Livorsi Throttle replacement - 2014 23 LSV

[SwaggaDraggonCaptain]

On 6/3/2020 at 11:20 AM, SteveB said:

@juandownunder

My issue was a bit easier to diagnose as it started up just fine and ran great. Then, it had these issue of popping out of gear on its own...like loosing a prop. I am going out all afternoon today to really put some hours on it. All I have is about an hour of driving at this time. But, the throttle control seemed to fix my issue. It was the easiest work on any boat I have had. No harm in pulling the throttle out. I guess you can pull off the throttle to see if the plugs are loose. (doubtful) Or even dig into the throttle control to see if you can see any faults with it. If you are talented with a r and know electronics. I uploaded some pics I took during the change. A few are pics after I took apart the old control. 

That yellowed area is the burnt up factory diode. You have the exact same issue I did. 

[SwaggaDraggonCaptain]

On 6/1/2020 at 10:40 PM, juandownunder said:

@steveB

please keep us updated. We have a 2014 23lsv that was in storage all winter. IT started fine in storage 3 weeks ago. Now it won't even crank(just fuel priming sound and blower). We tried the starter relay but nothing. Voltage is fine(12.7). I think the throttle is tricking it to think its not in neutral. We are not getting any change in voltage when turning the key across the red/yellow or red starter side of the solenoid. All i can think of to rule out the starter is to jump the positive starter side of the solenoid to a battery to see if it cranks(as if the circuit was completed)....if it does i know its either the neutral  safety switch or the throttle and not a faulty ground.  If nothing happens then i can assume a bad ground or bad starter......i just would have imagined a click of some sort. With everybody saying the throttle is messing up in the 2014s I am worried we may have to change it ourselves. please help us. 

The boat doesn't know it's in neutral so it won't allow the starterto pull in.  I had that problem too but it was resolved when I fixed the throttle. 

[vawareagle]

I  have a 2014 23LSV that started exhibiting issues when I tried to shift out of neutral.  It started when I was slowing coming into our boat lift in neural and went to shift into reverse and the engine just revved as if it was still in neutral.  Since then, I've had it happen several times as I'm coming back to a skier/boarder.  After talking to my mechanic, he recommended I use a piercing probe to determine if voltage was getting to the appropriate wires at the transmission. I wired in probes and then ran the wires up to the cockpit where I have a meter that I turn on when running the boat to help troubleshoot the problem.  When the throttle/transmission is working, the meter reads about 10.6 volts when in gear and 0 volts when in neutral.  After several days on the water, failure to shift into gear occurred and the meter was reading 0 volts verifying it was a throttle issue.  My mechanics initial discussion with Malibu resulted in discussion about replacing the micro switches but later led to an understanding the whole throttle has to be replaced.  My mechanic suggested I could replace the unit myself and after reading the posts here, plan on doing it.  I appreciate @SwaggaDraggonCaptain and @SteveB posts as it'll help give me insight on taking apart my current throttle after I install my new throttle.  Hopes this helps others with troubleshooting their problem.

[SteveB]

Welcome to the "new Throttle Crew"! Sad to hear you must join us. This is not a fun crew to be on. 

The good news is that it is an extremely easy process. Probably the most simple fix you will ever have on your boat...just a spendy one. 

[justgary]

Why spend all of that money to buy a new assembly with the same tired diode in it when you can just change the diode.  You can put a higher current one in and fix it right.

Has anyone called Livorsi and asked them why the diodes blow?  They might be happy to hear your feedback.

[truckjunky87]

Livorsi can repair/replace the circuit board for $150 + shipping if you can go without your boat for 2-3 weeks. You just contact them and they provide an RMA service # and you ship them your whole throttle assy. I'm not sure if what they send back is better than what was originally on it. 

[SteveB]

I don't disagree about fixing it. It was summer, I wanted to get out the next day. I am also away from our main home and had no supplies. You do make a good point about contacting Livorsi. I may do that asking if they use a different diode...but that is what winter is for! Good idea though. 

I can assure you I will fix my old one as a back up or for an ebay sale! 

