2008 MC Ballast Upgrades....Anyone done one yet?

[skeeler]

Hey guys! I was planning on starting the ballast upgrade for our '08 X-Star over the weekend, and was wondering if anyone has done a Fly High System or similar upgrade to an '08. I was curious if it operates just like the '07's with the timers and so on. The only reason I ask, is I just got done reading the owner's manual and didn't really realize how involved the Vdig gauge was. (I never really played around with the gauge before.) Does it have any effect on the gauge or operation when filling the additional ballast? I wasn't sure if the gauge had any electronic bearing on the filling of the ballast or if it was just for informational purposes. If any of you have any tips or things to look out for, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

[CottagerGreg]

Any advise would be great, I am going to be the same situation very soon.

[Eagle Lake Rebel]

From what I've seen and read the stock timers do not work well with the Fly High system no matter how long the timers are set to run.

[1boarder]

the brains are in the timers. the options are upgrade to 20 min jabsco timers (some 2008s may have them). I have three and I plan on putting one in tomorrow and trying it tomorrow afternoon. The other option I am afraid I should of went with is the 2006 system that is a simple on/off relay. I have not seen this directly but that is how I understand it from others. When the switch is activated there is a signal sent to the vdig which pulls up the ballast page. I think that is all the vdig plays into it. four wires go from the switch to the timers and one to the vdig. This is a common wire for all three switches and both on and off.

I assume you have seen a procedure for reprogramming timers? If not, I can direct you to a procedure.

[Kyboater]

VDIG knows when the ballast switches are turned on and it only reads the water level in the tanks. It doesn't have any other connection with the ballast system. You will need the extended timers though to make the system work. Stock timers won't provide quite enough fill time for the additional ballast. It's works the same as 07.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by Kyboater

VDIG knows when the ballast switches are turned on and it only reads the water level in the tanks. It doesn't have any other connection with the ballast system. You will need the extended timers though to make the system work. Stock timers won't provide quite enough fill time for the additional ballast. It's works the same as 07.

.
.
I figured it was like the '07's. When you say "extended timers", do you mean going through the reprograming process, or physically putting in new timers? If so, where do I find those? Thanks for the info so far.

[Holman J.B.F]

i removed the time relais to see if there was a way to overrule the timers,nothing worked.the best i got was 2x 6 minutes,letting the pump suck air after one fill by disconnecting the tank hose resets the timer.
But i couldn,t do the same trick with emptying.

My simpelest solution was installing 2 extra pumps and 2 extra swiches.
i,m not finished yet but here are some pics

http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/2.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/3.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/4.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/5.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/6.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/7.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/8.jpg
http://members.chello.nl/j.holman/9.jpg

[1boarder]

I tried out the 20 minute jabsco timers today and they worked just fine. My boat was made in November and it come with one 20 min and two of the 2007 6 minute timers.They are roughly $60-80 each from the dealer and finally, I am happy with the solution. They come complete with wiring and only require two splices. The four signal wires come with pins for the plug that you have to put into the plug. I was scared I would have to solder or crimp 8 wires, but it was an easy change.

On another note, the stock ballast for the x2 is rediculous The back two filled in 2 minutes for a total weight of 170 lbs (10 gpm) each and the front was roughly 2.5 minutes so roughly 200 lbs for a total of maybe 600 lbs. I guess the rumor of 1000 lbs for the x2 was just that. The fly high system filled up in 6 minutes which makes sense to the weight they advertise (455). Anyway, 2200 lbs should be enough.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by 1boarder

I tried out the 20 minute jabsco timers today and they worked just fine. My boat was made in November and it come with one 20 min and two of the 2007 6 minute timers.They are roughly $60-80 each from the dealer and finally, I am happy with the solution. They come complete with wiring and only require two splices. The four signal wires come with pins for the plug that you have to put into the plug. I was scared I would have to solder or crimp 8 wires, but it was an easy change.

On another note, the stock ballast for the x2 is rediculous The back two filled in 2 minutes for a total weight of 170 lbs (10 gpm) each and the front was roughly 2.5 minutes so roughly 200 lbs for a total of maybe 600 lbs. I guess the rumor of 1000 lbs for the x2 was just that. The fly high system filled up in 6 minutes which makes sense to the weight they advertise (455). Anyway, 2200 lbs should be enough.

.
.
Never heard of just swapping out a "timer" before. Do you have any pictures or part number? That seems like an easy solution, thanks.
.
FYI After posting this comment, I did a google search and found another thread on a site that stated this was the timer I was looking for, a "Jabsco 558031 control system", but I couldn't find that part anywhere on the web????

[1boarder]

I bought mine from the dealer. He called MC and found the MC part number is 50043003.

The jabsco part number you listed is the one fly high gave me when I called. I also tried to search it, but found nothing.