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Dreaded MTC touch screen issues 2011 Lsv 247


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Ok crew I am down at our lake house now and planned to bring my boat back to my garage (2 hours away) this weekend. I tries to input my code and start the boat but the screen is non responsive and it won't take any of the numbers at all. Of course it's a 2011, the first year they stated, and there is no keyed back up. Is there any way to hot wire it just to get it to the ramp and on the trailer? (ramp is only a couple minutes from my lift) I'm open for any and all options as I have to get it this weekend since I will be traveling the next few months. There is a retro fit keyed kit out here for 2011s so I know it can be done. Thanks for any help/advice you all can hand me!!

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Nah it's definitely just the screen that's going out. I luckily have a buddy with the same boat at our lake so i swapped his screen into mine just to get it on the trailer. Now I need to figure out where to get a replacement screen. I can't believe these things are 1,800 give or take from dealers. Going to try and do some research to see if I can have this one repaired. I'm pretty sure the screen is a one piece laminated design so I will most likely have to bite the bullet and buy a new one ??

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Nah it's definitely just the screen that's going out. I luckily have a buddy with the same boat at our lake so i swapped his screen into mine just to get it on the trailer. Now I need to figure out where to get a replacement screen. I can't believe these things are 1,800 give or take from dealers. Going to try and do some research to see if I can have this one repaired. I'm pretty sure the screen is a one piece laminated design so I will most likely have to bite the bullet and buy a new one

In real world parts the screen is probably about $400-$500 if you can get it sourced from the manufacturer. I seem to remember thinking they weren't as high end as Malibu could have gone when I first saw them back in 2011 so they're not going to be $700-$900 screens. The touchscreen going out is a little odd. If you can get the unit apart, then start looking for part numbers on the glass unit to see if we can help you find the source. Whether they sell it to you at Malibu's price or raise it to 1800 themselves is another question. You should also see three distinct cables (maybe 2) from the circuit board to the glass. One cable for interfacing to the LCD, one for interfacing to the touch panel, and one for powering the LEDs. That last one is just a pair of power wires and may be bundled with one of the other cables. The circuit board is likely attached to the module at the back. Check to see if they have experienced enough vibe to come loose at the circuit board or at the glass. If it's not too scary, then disconnect the cables and check for corrosion on the leads. That might be able to be cleaned.

Those LCDs are actually several laminated panels. The touchscreen is towards the top of the pancake stack under some glass.

Edited by Slurpee
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In real world parts the screen is probably about $400-$500 if you can get it sourced from the manufacturer. I seem to remember thinking they weren't as high end as Malibu could have gone when I first saw them back in 2011 so they're not going to be $700-$900 screens. The touchscreen going out is a little odd. If you can get the unit apart, then start looking for part numbers on the glass unit to see if we can help you find the source. Whether they sell it to you at Malibu's price or raise it to 1800 themselves is another question. You should also see three distinct cables (maybe 2) from the circuit board to the glass. One cable for interfacing to the LCD, one for interfacing to the touch panel, and one for powering the LEDs. That last one is just a pair of power wires and may be bundled with one of the other cables. The circuit board is likely attached to the module at the back. Check to see if they have experienced enough vibe to come loose at the circuit board or at the glass. If it's not too scary, then disconnect the cables and check for corrosion on the leads. That might be able to be cleaned.

Those LCDs are actually several laminated panels. The touchscreen is towards the top of the pancake stack under some glass.

Thanks for your thoughts Slurpee. On the price point I think it does come down to the dealer and how much of a margin they want to make for a parts sale. I think I read in one of the old MTC issue threads that someone was able to get one for around $1200-1300. This is unfortunately a known issue with the MTC screens becoming non-responsive and going out over time. There are many other members on this forum that have had issues. Of course 2011 is the only year without a keyed backup and the consumer was used as the Guinea pig. You would think Malibu would offer a free retro kit to help us caught in this dilemma. Just to be clear, there are parts of my screen that are still responsive (switch tab, lights tab, blower, etc) it just happened to become non-responsive in the middle where I have to input my start code.

I am going to contact the Medallion who is the manufacturer of the "Smart Displays" Monday and see if I can make any headway through them. If not I will explore other routes to repairing the screen. I have 6-7 months to do some digging and I am just glad I got the boat back into my storage building! I will relay any progress I make on repairing the screen as it may help others out there having issues.

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You know I was so put off by the use of touchscreens on a BOAT that was OUTSIDE in the SUN while EXPOSED that I have yet to look closely enough to know. Are the screens in 2011 capacitive touch or resistive touch? That is, do the screens work even when there's water on 'em or your hands or wet or do they got all screwy like our smartphones when that happens? If they work, they're resistive and those do wear out. If they don't, then they're capacitive and shouldn't wear out per se'.

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Been there, done that, have the receipt for the replacement along the way.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/53757-malibu-touch-comand-screen-partially-working/page-2

Post #12 talks about the MPN of the manual key switch override

I have heard Shannon at the following is a good source of ecconomical replacement screens

Marine Outfitters

423-336-1088

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You know I was so put off by the use of touchscreens on a BOAT that was OUTSIDE in the SUN while EXPOSED that I have yet to look closely enough to know. Are the screens in 2011 capacitive touch or resistive touch? That is, do the screens work even when there's water on 'em or your hands or wet or do they got all screwy like our smartphones when that happens? If they work, they're resistive and those do wear out. If they don't, then they're capacitive and shouldn't wear out per se'.

