Etec digital gauge questions

[basshole51]

Hey all,

looking at a boat that has a 2015 115HP Etec on it. (Ranger RT188). The boat only has an RPM gauge. Is there a system available for this motor that is similar to the Mercury Smart Craft? (One gauge that shows PSI, engine temp, engine hours, alarms, etc)

If so what is a very rough cost of these?

thanks!

[Evinrude57]

Yes, It is called ICON Pro.

Installation can be difficult if you do not have any experience wiring up these gauges.

[basshole51]

Thank you. Sounds like something a dealer would possible add? Are Etec motors able to link to electronics like a Lowrance Elite TI ?

[Bassmeister]

Yes sir.

[basshole51]

Yes sir.

Thansk for the help...searching Icon Pro allowed me to do a little more research and see that it is all via NMEA 2000 which I am familiar with.

[JR19]

Actually this is my winter project for my boat. I bought a new I COMMAND gauge several months ago at a close out price so I ended up getting it as a good deal. I have been doing a lot of research and as soon as the holidays are over I am going to install my gauge. From what I have learned you can display info from your 2015 E-TECH to an I COMMAND, I CON or any GPS/sonar that has a NMEA port and capable of displaying motor functions. Mercury Smartcraft runs on CAN not NMEA so it's a different way of delivery to their smart gauge. Evinrude, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda all have gauges that are "digital smart gauges" you just have to buy the brand associated with your motor and that will be I COMMAND or ICON. Plus Evinrude, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda has the NMEA cable so you can also hook to GPS/sonar as long as your GPS/sonar will support motor function via NMEA.

If going with I COMMAND you will need a interface cable to hook to the NMEA network. You install the interface cable on the motor side. It has a 15' cable you run to the I COMMAND NMEA cable. There is another wire coming off the I COMMAND gauge. Inside that wire is 4 small wires. Two of the wires hook to the warning horn that's already installed on your boat. It's the horn that beeps when you turn the key on. The other two wires are backlight wires for the I COMMAND gauge. I am removing my speedometer to put in my I COMMAND gauge so I will just use the backlight + and - wires from my speedometer to get light to my I COMMAND gauge.

Then you also need a NMEA power supply. It's best to buy a NMEA starter kit because you get a NMEA power supply in the kit plus you get resistors, extension cables and T's. The starter kit only cost a few more $ than the power supply but you get a lot of parts with the starter kit whereas with the power supply all you get is the power supply. Anyways the power supply for the NMEA network needs to get power only when the key is on. This will be purple for + and black for -

I know it sounds complicated but if you have basic to medium electrical skills I think you can install one yourself. So far all I have done is read up on what needs to be done. It's easy for me to say I think it's not that hard and I might be wrong when I get to installing mine but I am going to give it a try. I am not a boat mechanic but my job ( industrial maintenance ) requires me to often deal with electricity and electrical components so I think installing an I COMMAND will be something I can do. Here is a picture of the gauge I am going to install plus some helpful/educational links about I COMMAND and how NEMA works...


http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref.../NMEA2000.html

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...plementRev.pdf

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...lation2010.pdf

http://www.operatorsguides.brp.com/O.../355917_EN.pdf

[basshole51]

Thanks Gene!

[Evinrude57]

I-Command has been discontinued recently so parts may still be available.

If you already have a NMEA 2000 network in the boat then to correctly install everything you will need a power blocking T, multiple power nodes, and at the same time paying attention not to create any ground loops.

Also will need install a trim shunt to get the trim to show up on the digital gauge.

Not the most simple NMEA 2000 install for someone without experience.

[basshole51]

On my previous boat I ran a NMEA 2000 system to connect my front graph (Lowrance 7 HDI) and console graph (Elite 7TI) SO I have the NMEA 2000 backbone, power cord and two connectors for graphs....



From this image (found online) it appears I would only need the interface cable running from the motor to the NMEA 2000 backbone....is this correct? I already have the complete NMEA 2000 network shown below...

[Casslaw]

So while I haven’t commented I have been following this and what I’m reading on my little 2006 Etec 90 Im stuck with analog gauges correct?

[Evinrude57]

That image is provided by Lowrance in their Technical Information Guide and is not the Evinrude recommended procedure for using Evinrude digital gauges.

