of repairing my Eskimo chipper. I believe I determined the Scotsman electric motor that was used OEM by Eskimo so fingers crossed on that as well.
  4. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    That's what happened on the MAN boat I managed. Battery switches were turned off for a few days. Port engine then showed 99999 hours when battery switches were turned off. Starboard was fine......two weeks later the stbd showed 99999 hours..... removal of the boards is pretty easy. Will need a MAN mechanic with the 2 laptops to get the hours from the other boards where they are stored (engine ECMs?) and put the info in the new boards.
  5. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    My dealer is going with my pic from two weeks ago showing 1972 hours. Maybe when they get boards back they will come to boat with laptops.
  6. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    My dealer insisted on pulling it up with the laptop, BUT I didn't know the exact hours, just very close. The board itself, slides right out just like any card in a desktop computer.
  7. Marblehead01945

    Marblehead01945 Member

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    I think I'll wait to CaboFly goes through the process to see how things go. I am leaning to doing it in the Fall at this point as I don't want to lose a month. As long as the box is keeping track of the real hours then I'm comfortable with a rough idea. Hopefully the port engine hours will continue to work for the season.
  8. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    Picked up my MMDS boards today at dealer and installed on boat this evening. Turn around was very quick and no issues. My hours were reset to 0. Main motherboard still has actual hours. Dealer didn't know why they didn't update hours he gave them during procedure. He can do it at anytime with 2 laptops as Capt J posted. Glad to be back together and updated.
    Last edited: May 14, 2020
  9. Marblehead01945

    Marblehead01945 Member

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    This sounds great. I'm going to send mine in after the season. Thank you for the info!
  10. Vanja

    Vanja New Member

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    UA Odessa
    Hi all.

    I have a project with a detailed description of how to independently restore an MMDS-CR after a engine failure. The project includes a detailed description, cable diagram (very simple), software.
    Using this project, you can independently change the engine hour reading at any time.
    I worked for MAN as an engineer, now due to the fact that there is a war in my country I am not working (the sea has been closed).

    If you are interested in this project, write to on Skype ivan_nikol_

    Regards, Ivan
    DENNIS LOWE likes this.
  11. Murray Oxford

    Murray Oxford New Member

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    I have a 2008 Cabo with twin 1100s. The actual hours are about 1800.
    I am experiencing the wonky hours issue now. The boat lives on an island called Antigua. I'm Canadian, so the boat comes out of the water in May till October. Not knowing better, power to the engines and boards was off.
    Sure enough the hours are off the charts. I keep an engine maintenance log, travel log and manually record hours.
    In addition to the erroneous hours, my engine displays are intermittent....
    sometimes I get RPM displays, sometimes not. I get coolant pressure alarms one minute, then I don't. Can all of this be related to the battery failure in the boards.
    Both engines display the same symptoms.
    The boat "Lalaland" is going on the market later this year. I just couldn't offer it for sale in this condition.
    Any assistance is appreciated.
    M.
    DENNIS LOWE likes this.
  12. Vanja

    Vanja New Member

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    Good afternoon.
    You're right, this is due to the failure of the batteries installed on the board. They need to be replaced - the system will immediately work stably. But the engine hours will be chaotic. In order to set the correct engine hours, my project is needed.

    Attached Files:

  13. Murray Oxford

    Murray Oxford New Member

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    Thank you.
  14. Vanja

    Vanja New Member

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    UA Odessa
    In order to set the correct engine hours after replacing the battery, you can use my project. To do this, you need to assemble a cable from three wires and two connectors. I'm posting the diagram.

    Attached Files:

  15. Murray Oxford

    Murray Oxford New Member

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    Thank you.
    M.
  16. Thorstormlord

    Thorstormlord New Member

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    Hellas
    Does the offer stand?
  17. Vanja

    Vanja New Member

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    UA Odessa
    Yes does the offer stand