Mine gets screwy when wet.

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Mine gets screwy when wet.

Cap touch then. I think I'll ask around at work about touch screens developing dead spots like that. I can only think it's a loose or corroded connection somewhere.

If you replace it and get to keep the screen, then send it to me. I'll see if I can fix it for you to keep as a backup.

Yeah.... keeping my boat with good old mechanical $15 switches. :)

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Nah it's definitely just the screen that's going out. I luckily have a buddy with the same boat at our lake so i swapped his screen into mine just to get it on the trailer. Now I need to figure out where to get a replacement screen. I can't believe these things are 1,800 give or take from dealers. Going to try and do some research to see if I can have this one repaired. I'm pretty sure the screen is a one piece laminated design so I will most likely have to bite the bullet and buy a new one

This is why owning these boats post warranty is an issue. I also do not know the longevity of these electronics. At first I was in denial, but then again my boat has been an awesome one. I have a bigger concern of getting into a " Friday Boat " than anything else. The Axis option is looking awesome at this point.

  • Like 2
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I just feel the ignition part of the boat shouldn't be left to a touch screen. Give me a separate button!

This is how the newer models are done, I believe 2014 and newer have seperate ignition and power button from mtc. In 2012 and newer they added the keyed backup to all models.

2011 was kind of a mess with those mtc's. Mine was replaced under warranty, but there a lot of failures with them. Malibu really should step up and at minimum give owners a better price point to replace at there cost. Or even better offer a recall on them and replace them for everyone.

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I admit, mine has worked flawlessly (fingers crossed). But I left the screen in the sun one afternoon without realizing it, and it took a few minutes before it engaged. Things like that worry me.

It comes down to the cool factor over the practicality. I feel like these engineers love to design cool ways of selling the boat. But they never seem to think "hey in 3-4 years, this touch screen might fail, and the boat won't start at all". They rectified this in 2012, but come on!

Edited by saxton15
  • Like 2
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I admit, mine has worked flawlessly (fingers crossed). But I left the screen in the sun one afternoon without realizing it, and it took a few minutes before it engaged. Things like that worry me.

It comes down to the cool factor over the practicality. I feel like these engineers love to design cool ways of selling the boat. But they never seem to think "hey in 3-4 years, this touch screen might fail, and the boat won't start at all". They rectified this in 2012, but come on!

I think I will start throwing a boat towel over mine now that you mention it. All my boat towels are white and should help some.

Edited by Lance B. Johnson
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I bought this boat used with 170ish hours on it and I now have 320 hours. It worked flawless last summer but early into this season the screen slowly quit working. I am just glad I got through the summer and now have all winter to mess with it. There are only two wing nuts that hold the screen to a brace so removing old screen and installing a new one is super easy. Trying to find a way out of spending $1,800 on a brand new unit though. It is a good idea to throw a towel over the dash to help limit the amount of direct sun exposure to the screen.

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I admit, mine has worked flawlessly (fingers crossed). But I left the screen in the sun one afternoon without realizing it, and it took a few minutes before it engaged. Things like that worry me.

It comes down to the cool factor over the practicality. I feel like these engineers love to design cool ways of selling the boat. But they never seem to think "hey in 3-4 years, this touch screen might fail, and the boat won't start at all". They rectified this in 2012, but come on!

When mine was replaced I was told it was the earlier releases that had problems. My replacement worked fine for another 200 hours and then I sold the boat.

At very least Malibu should just consider giving people a retro keyed backup they could install. Getting stranded on the water is no joke, especially because a screen decides to take a dump.

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I always cover my dash at anchor. It definitely helps keep the screens cool. If my well designed iphone overheats, I'm sure the MTC can as well.

For those who do have a retro key back up, how do you bypass the code entry? Does turning the key do that on its own?

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Is there any reason not to disable the four digit code? I did that before ever putting the boat on the water. I mean it's not like these boats are particularly hard to steal or even tow away, right? Then as long as the "engine corner" of the screen works you can start.

Still... keyed backup = good idea.

  • Like 2
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Is there any reason not to disable the four digit code? I did that before ever putting the boat on the water. I mean it's not like these boats are particularly hard to steal or even tow away, right? Then as long as the "engine corner" of the screen works you can start.

Still... keyed backup = good idea.

Shawn good point you've brought up. I actually tried to disable the code mid summer but that is exactly where the screen started going out. So when I would try and hit the "disable" button it wouldn't work but my numbers still worked. The bottom right corner where the "engine start" words are is the only part of the screen that actually responds to touch right now coincidentally.

Edited by rjones
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Is there any reason not to disable the four digit code? I did that before ever putting the boat on the water. I mean it's not like these boats are particularly hard to steal or even tow away, right? Then as long as the "engine corner" of the screen works you can start.

Still... keyed backup = good idea.

good thought Shawn. I will do that too.

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I was thinking about disabling mine as well, but I still have 2 Youngers that like to push buttons, the code does give me a little piece of mind. Although the likelihood of them starting the boat and doing anything further is highly unlikely.... I'll just keep my towels on Bimini clips and cover the helm.

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