Connecting Yamaha 250 SHO to Humminbird Helix for engine data?

[CAdamsVT]

Complete newby to this process. Owned an old carbuerated Vmax 150 previously and always relied on pin-style dash guages for water pressure etc. Got a 250 SHO on my new Ranger z520c last fall and would like to have more information in front of me than what is provided by the basic dash gauges. I've read mixed reports about what the best way to connect the motor to the Humminbird unit is, and whether or not its worth the investment . . .some say the Humminbird units don't provide much additional data. Looking for some help! Thanks!

[jethro1]

Lowrance 0120-37 cable. Connects to the motor at one end and to your NMEA 2000 network at the other end. The NMEA 2000 network will be connected to your Hummingbird Helix.

However, from a brief look at the Helix manuals it does not appear that this model has NMEA 2000 capability.

[Brianmoore25]

Have to get the Humminbird nema converter. It converts the nema to Humminbird Ethernet. It will plug into the lowrance nema backbone.

[Pipe Rat]

If you convert the signal to the Ethernet hub can you see the data on all networked units?

I know this sounds like a dumb question but I have 4 ONIX units that are nmea ready and was told I had to run a nmea drop to each unit if I wanted to be able to see info on all screens. If I can just buy the ethernet converter and hook to the ethernet hub and see the info on all units that would be preferred.

[Rich Z]

I don't get it. Don't you guys have gauges on your boats that display all the necessary data?

[jethro1]

I don't get it. Don't you guys have gauges on your boats that display all the necessary data?

It is only a matter of time until helmets are available with a head up display in them so that all information in the world, down to the 1 psi, 1 volt, 1 ohm level, can be seen at all times in the operators view.

Or maybe all of the engine and boat data can be displayed wirelessly on a smart phone, in which case boat owners will be driving at 70/80 knots with their heads down looking at the smart phone. I see it all of the time now out on the street.

[J Risco]

I don't get it. Don't you guys have gauges on your boats that display all the necessary data?

Rich I networked my SHO with my Lowrance for a couple reasons:

1) More accurate RPM
2) Engine TEMP
3) Oil Pressure

Those were the main reasons and very much worth doing, and since I already had NMEA for Point 1 it was cheap to add the Engine Data. I also gained a couple other things I dont have gauges for, fuel econ is very nice to look at while running and setting up and being able to quickly check engine hours helps me stay on top of maintenance more easily.

[jethro1]

I don't get it. Don't you guys have gauges on your boats that display all the necessary data?

Rich, I tried responding to a PM you sent to me, in response to a PM sent to you, but it says you can't receive any more PM's until you clear some space.

Jeff

[skennedy]

I have a helix 10 and a 250 sho linked all I could get was rpms and engine temp . Was relay hoping for mph and oil pressure all on the same gauge page on the graph . I can get mph by gps but not on the page that has the gauges on it so that Kind of sucks having to go back and forth . May have to buy command link gauges to get what I want .

[skennedy]

One of the biggest thing I miss from my Mercury smart craft gauge was my fuel used info . If it said I used 12.7 gallons and went to refill my tanks back to full it was right on the money every time for the 8 years I owned the boat . Needled gauge info can never do that . If I made a 60 mile run tournament day I knew what I used to get there .

[SteveDyer]

I'm waiting on my new express. It will have a Helix 7 that is NMEA compatible. What additional equipment will I need to view the 200 SHO engine stats?

[phild]

I don't get it. Don't you guys have gauges on your boats that display all the necessary data?

I just picked up the Lowrance starter kit and NEMA cord for $170.00. All that data that will be on one screen on my Lowrance in the middle of the dash. Plus I don't have to buy $500 worth of gauges.

[friogatto]

My experience/review of Yamaha Gauges for the SHO. FYI The offshore version allows the latest digital display (6Y9) but the SHO is not compatible.

Have not been very happy with my Yamaha 6YC Gauge/Digital display.
RPM only shows 2 digits. Just writing this pisses me off. $1500 display for 2 digits?
Engine temp, Water pressure, oil pressure, etc. are all shown as a bar. Numbers are not available even though it's called a DIGITAL gauge. Voltage, Speed, Fuel ECON mpg and FLOW gph show as a number. Why don't the rest?

I was hoping to get more accurate information by using a NMEA network to Humminbird. I did hours of research. I was specifically looking for water pressure as a digital number readout (jackplate). Multiple calls to Humminbird and Yamaha. No one could give me any straight answers. Seemed like it was a try it and see what happens. How do you not know what information your system will display?

