Official AXIUS Thread

I think SR uses a sensor on the transom door to enable the hatch raising system, at least on our boat this is the case. If the door is not closed the hatch will not raise.

Mike


You are correct Mike. We use magnets that are installed in the deck and the transom door, when they make contact (door closed) it allows the current to flow thru the magnet in the deck ( most models). This is also true for the entertainment center (E/C) door and the rumble seat on the 310,330 and 350.

Chelepop
 
You are correct Mike. We use magnets that are installed in the deck and the transom door, when they make contact (door closed) it allows the current to flow thru the magnet in the deck ( most models). This is also true for the entertainment center (E/C) door and the rumble seat on the 310,330 and 350.

Chelepop

Boy, am I surprised....I have AXIUS and there are NO CONTACTS what-so-ever on my transom door. I checked it just before we winterized the boat in late November. ?????

I left the transom door open and then proceeded to open the engine room hatch (via the switch on the dash). That, to me, indicates the magnetic switches aren't there. Am I missing something??

Maybe this is because they haven't implemented SKYHOOK yet.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the posting. Just took delivery of our new 2008 310da with Axius. Due for the upgrade in March 2009. We love the boat and look forward to summer and more info on this site.
 
Hello to all on the Axius thread. I just picked up a 2008 330 with Axius and am very interested in this topic.

We have been out only 4 times on the Chesapeake Bay and have used Axius to dock and drive the boat. We are also experiencing several issues with the system. The technicians updated the software and reset the computer two weeks ago and we thought that would fix the issues but again Saturday it was acting up. It was very windy on the bay and would have been nice to dock with the system but did not trust it.

Our boat moves to starboard just fine but will not move to port - it starts a slow spin - an oval type of move with the bow "pulling" around first. You really need to play with the joystick and watch the movement of the boat up next to a fixed point of land or dock to make sure the boat is moving in the correct way. The technicians have worked on it 2 times already and they are scheduled to get back to it this week. They said they will replace the joystick this time. They are "sure" the computer was set up correctly.

Also, we can raise and lower the engine hatch with the transom door open.

Appreciate any information other Axius owners can provide. Here are a few questions.

1. Do you get better performance while driving the boat with Axius? Fuel burn and speed? I know what the brochure says.

2. The vessel view feature is buggy. The screen displays some overlays with error data while at the same time trying to display the engine performance data. Kind of like double screens competing for the screen space. Anyone else have this problem?

3. I will be moving my boat to Columbia Island later this summer. Any Axius tech that you could recommend? I have a strange feeling that more updates will be coming for the system.

Thanks
Steve
 
Axius problems...

We have an '09 310 with Axius and are finding too many problems for my comfort. On a few occasions the entire dash gauges + Vessel View have stopped functioning while underway. Last weekend the "Engine Guard" alarm activated and was kind enough to shut down the steering in the middle of docking. I was able to reach my dealer via cell and he talked me through a 'system reset' which got things going again (though it took a bit for my heart to resume normal rhythm). The service manager got a Merc rep to schedule a house call (dock call?). The Skyhook is not-yet installed but due to be done in the next week or so.

I'm curious to hear anyone else's experience with this exciting piece of technological wonder :smt013...
 
I hope this post helps the many Axius boaters out there. Axius AND Vesselview and 100% software driven. VesselView runs on Windows CE (yuck). Like any software, updates are needed regularly for both systems. After my last update in Jan '10, the systems work perfect right down to autopilot with Garmin GPSMAP 4210.

This week i received a joystick and GPS hardware update. The new joystick is CHROME!!! No more black and wood panel. This resolved an occasional "DTS Error - Joystick" I was recieving.

I did notice that the dealers will NOT volunteer software/hardware updates. You MUST call Merc direct with your errors. The dealer will only do "resets" as described above - which are total BS. To reset yourself, turn batteries off for 10 seconds. It does nothing to fix isues.

Please post back after your update, would like to hear results!
 
I hope this post helps the many Axius boaters out there. Axius AND Vesselview and 100% software driven. VesselView runs on Windows CE (yuck). Like any software, updates are needed regularly for both systems. After my last update in Jan '10, the systems work perfect right down to autopilot with Garmin GPSMAP 4210.

This week i received a joystick and GPS hardware update. The new joystick is CHROME!!! No more black and wood panel. This resolved an occasional "DTS Error - Joystick" I was recieving.

I did notice that the dealers will NOT volunteer software/hardware updates. You MUST call Merc direct with your errors. The dealer will only do "resets" as described above - which are total BS. To reset yourself, turn batteries off for 10 seconds. It does nothing to fix isues.

Please post back after your update, would like to hear results!

I have been sitting in the background watching for "real-world" results from Axius owners since I would like to get in to a 07-09 330 or 310DA where Axius was available on the 08 and 09 models. So far I am a little concerned with all the issues I hear about.

Issues are typical when new technology hits the market. I am suprised though that you need to be so persistient about getting all these software and hardware upgrades. Especially since this was Standard on many 09+ cruisers, I would think they would want to make sure everything was up to date for their customers.

Who is paying for all these software and hardware updates? Is there a separate warranty for Axius? Can you buy software support for it without having an extended warranty on the whole power plant? How about after they will warranty the engines? What do you do when this Axius platform is out of support? I really wonder if they have thought of the long term support and upgrade capabilities?