Evinrude recommends when using an Evinrude digital gauge that the NMEA 2000 network be powered by the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, that example powers it from a battery. The reason you do not want to wire it that way when using an Evinrude gauge is because the digital gauge would stay on all the time not just when the ignition is ON. This is where the power isolating T and multiple power nodes come in because there are sometimes NMEA 2000 communications that need to happens with the key off, so you want some stuff just to turn on with the key and some all the time and that equipment will allow that. But if your installing those items and dont know what your doing you could create a ground loop putting a lot of interference on the network which could make it unreliable.

Evinrude on the G1 engines requires at least 1 Evinrude gauge. The new Lowrance updates does not add 100% compatibility with the G1 engines so the Lowrance will not always show proper engine faults and warnings. So if you wanted to you could leave the systemscheck gauge in the boat and wire it up according to the diagram that way the analog gauge will show you your warnings and will have the Lowrance show you a lot of the digital information you are looking for.

[JR19]

So while I haven’t commented I have been following this and what I’m reading on my little 2006 Etec 90 Im stuck with analog gauges correct?

I don't know the technical answer to your question but I might be able to point you in the right direction. In this link http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref.../NMEA2000.html ....The first picture is a 3.3 liter motor with a NMEA port that has nothing hooked to it. It still has the plug in it. In picture #2 that is a 1.7 liter motor and the NMEA plug has been removed. Someone has installed a interface cable so they can display info on either a smart gauge or GPS/sonar that is capable of displaying motor data. In picture #3 it is a 1.3 liter motor with the plug still in the NMEA port...Forgive my ignorance but I am not 100% positive but I am pretty sure your motor has a computer. Locate the computer and see if it has a NMEA cable coming from the computer like whats in the three pictures. If yes, then you can hook up a smart gauge or a GPS/sonar that is capable of displaying data. Sorry I know that does not answer your question but it will give you something to look for.

That image is provided by Lowrance in their Technical Information Guide and is not the Evinrude recommended procedure for using Evinrude digital gauges.

Evinrude recommends when using an Evinrude digital gauge that the NMEA 2000 network be powered by the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, that example powers it from a battery. The reason you do not want to wire it that way when using an Evinrude gauge is because the digital gauge would stay on all the time not just when the ignition is ON.

Excellent advice...somewhere along the line when I was doing my research I found it showing to get power via the battery but installing a toggle switch to cut power when not in use. If doing it that way you would have to flip a switch for your gauge to come on. In theory it would work that way but you have created an extra step. Then I found information that says to install it the way you described (power at ignition) and for the reason you described (only hot when key is on). That is why in my reply on post #6 I said to get power from the purple wire because it is only hot when the key is on. Look at the gauge I posted in reply #6. There is no on/off button. It's just like my system check tach. When it has power it is instantly on, hence the reason you want it to only have power when the key is on.

[tdt91]

That image is provided by Lowrance in their Technical Information Guide and is not the Evinrude recommended procedure for using Evinrude digital gauges.

Evinrude recommends when using an Evinrude digital gauge that the NMEA 2000 network be powered by the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, that example powers it from a battery. The reason you do not want to wire it that way when using an Evinrude gauge is because the digital gauge would stay on all the time not just when the ignition is ON. This is where the power isolating T and multiple power nodes come in because there are sometimes NMEA 2000 communications that need to happens with the key off, so you want some stuff just to turn on with the key and some all the time and that equipment will allow that. But if your installing those items and dont know what your doing you could create a ground loop putting a lot of interference on the network which could make it unreliable.

Evinrude on the G1 engines requires at least 1 Evinrude gauge. The new Lowrance updates will not work with the G1 engines so the Lowrance will not always show proper engine faults and warnings. So if you wanted to you could leave the systemscheck gauge in the boat and wire it up according to the diagram that way the analog gauge will show you your warnings and will have the Lowrance show you a lot of the digital information you are looking for.

I'm running a G1 with NEMA to two Lowrance HDS units. One is a Gen2T and the other is a G3T. They have never been updated but I was planning on doing that soon. Are you saying I should not update them? I still use the Systemcheck and the Lowrance is just to get the other infor like engine hours, temp, WP, etc. Will the Lowrance updates screw that up for me?
One more thing, we tried getting the trim to work correctly on the Lowrance but could not, is there something special I need to do for the trim to work correctly when viewing on the Lowrance?

