Troubleshooting

An estimated 95% of issues with the EIM systems are related to failures of the OEM keypads. Symptoms are most commonly individual buttons stop working. Next most common are the indicators stop illuminating. In some cases the keypads can send out “ghost” commands. Lights can turn on or off by themselves. Buttons can get stuck on such as the engine hatch lift. Other times the communication circuitry can fail, or the entire power supply where the entire keypad no longer responds at all.

Keypads typically start to fail with intermittent operation. This means it can work one day, and the next day it does not work. Sometimes pushing on various parts of the keypad face can make it temporarily work better or worse. Simply unbolting it can change its behavior. Putting pressure on the rear connector or connector wires bends the internal PCB and can either make it work better or worse.

• Turn battery power off and back on. This clears any past error conditions with the communication.
• On power up, both keypads should blink all indicator lights on for less than one second.
• If you do not see any lights check for +12V on the keypad connectors at the red and black wires. If no +12V check that the front EIM has power and the circuit breaker is not tripped. If still no +12V on the starboard side, try bypassing the generator switching interface board.
• Turn battery power back off.
• Connect only one keypad either on the port or starboard side. This ensures that the other potential failed keypad is not dragging down the entire communication bus.
• Turn power on. Ensure the indicators blink on again on power up.
• Test the keypad by pushing down on buttons and listening to the relays in the EIM click on and off. Some relays are quieter or louder than others. It is important to have a quiet environment. A second person is likely needed to put their ear near the EIM while another person pushes the keypad buttons. If the internal relays inside the EIM can be heard clicking this indicates the keypad communicated those button pushes to the EIM. In this case, the EIM is properly getting the commands from the keypads and the issue may be with a downstream component connected to the EIM (burnt out lights, windlass issues, etc). If no clicks are heard, the issue is most likely the keypad.

If only one keypad appears to not have power and your boat has the generator option, please try the generator switching panel bypass procedure. This generator switching board can fail and can prevent +12V from going to the starboard keypad. This is uncommon.

If both keypads do not appear to have power first check that the FRONT EIM has power coming into the EIM terminals on the side of the case. Open the access door under the helm and check if power is present on the POSITIVE and NEGATIVE terminals going into the EIM.
Next check that to ensure no breakers on the EIM are tripped. Push all rubber buttons down to ensure all breakers are not tripped. The breaker on the FRONT EIM labeled “KEYPAD 5A” controls the power to both the port and starboard keypads.


Then check +12V on the keypad connector. Disconnect the connector from the keypad and check +12V voltage on pins 1 (RED) and pins 2 (BLACK). If there is +12V on PINS 1 and 2 of the keypad connector then the keypad is likely dead.

The windlass is probably the most complicated device the EIM controls. The first thing to do is check if the EIM thinks the windlass solenoid that controls power to the windlass control box is on. The indicator on top of the anchor/windlass button shsows the output of the windlass latching solenoid power. The EIMs measure the voltage output of this solenoid and sends this to the keypad which will illuminate the indicator on top of the windlass solenoid button. If the indicator is always on this is usually not a symptom of a failing keypad or EIM, but a failed windlass solenoid stuck in the on position. If the indicator is always off it can either be the solenoid is stuck off or that the keypads are not sending correct commands to turn on the solenoid.

The solenoid is considered a latching solenoid because it has internal magnets which hold the solenoid in the last command position. We see a lot of these that can longer switch on and off. These are usually INTELLITEC 0100055000 solenoids (please verify your part number). Replacements can be purchased here.


There are a few steps to debug this.
1. Listen for the windlass solenoid. Open the engine hatch. The solenoid will produce a loud clunk when it is switched on or off.
2. Check the incoming +12V power to the solenoid shown as BAT_IN on the wiring diagram.
2. Check the output of the solenoid with a volt meter at SOL_OUT shown on the wiring diagram. Note there are two wires going out of the solenoid. The thick 2 AWG wire goes to the windlass controller. The thinner wire goes to the AFT EIM to monitor the output voltage of the solenoid. When the windlass solenoid button is pressed on the keypad the SOL_OUT should toggle between +12V and 0V. The solenoid should also make a loud audible “clunk” when engaged or disengaged.
3. Check the input control pins of the solenoid I and S with a volt meter. These input pins are only activated momentarily while the windlass enable button is pressed. The input pins will alternate between the two inputs every button press. See signal diagram below. Note the EIM MUST see SOL_OUT to output I and S. If the SOL_OUT is not +12V, the EIM will not output I and S control signals.

Windlass Wiring Diagram


Windlass Signaling Diagram

One common issue for the hatch not moving up or down is simply the rear cockpit door is closed. The cockpit door must be in the full OPEN position to allow the hatch motor to run up or down. This is to ensure that when the hatch moves, it does not interfere with the door and rip the door and hinges out of the fiberglass. There is a magnetic sensor inside the fiberglass that looks at a magnet mounted inside the door. Note there may be additional doors on your boat that must be fully closed for the interlock relay to allow the hatch motor to start.

If your boat has a generator, the EIM system has one additional component installed which is the generator interface switching board.


The purpose of this board is to convert the BLOWER rocker switch in the cabin control panel (next to generator control panel) to the EIM communication system so that it can control the EIM circuit to turn on/off the blower. Therefore both the blower button on the helm keypads can operate the bilge blowers, as well as the rocker switch in the cabin. This panel can cause two issues (although are fairly uncommon, ~3% of issues).
1. No power to the starboard keypad.
2. Drag down the entire communication bus causing both port and starboard keypads to not communicate with EIM.

If you are experiencing either no power to starboard keypad, or both keypads do not work at all, you can use this procedure to bypass this panel and test if it solves the issue. First, see the default wiring with generator installed.


Next see the bypass wiring where you plug the EIM power/communication connector directly into the starboard keypad, bypassing the generator switching interface board.


Test the operation of both keypads. If the issue remains, the issue likely remains the keypads. If the issue is fixed, please contact me for information on ordering a replacement generator interface switching board.

The EIMs are generally reliable and usually not at fault. However, internal electronic failures can occur. You can ship the EIM for free testing. As long as we can re-create the failure on the bench, we have repaired all EIMs to date. If the issue is power related on the boat such as bad +12V or grounds, the EIM will test OK on our testbench and still not work correctly in the boat. These issues are rare but can be hard to find. We still recommend testing known good working keypads first as they tend to solve the vast majority of issues. If the issue still remains then we can help diagnose further. We are confident the keypads solve the majority of issues, so in case they do not, we offer full refunds with exception of shipping.

Contact me for additional troubleshooting. After hearing the symptoms you are experiencing and the troubleshooting steps you have already taken, I am glad to help. Contact me at chris@digitalmarineproducts.com or use the contact form to get in touch.