[YNautSki]

Sorry to say I have to join the throttle crew too. I was out wake surfing Saturday. As we were switching riders I shut the engine off. Upon restart I put the throttle in gear and nothing but revs. No forward motion. Reverse worked fine. Checked to see I wasn’t in neutral bypass. Nope.  Powered the boat off all the way to battery shutoff. No luck.  Called my sheriff friend for an embarrassing tow in. Called my dealer and talked to my mechanic friend. After checking the usual suspects, he had me switch the plugs on the trans. Start the engine and put the throttle in reverse. Reverse position now works as forward.  Weird driving that way but it got me from my houseboat to the launch ramp. Never new how much you depend on reverse until you don’t have it.  My mechanic said it was the Livorsi unit. My dealer ordered another on Saturday. Called Malibu on Monday. Found out that the last one in stock went to someone else. New shipment expected this Friday. Hoping for overnight shipping. Malibu says they will work with me and my dealer to get it to me ASAP. Searched the TMC site. Found I wasn’t the only victim. This throttle unit was used in most, if not all, Malibu’s from 2015 to 2019 according to Adam in Malibu tech support.  No wonder they were out of stock. This has to be embarrassing for Livorsi. On their website for this throttle they say they use “military grade” components for reliability. At this point I would have to disagree. BTW the swap out looks to be very easy as previously noted. One set screw for the cover plate. 4 screws for the throttle housing. One connector to unplug. Straight forward replacement. I’m under warranty so I don’t plan to disassemble to find the ultimate failure point. I have a 2019 VTX with 111 hours so far. 
I have been having some issues with speed control and related issues in the last three weeks and was blaming the Windows Embedded OS. Now I’m not so sure that the throttle control unit wasn’t the culprit. We’ll see after the throttle is replaced. 

[justgary]

I'm starting to wonder if this is really an issue with Livorsi or cruddy connections in the harness.  The diode will only blow if the current is too high.  Something is causing the resistance to change, so I'm going to blame a bad connector.  People like to pretend that everything should be no maintenance, but with the amount of technology on boats these days, I wonder if harness cleaning shouldn't be an annual item on the dewinterizing checklist.

[Nick17yz]

 I have the same problem.  Been a gremlin in my starting for 3 years. Last weekend at river it was 5 min almost to finally start. It had a clicking in throttle assembly.  I pulled it off today and have the exact same burn on that diod. Called livorsi and they are sending me rma. I need it back in 11 days. Gonna try to overnight to them and pay overnight back. 

[Nick17yz]

On 7/27/2020 at 2:10 PM, SteveB said:

I don't disagree about fixing it. It was summer, I wanted to get out the next day. I am also away from our main home and had no supplies. You do make a good point about contacting Livorsi. I may do that asking if they use a different diode...but that is what winter is for! Good idea though. 

I can assure you I will fix my old one as a back up or for an ebay sale! 

theres one on ebay now for 650. Was tempted to buy it, but mine started acting up after 3 years. Sounds like others had issues too.

Im down to try to fix it if its just the diod. Mine is more burnt then guy who posted pic. 

[Surf750]

I'm another one in the throttle club.  New to us - LSV 2014.  What a drag. It would seem this is a faulty design and Malibu or Livorsi should be repairing diode at no charge.  Any lawyers in this club?

[Nick17yz]

I just got email from Fred at livorsi. 150$ circuit board replaced. Shipped back 2nd day air. Fred was super helpful. Hope it lasts longer than 3 years now. 

[Texan32]

its amazing how one $.05 diode can cause such a potentially hazardous condition.  Back feeding voltage in a circuit board is never good and it doesn't surprise me that its doing all the things indicated in this thread. $150 should get you a new board with an improved design.  As someone indicated, i suspect they underestimated the current of the system.  Brand new, it may have only pulled a few mW of power, but as electronics age, the certainly can begin to consume more amperage (resulting in overloaded components).

@SwaggaDraggonCaptain awesome job finding that solution!  Many people are gun-shy when ti comes to repairing circuit boards.  But detailed info like you gave inspires confidence in others to follow suite. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Texan32

[Nick17yz]

Got my throttle back. 3 min install and boat starts like a champ. So happy with Fred at livorsi.  Sure im not happy about the failure, but a 150$ fix is great with me. Thanks to this forum for leading me in right direction and making install super easy. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Nick17yz

[justgary]

10 hours ago, Nick17yz said:

Got my throttle back. 3 min install and boat starts like a champ. So happy with Fred at livorsi.  Sure im not happy about the failure, but a 150$ fix is great with me. Thanks to this forum for leading me in right direction and making install super easy. 

