Peter Laursen

Update.... I got the replacement membrane panel yesterday and mounted it today. The old one was indeed the culprit. As it turns out, I just learned, the the other membrane panel was replaced a couple of months ago by the seller of the boat (done by a prof boat electrician). Hmmm, so both panels failed within a relatively short period of time. Just as a service info to EmpirBUS-owners - the new panel came with a foam "gasket" and clear instructions, that there MUST be drilled two holes to allow for ventilation and prevention of condensation. See attached. As theese holes are not there in the original installation, it may og may not give a hint as to the course of failure. I don't know. I'll drill the holes and get on with it 🙂 Kind regards and thanks for input!

He he - thanks for the perspective. Confidence in reliability slowly growing! I do get canbus and computers etc. No problem. But I can't fix it with my toolbox and standard parts, if it fails. And certainly my boating partner can't. So I need it to function in it's core - I will take care of corrosion, proper connections and general maintenance 🙂

Tnx for the clear explanation. Good thing, I can rule the main unit out for now. I'm awaiting answer from Sweden - ready for the price tag. But price is one thing.... I think I need to consider some sort of backup / override function. Maybe a small board with premounted fuses and relays which could be used to secure navigational lights etc in case of failure....

Wonky.... good word! Just been to the boat prior to reading your message. I disconnected and reconnected the four wires on both panels. No corrosion, and they were properly mounted. The boat is in general in pristine shape being kept inside during the winter and with a full boat cover on it during the summer in a fresh water lake (all this will change now in Scandinavia :-)). So I don't expect to find moisture related problems etc. I will check termination on the bus, and I will log on to the system and see what I can find. Maybe there is some kind of error log. I have the passwords from the boat yard to the configuration file. The panel acted in a new way when testing today: At some point AFTER turning the on/off key at the chart table to OFF (which is connected to port 1 on the control unit), a green light in one of the buttons on the panel kept glowing. Shortly after, the background illumination came on (still with the main on/off key in OFF position). The was a distinct humming sound from the panel which went away, when I managed to turn it of again. Strange.... I would expect the panel to get its power from the main unit. So maybe the main unit is part of the problem... Thanks for your inputs so far - much appreciated!

Hi Tony, Although I can certainly se the pros of a digitally switched system I wonder if I should consider "going old school". But that is also a rather big project on a boat, where the EmpirBUS is already installed. But good to hear, that Nick hasn't encountered more hardware errors.....

Hi Nick, Thank you for taking time to answer. Good to hear, you haven't encountered further problems. Here is a link to a video showing the panel "acting with a mind of it's own"..... https://www.dropbox.com/s/wvd375rkcb3tyzv/20220820_200334.mp4?dl=0 EmpirBus support in Sweden says, it's classic sign of a panel in need of replacement. On a non professional level I know my way around electric installations etc. But I don't know enough about electronics to try and fix an error like this. If I knew, I only needed to replace a capacitor or the like -- no problem. But which one ha ha 🙂

Having Googled my day away in search of advice on Empirbus CLC I find myself as new member of the forum on Canalworld.net. I hope, you will bear with me, even though my boat has a mast and normally navigates Danish waters - and not canals... As far as I can tell, you have had the Empirbus CLC on your narrowboat for 10 + years? I just bought at boat (build 2009) with Empirebus CLC installed. One of the two membrane panels is failing. At a quoted price of EUR 1.000 (!) and no means of bypassing generally upon systems failure, as far as I can tell, I'm considering removing all of it and rewire the boat, if age is about to become a problem for the system. EUR 1000 would take me a fair bit 🙂. But I was wondering, what your experience with 10+ years of ownership is - and am I being to dramatic? Kind regards Peter