NMEA 2000 to Garmin

[tbirdkidd]

I was wondering if I can receive the engine hours on my Garmin 740s that I have connected to the NMEA 2000 network. I have 2004 Suzuki 140hp twin motors and just got it up and running. I do get other data like temps., oil pressure, fuel economy and mpg, but cant find the option for the engine hours.

Thanks

[Harper]

This is from memory, which at my age isn't all that reliable. But I think you go to configuration, then to communications, then to NMEA 2000 devices. One of the devices will be your Suzuki engine. Highlight that and select. There will be displayed the software version of your engine interface, and some other info, plus the engine hours.

If that doesn't work, let me know, and I'll run my 546s through the procedure and repost it correctly.

[tbirdkidd]

Thanks Mike, I will try it today and let you know.

[tbirdkidd]

This is from memory, which at my age isn't all that reliable. But I think you go to configuration, then to communications, then to NMEA 2000 devices. One of the devices will be your Suzuki engine. Highlight that and select. There will be displayed the software version of your engine interface, and some other info, plus the engine hours.

If that doesn't work, let me know, and I'll run my 546s through the procedure and repost it correctly.

Mike,
I followed your directions and there it was just as you explained. I can't thank you enough this procedure is not in the manual. I also understand the oil pressure and oil temp. along with the fuel pressure and boost are available. Currently I am only getting readouts for RPMs, fuel usage, engine temps, voltage and MPH. There is a screen for the others but no data is displayed. Would you have any insight for this.

[Harper]

The Suzuki engines do not support anything other than what you are getting. It's not a Garmin thing, it's a Suzuki thing. There is no oil pressure, water pressure, boost pressure or oil temp available through the engine interface. Suzuki's ECMs just don't send that info. You should be able to get engine trim in addition to those you mentioned. And my guess is that you're getting MPH via you 740's GPS, since the motor is not sending that info, either. Those that you have, plus trim are the only things that Suzuki supports.

[Moonlighter]

Mike is on the money, as usual!

A note re the trim data: if you currently have an analogue trim gauge on the boat that is working, you will either have to disconnect the trim plug at the motor and connect the interface to it instead, or piggy-back the wiring and make a extra connection thru to the interface cable. In this regard, you should find a separate 2 pin ((I think) plug on the interface cable and this is the connector for the trim data.

Once connected to the network you have to calibrate it, I believe. Refer to Suzuki SMIS interface manual for how to, its not hard.

You should also be able to select and display mpg data once the GPS is locked onto satellites. This is a calculation done by the Garmin using GPs speed data from the 740 and engine fuel flow datavfrom the Suzuki interface.

Cheers

Grant

[tbirdkidd]

The Suzuki engines do not support anything other than what you are getting. It's not a Garmin thing, it's a Suzuki thing. There is no oil pressure, water pressure, boost pressure or oil temp available through the engine interface. Suzuki's ECMs just don't send that info. You should be able to get engine trim in addition to those you mentioned. And my guess is that you're getting MPH via you 740's GPS, since the motor is not sending that info, either. Those that you have, plus trim are the only things that Suzuki supports.

Thanks again Mike,
Just one more question, my number 1 engine reads out the proper gph at about 5 doing 20 mph but engine 2 is reading 50+ gph which I am sure is not right. I do get fuel used and the readout seems to be accurate, but the fuel tank gauge on the Garmin reads empty at all times. Is there a way to configure this problem?

[Harper]

Well now, there's the rub. I had (and am still working on correcting) a fuel flow calibration issue with my DF150, and unfortunately there is no way for you to calibrate it with a Garmin unit. I bought a Suzuki SMIS 4" multi-function gauge, just to be able to do the necessary calibrations. You will have to do the same, or borrow one or a Lowrance HDS unit in order to perform the calibrations. Lowrance also has an HDS emulator program for your computer, and you could do the calibrations with that, but it also involves the purchase of a USB/NMEA 2000 gateway, also not a cheap solution.

Concerning your Garmin showing an empty fuel tank, have you told it that you filled the tank, or added x number of gallons? If you have done that, then you seem to be defaulted in the NMEA 2000 system to read fuel remaining by fuel tank level instead of fuel usage. That might not be clear, but there are two ways for an NMEA 2000 unit to read fuel remaining....1) via an NMEA 2000 sensor that reads the fuel amount in the tank, as a float valve would, and 2) by monitoring fuel flow as presented by the ECM via the engine interface, then using fuel flow to calculate fuel remaining. With the SMIS gauge, I can select how the gauge or the Garmin reads fuel remaining. But again I know of no way to select by which means your Garmin reads it within the Garmin unit itself. Again, that will require a Lowrance unit.

It all boils down to this....the Garmin will read whatever the engine interface or any other sensor will send it. But the interface and the sensors that are most readily available are made by Lowrance, not only for Suzuki, but for many outboard manufacturers, and it takes some instrument or gauge made by Lowrance to perform the necessary calibrations.