You didn't happen to ask him why the diodes blow, did you?  I can't think of anything in the circuit that would age enough to change the current except for poor connections.  If this can be prevented by five minutes of connector inspection and cleaning, it would sure be nice to know.

[mthendrickson]

So I have a 2014 vlx with what sounds like this throttle problem.  Worked when stored for winter. All systems power, 12.2 volts. Nothing when try to start (no click, nothing).  
 

Thing is my throttle had not been acting up previously, although it did seem pretty touchy when decelerating (just a little off throttle backed of a lot of speed sometimes, but i always attributed it to drive by wire ). 

my throttle is ZF brand which is different from pics in this thread.  Any advice to trace burn diode on this one?   Anything else to test before I drop big bucks for the replacement (now they are replacing with different brand).  
 

thanks 

[Ballay]

Well add one more to the list. This is on my 2015 23LSV. All throttle portions work except for the neutral push button. It does not turn the light on and does not put the transmission in Neutral. A call to Livorsi says send it in for repair. The board is 205$. They can sell a Livorsi branded one for 810$. Mine has 2 pig tails going to a single connector. 
 

Has anyone had this issue? No burnt diode seen on the board.  Any one with schematics? 

[Rgrac]

Thought I had the same problem with neutral safety switch.  The neutral safety button was not working and ignition was completely dead.  Sent throttle to Livorsi and they did the repair for $230 including shipping.  Blue light now works when I push the neutral button, but unfortunately the ignition was still dead.  I had already checked all the fuses, tested relays, checked grounds, unplugged all the connectors I could find under dash and back in the engine bay with no luck.  I had power in both displays in the dash and everything appeared to be working with the exception of the push button start and the key start (completely dead with no sound).   I had power at the starter and engine would kick over just fine when jumping the starter.  Last attempt to find the problem was to look at the wire connectors one last time.  Traced the yellow red wire from key start ignition back to the engine all the way to the connector going into the fuse/relay box (blue plug).  Pulled the blue connector and noticed that one of the wires with female connection had maybe backed out a bit.  Pushed the wire in and it moved slightly.  That was problem, engine fired right up.  As someone said to me during my troubleshooting, it's probably something really stupid.  Really appreciate all the posts on this forum that helped me with the diagnosis, many posts I came across made mention to the connectors.

 

 

[RyanB]

Has anyone had the ZF version of these rebuilt?  Mine failed this summer.  If rebuild was $200, I’d pay it to have a spare.

[oldjeep]

15 minutes ago, RyanB said:

Has anyone had the ZF version of these rebuilt?  Mine failed this summer.  If rebuild was $200, I’d pay it to have a spare.

I've fixed a couple of them, and have some spare parts laying around.  They are pretty simple.  What is wrong with yours?

[RyanB]

5 hours ago, oldjeep said:

I've fixed a couple of them, and have some spare parts laying around.  They are pretty simple.  What is wrong with yours?

Similar symptoms as others here were complaining about. The boat would drop out of gear randomly. New throttle fixed the problem. 
 

I haven’t taken anything apart to diagnose what is broken in it. 

[oldjeep]

53 minutes ago, RyanB said:

Similar symptoms as others here were complaining about. The boat would drop out of gear randomly. New throttle fixed the problem. 
 

I haven’t taken anything apart to diagnose what is broken in it. 

The zf has 3 micro switches in it that determine fwd, rev, neutral.

[RyanB]

2 hours ago, oldjeep said:

The zf has 3 micro switches in it that determine fwd, rev, neutral.

It would shift out of forward. But would rev but neither forward or reverse would engage until you tried to shift several times. 
 

And the neutral button never worked. But I never really cared about that. 

[oldjeep]

8 minutes ago, RyanB said:

It would shift out of forward. But would rev but neither forward or reverse would engage until you tried to shift several times. 
 

And the neutral button never worked. But I never really cared about that. 

Neutral button never worked because there wasn't one.

I have some pictures somewhere of how the whole thing goes together, will dig them.out tomorrow.

Edited October 7, 2023 by oldjeep