Hi SR owners,I have a 2009 310...

[Mel-O-Di]

Hi SR owners,

I have a 2009 310 Sundancer.

My joy stick is not functioning. Vessel View says it’s no available. Canceled alarm history and it still won’t work.

Any suggestions?

[Motorvader]

I have no experience with Mercruiser joysticks (my boat is old school Teleflex throttle and shift cables). However, I do have quite a bit of experience with their throttle and shift actuators and their associated electronic control systems that are connected to the joystick. I worked for one of Mercury Marine's supplier's on this project and can say the joystick is not a DIY service item - this is a very complex system. Your Mercruiser tech will need to run computer diagnostics and probe around with a multimeter to diagnose the problem. Trying to diagnose or repair it yourself could cause significant damage. The joystick it self is likely not the problem. Might be a network communications problem.

[Motorvader]

Just to clarify, the joystick is essentially a set of position encoders that communicate x-y-z position information to the control system. I'm not certain what communication interface is used between joystick and electronic control system. I suspect it's something proprietary since N2K would be too slow.

[LLC]

I had a 2010 450 Sundancer with Zeus pods tied to Cummins diesel engines. Early on, I would encounter your issue with the joy stick. If I shut everything down (including the batteries) and restarted everything, it would often reboot properly.

But maybe 3 or 4 years into ownership aftet still having your issue intermittently, the dealer found there was a software upgrade available. Once that was installed I never had an issue through 2020 when I sold the boat. Might be worth a chat with your dealer.

[Seabuz]

I have a 2008 with the axis system. LLC is correct try shutting everything off, then let it reboot. Are you getting a TVM fault? Maybe the the little screens in the hydraulic steering in the back of the engine are getting clogged. If they get clogged the system senses not enough fluid passing and shuts the system down. A good mercruizer mechanic can hook up the computer to check the codes and replace the screens. I had it done two years ago.

[Assertive]

I had to replace the Axius CAN Keypad, Mercury Part Number 8M0047830

[lance]

Make sure you always turn the starboard key first when starting the motors the port. When shutting down port first then starboard. The starboard motor is the computer/ brain. Otherwise it could be the the joystick harness

[cbruck]

My boat is 12 years old and the first joystick was supposed to be replaced under warranty. It wasn't so I had to replace it 5 years ago. It threw off all kinds of alarms. Marinemax diagnosed it and replacing it with the new one cured everything.
Second one lasted until last year and I just replaced it again. The last unit wasn't sealed well and basically froze up as water corroded the interior. They run around $2500 new.

[SLB]

Check your battery voltage, the joysticks are very voltage sensitive. Even a slight voltage drop will affect their operations.