That, in a nutshell, is why I bought the Suzuki 4" SMIS Multi-function Gauge. Really, I bought it just to calibrate my fuel flow. Once the calibrations are done, the SMIS gauge and the Garmin read exactly the same information and become redundant. The Suzuki SMIS gauge, by the way, is a Lowrance LMF-400 with the Suzuki badge on it. And yes, had I known all this 5 years ago when I got into boating, I would have likely outfitted my new boat with Lowrance instead of Garmin.

If you think you might want to lay out a few bucks to get a Lowrance unit that can perform the calibrations, the cheapest alternative that I know of (the 2" multi-function gauge) from the cheapest Suzuki parts retailer that I know of, is right here Search: 990C0-88150 | Performance Product Technologies ....$160 plus shipping.

[Moonlighter]

Thanks again Mike,
Just one more question, my number 1 engine reads out the proper gph at about 5 doing 20 mph but engine 2 is reading 50+ gph which I am sure is not right. I do get fuel used and the readout seems to be accurate, but the fuel tank gauge on the Garmin reads empty at all times. Is there a way to configure this problem?

As Mike says, there seem to be 2 separate issues at play in what you have said there.

One is that fuel flow on #2 engine is showing a figure that is obviously wrong, and the second issue is the fuel tank levels.

On the first issue, we have found that the latest Suzuki engine interface cables that have software version 2.7.0 cause a big error in fuel flow on all but the latest 2013 and later model year engines. So this could be one possible reason for your crazy wrong fuel flow data from #2 engine.

But it seems unusual that there would be different interface cable software between engines #1 and 2, unless of course you have recently replaced a cable, or, if you bought the cables recently, they supplied one out of old stock and one out of current stock. So it is possible.

I know that you can check the software version on the interface cables on a SMIS gauge or on a lowrance HDS unit very easily. Just go into the network devices menu, open the Suzuki devices one at a time, and the software version is listed. I dont know if you can check this via your Garmin screen - Mike will be able to advise if there is a way.

If you find that engine #2 interface is running Version 2.7.0, then that is most likely the reason for the fuel flow data error. Can be fixed by uploading Software Version 2.5.0 or 2.30, but you can only do that by temporarily connecting a Lowrance HDS unit to your network, copying the software file to a Sd card and uploading it via the HDS. Or by getting the HDS emulator and cable as Mike mentioned. Or by taking the boat back to your local Suzuki dealer and asking them to do it via their laptop using the emulator.

Hope that helps.

[tbirdkidd]

As Mike says, there seem to be 2 separate issues at play in what you have said there.

One is that fuel flow on #2 engine is showing a figure that is obviously wrong, and the second issue is the fuel tank levels.

On the first issue, we have found that the latest Suzuki engine interface cables that have software version 2.7.0 cause a big error in fuel flow on all but the latest 2013 and later model year engines. So this could be one possible reason for your crazy wrong fuel flow data from #2 engine.

But it seems unusual that there would be different interface cable software between engines #1 and 2, unless of course you have recently replaced a cable, or, if you bought the cables recently, they supplied one out of old stock and one out of current stock. So it is possible.

I know that you can check the software version on the interface cables on a SMIS gauge or on a lowrance HDS unit very easily. Just go into the network devices menu, open the Suzuki devices one at a time, and the software version is listed. I dont know if you can check this via your Garmin screen - Mike will be able to advise if there is a way.

If you find that engine #2 interface is running Version 2.7.0, then that is most likely the reason for the fuel flow data error. Can be fixed by uploading Software Version 2.5.0 or 2.30, but you can only do that by temporarily connecting a Lowrance HDS unit to your network, copying the software file to a Sd card and uploading it via the HDS. Or by getting the HDS emulator and cable as Mike mentioned. Or by taking the boat back to your local Suzuki dealer and asking them to do it via their laptop using the emulator.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the replies and information this site is awesome and you guys are very knowledgeable. This really helped and cleared up all my issues.

Tbirdkidd

[Moonlighter]

So it was a 2.7.0 software issue?

[bill2452]

Are all NEMA 2000 systems the same?

I did a search and figured this would be as good a thread as any to maybe find an answer. I now have a Lowrance HDS7 with the NEMA 2000 network from my Suzuki 175 input to the unit. The Lowrance has started to act up and I'm thinking about switching to Garmin. If I make the switch, will it be a plug and play? Is NEMA 2000 generic? Thanks for any help.
Bill

[Moonlighter]

It will be plug and play to a large extent. You will need to set up gauges to your preferences as you would expect.

What you lose is the ability to calibrate fuel flow or configure the Suzuki interface. Only Lowrance/Simrad devices can do that.

Otherwise all engine data and fuel data will be available on a Garmin display.

[bill2452]

Thanks for the reply Moonlighter. Also, thanks for all your effort on the NMEA 2000 network information.
Bill

[Moonlighter]

Hi Bill

No problems!

Not sure what problems you are having with the HDS7, but often it can be software or operating system related.

Try doing a "soft reset"! It usually sorts out wierd behaviour such as disapperaing menu options and slow response times. It basically just reboots the software. I forget the exact procedure but if you go to Lowrance website and do a search for soft reset HdS7 it will tell you what to do.