Sorry for the Hi-jack!

[Evinrude57]

I'm running a G1 with NEMA to two Lowrance HDS units. One is a Gen2T and the other is a G3T. They have never been updated but I was planning on doing that soon. Are you saying I should not update them? I still use the Systemcheck and the Lowrance is just to get the other infor like engine hours, temp, WP, etc. Will the Lowrance updates screw that up for me?
One more thing, we tried getting the trim to work correctly on the Lowrance but could not, is there something special I need to do for the trim to work correctly when viewing on the Lowrance?

Sorry for the Hi-jack!

No, just meant that the Evinrude compatibility added to the 18.2 update is only for G2s, G1s will still act exactly the same as they always have which is mostly compatible.

Yes, although you have to choose analog or digital trim gauge and cannot have both.

This is the process Evinrude provides to convert it to digital so it will show up on the Lowrance or any other NMEA gauge. NOTE: This is only for V-4 and V-6 engines, i dont believe it will work on inlines.

Another thing to note is there is a special crimping tool to attach those sockets to the wires, may be difficult to attach the terminals without it.

[Casslaw]

Thank You, and my apologies to the OP for stepping in.

I know my motor has the plug you speak of because, when I bought it, I took it to an authorized Evinrude dealer and they hooked the diagnostic computer to the engine and printed out a lot of info including the 1 time an alarm went off, total hours, it was very informative and made me secure that I made a good purchase.

[basshole51]

glad a wealth of knowledge is being spread on this forum! All the above is helping me learn more about boats/motors/electronics!

[basshole51]

That image is provided by Lowrance in their Technical Information Guide and is not the Evinrude recommended procedure for using Evinrude digital gauges.

Evinrude recommends when using an Evinrude digital gauge that the NMEA 2000 network be powered by the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, that example powers it from a battery. The reason you do not want to wire it that way when using an Evinrude gauge is because the digital gauge would stay on all the time not just when the ignition is ON. This is where the power isolating T and multiple power nodes come in because there are sometimes NMEA 2000 communications that need to happens with the key off, so you want some stuff just to turn on with the key and some all the time and that equipment will allow that. But if your installing those items and dont know what your doing you could create a ground loop putting a lot of interference on the network which could make it unreliable.

Evinrude on the G1 engines requires at least 1 Evinrude gauge. The new Lowrance updates does not add 100% compatibility with the G1 engines so the Lowrance will not always show proper engine faults and warnings. So if you wanted to you could leave the systemscheck gauge in the boat and wire it up according to the diagram that way the analog gauge will show you your warnings and will have the Lowrance show you a lot of the digital information you are looking for.

So if I wasn't to run an Evinrude Digiital Gauge and just run the NMEA 2000 network from motor to NMEA backbone as pictured in the diagram I shared I would still be able to view engine information on my Lowrance at console as it is tied into the NMEA 2000 network?

[Evinrude57]

So if I wasn't to run an Evinrude Digiital Gauge and just run the NMEA 2000 network from motor to NMEA backbone as pictured in the diagram I shared I would still be able to view engine information on my Lowrance at console as it is tied into the NMEA 2000 network?

Yes, just need to make sure you keep the analog gauge for engine faults and warnings.

[Evinrude57]

I know my motor has the plug you speak of because, when I bought it, I took it to an authorized Evinrude dealer and they hooked the diagnostic computer to the engine and printed out a lot of info including the 1 time an alarm went off, total hours, it was very informative and made me secure that I made a good purchase.

These are 2 different plugs, the diagnostic plug to hook a laptop up to is a triangular 3 wire serial connection, the NMEA plug is a flat 4 wires CANbus connection, they are not interchangable.

[basshole51]

Yes, just need to make sure you keep the analog gauge for engine faults and warnings.

I believe the boat I am looking at only has RPM, Trim and Fuel Level....(there for the warnings/faults will only be through beeps correct?) .....the warnings will not show on the Lowrance.


this is off topic but I just learned Evinrudes can self winterize...do I need the Evinrude digital gauges to do this as well ?

I appreciate all the help so far!