Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

'15 front vs. midship ballast on Dash System: what do you see?


mikeo

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

I just took delivery of my '15 LSV that I ordered with rear and midship ballast, but no front tank. I decided that I'd rather have the storage space available, and if I really need ballast due to a lack of friends on board I can use a fat sac. Here's my question for the group:

On your boat with the bow ballast tank do you have 4 options on the Dash System or just 3? When answering, please let us (me) know if you 4 tanks or 3.

On my Dash System I see rear left, rear right, and midship, but no bow tank. In the Dash System manual all of the pictures only show 3 ballast options; Last year (Maliview) there was a option in the settings to enable/disable ballast pump relays that isn't there in the new system.

Thank you!

Link to comment

Thank you for the response. Now I just have to figure out how/where to turn on the wires that I know are there. Maybe the system is smart enough to sense the resistance of the pump circuit and turn it on automatically...

If anyone knows where to turn on/off the ballast pump options on the new dash system, please share the info!

Link to comment

On the right side lower screen in settings, I enabled the transom lights for aftermarket ones I installed. Wiring was already in place, just zip tied off. Super easy to install and enable. Maybe the bow tank option is there in the settings area as well.

Link to comment

I was at the factory to watch my boat being built, and while I was there I confirmed that all the wires for all the options are in the harness. I even have a tag under the dash that says the harness is for a '15 23 LSV and 22 VLX (I'll take a picture and post it if anyone is interested).

When I go in to the options screen I see the places to enable tower and transom lights (I don't have either) and I see the wiring zip tied under the tower mount (G3.2 tower). The little bit of information that makes me think the ballast switch/button is based on pump electrical resistance is that System Diagnostics screen I see values for MLS_L, MLS_R, MLS_C, and MLS_F and they all have a value; the value of MLS_F is 3x (1023) the other values (306, 309, 310).

I'm headed over to my dealer (that just sounds bad!) this afternoon to take a look at the diag values and output setup screen on a boat with all 4 tanks. I've also got ballast pumps on the way so I'll see if the values change once they're wired in.

Link to comment

OK, I made a trip over to my local dealer and checked out a few things and think I figured out the riddle: The ballast pump fill/drain options are enabled by the Dash System controller sensing resistance on the fill sensors. The "cheap" way to enable the fill & drain relays is to short the fill sensor, but I don't know if this will only allow the drain pump to work yet.

I went back to my boat and attached a rheostat to the bow tank fill sensor and cycled power at the battery switch (not just on the on/off button) and on reboot the Dash System showed all 4 tanks; I adjusted the rheostat and the full level changed in 25% increments. I don't have the exact resistance values for the different fill levels, but I'll provide those to the group once I get the kids in bed and can take some specific measurements. My guess right now is that setting the sensor to 50% would be the most useful since both the fill and drain options will be available.

The real challenge will be to figure out a way to provide different resistance values based on the movement of a flow sensor. If different values can be provided based on a flow sensor then 0% ?%, and 100% can be sent to the Dash System (where ?% is somewhere between 0-100%). I also may investigate if there is a way to install/mount a bow tank fill level sensor in a triangle shaped bag that fits in the front area, but I have to wait for the bag to arrive.

I know I could always look at the fat sac to figure out how full it is, but getting the information to the Dash System allows for automatic filling/draining with auto on/off so I don't burn out a pump.

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

If anyone else is looking to add aftermarket ballast to a '15 (or later) boat and doesn't want to cut the factory wiring harness to add ballast pumps I found the connectors and purchased a minimum quantity (20). I'm of putting together a "kit" that includes all the connectors necessary to add a fill pump, drain pump, and (correct) resistor to show 50% capacity so both fill and drain functionality are available. This kit could be used in any of the 4 tank locations in a '15 22VLX or 23LSV since they both use the same wiring harness. I don't know if the Axis boats use the same connectors and my local dealer is Malibu only. If somebody wants to dig in to an Axis boat and send me pictures of the connectors I believe that I'll be able to tell if they're the same as Malibu and if the "kits" will work. I don't believe that Axis uses any type of fill capacity gauges, so the resistor part isn't necessary.

If you're interested please post a comment below or "like" this post. The parts cost is ~$3.00 (I haven't priced the resistor yet) and USPS flat rate shipping is $5.95 for the smallest box they have. I'm thinking the cost to purchase will be $3.00/kit + $5.95 flat rate shipping; up to 8 kits could fit in a single box. A single boat with no factory ballast would only need 4 kits.

Let me know what you think please.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...