I also think it was a poor choice to design Vessel View around Windows CE. Why not use an open source OS for this?
 
I posted last year when I took delivery of my 2008 310DA and have now watched the posting with interest as I have gone through numerous issues with my AXIUS, including the joystick completely going out. It started with the auto pilot/auto heading not working then the joystick went out. They replaced the joystick and antenna which worked and the autoheading started working. Then Mercury sent two techs down who spent 8 hours programming. Still no autopilot? Everything else appears to work.....nice chrome joystick. Was also sold boat with Skyhook, now dealer is trying to tell me it was an option. I will stand my ground!
 
Autopilot requires a NMEA0183 connection between your chartplotter and VesselView. It is not hooked up by default. I had to order the VesselView NMEA0183 cable from Merc. I was lucky that I put my own chartplotter in and selected Garmin. It works great with turns from waypoint to waypoint without needing any user confirmation.
 
Does anyone know how to control the duration of the pop ups on vessel view. While the maual says go to preferences, I only see a time setting for trim pop ups, not any other axius mode.

Also under prefences, you can select a check mark or a heart next to any screen setting. Can someone shed light on the purpose of this.
 
Jeokeefe, What kind of errors were you getting on the Axius? We had an engine overheat because a blown cooling hose twice and the whole system started poping alarms. We lost steering in the PP canal,reduced throttle all sorts of stuff!!!! How did you get a new Joystick and how do you download updated software?
Thanks, Bugsy
 
Since having my issues with the Axius system, my marina's mechanic sat down and gave me a couple of pointers! The most important and this might be for the first series only, Axius wants to see starboard battery then port battery on then starboard engine and port engine switch on!!!! When you shut down its the reverse!!!
It doesn't matter which engine you you start first it's about the "Keying" on!
Starboard should be the first and the last that gets turned on and off! Like all new tech. it's about getting used to it. I've got a couple of years experience on small boats to say the least but none with a joystick. OJT,OJT.....OJT!
 
Re: Axius problems...

Starcaster5,

Same thing happened to me - dealer said the only way to reset was to unhook power to the SmartCraft from the batteries - SmartCraft pwer does not run through a 'breaker' but comes direct from the battery. Is this the only way to reset the SmartCraft ?

Thanks in advance,

Joe
 
Bugsy24,

Our dealer told us we needed to start the starboard engine first and shutdown port first. He didn't say key turn !! And this was for the SmartCraft. I got the Skyhook turned on last week and this came with software upgrades etc. Everything worked great until we were heading home - Smartcraft displayed the following message:

"A native exception has occured in VVEmbedded.exe. Select quit and restart this program or select Details for more information".

Of course, the system was frozen so we couldn't select anything, all the guages were out (analog and digital). However, after around three minutes, it seemed the system timed out and it rebooted itself.

I have not been able to find any detailed documentation on Axios, Skyhook - anybody any ideas on where to look ?

Thanks,

Joe


Since having my issues with the Axius system, my marina's mechanic sat down and gave me a couple of pointers! The most important and this might be for the first series only, Axius wants to see starboard battery then port battery on then starboard engine and port engine switch on!!!! When you shut down its the reverse!!!
It doesn't matter which engine you you start first it's about the "Keying" on!
Starboard should be the first and the last that gets turned on and off! Like all new tech. it's about getting used to it. I've got a couple of years experience on small boats to say the least but none with a joystick. OJT,OJT.....OJT!
 
Bugsy24, When i 1st got the boat, vessleview would freeze, Axius wouldnt engage. Mercruise has "Axius Field People" that run to authorized service centers and upgrade the VessleView software and the Axius software. You cannot do this yourself unfortunatly. I found my MarineMax dealer reluctant to have this done so I called Mercruise myself. They immediately agreed to dispatch a tech to do the upgrade.

2nd time around, the joystick would just stop working totally. I again called Mercruise direct and they sent out a new joystick (all chrome) and a updated GPS unit for the roof. This solved that problem.
 
Well, the season's over and am ready to pull the boat! The mechanics finaly fixed my Axius system and my Engine cooling hose that blew off twice! The Axius fix was to replace all 4 Batteries in the engine compartment. Merc. recommended that the old batteries didn't have "enough Amps." for the system! Transited the PP canal 10 times after the fix and thank god never once did I lose the system!!!!
 
Anyone have picture of the Axius servo installation?
And what about the steering column? In the system architecture diagram it states "electronic steering column". Is it just electronic connected. Or hydraulic conected, with electronic position feed?
 
Its 100% fly-by-wire. the steering wheel is attached to an electric motor which feeds steering position electronically to the computer. No hydraulics. I'm an not certain that Axius is retro-fit option.
 
Thx
Not retrofit yet, but they looking in to put a kit on the marked in 2012 according to my local dealer.
And the "879270095_AxiusBro_1009_1.pdf" states partnr for kits. So I hope to see a retrofit soon.

I still like to see picture of the Axius servo installation, to see if its room enough in my boat. If not I want to install hydraulic steering, and a bow thruster now.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,944
Messages
1,422,714
Members
60,927
Latest member
Jaguar65
Back
Top