Current setup
2016 250 Yamaha SHO
6YC Digital Display gauge
Yamaha NMEA gateway
NMEA backbone
Humminbird NMEA gateway
Humminbird Ethernet HUB
Humminbird 898
Humminbird 999

I get little to no information on the Humminbirds. As stated above it just shows RPM and engine temp or something similar. Again I made several calls to Humminbird and they said it will display what it sees, they could not confirm anything. Yamaha says the engine info is available through the gateway but again could not confirm compatibility.

For those interested in using your Humminbird for an Engine Gauge, on my setup it loads the Engine Screen but makes the Fishfinder completely useless. On my setup, No Split Screens, no readout boxes. On my setup Humminbird either shows NMEA information or Humminbird information, but does not allow both or a mix or either.

I think the old style square Yamaha Command Link gauges gave a digital number readout but the newer round gauges and digital displays use bars. Yamaha must think we are to dumb to understand numbers so they put in an idiot bar. At least give us the option to display numbers!

I repowered from a 2006 Optimax with a $200 SC1000 smartcraft display. That little display provided better/more accurate information than $5000 worth of Yamaha, Humminbird, NMEA equipment.

At some point I will need to upgrade my HB units, hoping they will be more compatible in the future.

[friogatto]

To answer the OP's questions

Humminbird requires

$160 AS ETH NMEA2K also called Humminbird NMEA 2K Black Box.

Best Yamaha rigging resource I have found: http://yamahaoutboards.com/catalog/2017/MRP/
Depending on your Yamaha gauge set/configuration.

$225 Yamaha NMEA 2K Gateway Part # 6Y9-8A2D0-40-00KIT

$200 Garmin NMEA Backbone starter kit with any additional terminals needed.

[phild]

My Yamaha NMEA was $89.00 off Amazon and $59.99 for the kit at Bass pro

Part #s 120-37 & LOW-000-0124-69

Hooked up easily to my HDS5

Humminbird is more expensive I guess - I thought there was an adapter that was cheaper; Jethro1 would know. He helped me.

[walnutshoe]

I replaced my analog tack with Lowrance LMS400 in the dash. Added NMEA backbone and the Yamaha interface cable. The gage shows all the ECU data off the SHO in digital format.
Pulled the old needle water PSI and put a jackplate height gage in that hole. I get eng temp, rpm, oil pressure, water psi, fuel burn, gps speed, bat voltage, hours, etc without putting any more holes in the dash or swapping / upgrading sonar boxes.
A cheap touch tablet and a little code writing would eliminate swiss cheesing the dashes and cut way down on wiring / rigging time IMHO. Any info the ECU monitors / records can be displayed thru a single cable and one power wire.

[jrbritt]

WELL it seems to me it would be easier to sell the hummingbird. and by any size lowrance unit. I get almost everything on one display page.... TRIM GAUGE, FUEL TANK LEVELS, RPM, GPS, BATTERY VOLTS, OIL PRESSURE , WATER PRESSURE, ENGINE TEMP, SO SELL THE DAM HUMMINGBIRD. AND BUY A LOWRANCE..

[FerstlerSlim]

Apologies to OP but....

I have a Yamaha SHO 250, HDS7 and i just purchased the Lowrance 120-37 cable.

Do i also need to purchase the NMEA 2000 starter kit? (I'm just looking for oil pressure, water pressure, engine temp)

Dave

[MKHeisenberg]

I have a helix 10 and a 250 sho linked all I could get was rpms and engine temp . Was relay hoping for mph and oil pressure all on the same gauge page on the graph . I can get mph by gps but not on the page that has the gauges on it so that Kind of sucks having to go back and forth . May have to buy command link gauges to get what I want .

Skennedy this is exactly my experience! I have researched this extensively. I have a 2012 Yamaha SHO VF250LA and a Helix G2. Got the backbone kit, 'black box' adapter, engine interface cable, and water pressure sending unit from Yamaha. I got it all working...but can ONLY GET RPM's and ENGINE TEMP 1 which makes me think it is 100% a software/coding issue since some data is coming through. I've written and called Humminbird, and they've essentially said they haven't heard of the issue widespread but would 'forward it on' to the legacy units team. Really stinks for them to advertise NMEA and get their kit, black box, unit, and it not to work...when I can literally plug it into an off the shelf Garmin and Lowrance and get the data.

[MKHeisenberg]

My Yamaha NMEA was $89.00 off Amazon and $59.99 for the kit at Bass pro

Part #s 120-37 & LOW-000-0124-69

Hooked up easily to my HDS5

Humminbird is more expensive I guess - I thought there was an adapter that was cheaper; Jethro1 would know. He helped me.

Your HDS5 shows all the NMEA data from Yamaha SHO? For some reason I've read only the HDS7 had NMEA capability-