suzuki SMIS gauge problem

[straycatboat]

I have dual 250 Suzuki 250df 2008 with smis gauges.
starboard has always intermittently had a problem with reading info from engine, but if I turned both off and back on , sometimes a couple of times, then the starboard would read engine info again.
Now the starboard does not read any info.
I have tried switching input to the gauges and I can read starboard info now on the port gauge.
Seems like the starboard gauge is toast.
I checked all wiring and that seems OK.
Just get ------- where Rpm should be.
Any suggestions?/

straycat

[Moonlighter]

My suggestions to Straycat as follows:


From what you have done, by switching the starboard engine data to the other smis gauge, you have basically proven that the starboard engine interface cable is working fine, along with the network wiring in general.

My thinking then, is that only leaves a couple of things that could be wrong:

1. The T piece connecting the starboard SMIS to the network could have gone bad or have a bad connection - try swapping T pieces between the SMIS gauges and see what happens. Clean all contacts. They do occasionally go bad. I have even had one that was brand new that was bad!

2. The starboard SMIS gauge is faulty. You can try a reboot of that gauge to see if that fixes it. But if it doesnt, then it seems that the starboard SMIS could be, well, stuffed!

Did you try to show the port engine data on the starboard SMIS? If it wont work, it would add weight to the idea that the above diagnosis is correct.

Rebooting the SMIS gauge
Here's how the Lowrance website says to do a hard reset on the LMF-400 (It would be nice if they had included this procedure in the manual that came with the gauge):

LMF 400 Reset
1. Turn Unit off
2. Press and hold the DOWN button
3. Turn unit on (activate power to NMEA network or connect unit to operating network)
4. Release DOWN Button after Test screen appears.
5. Turn unit off (disconnect power to NMEA 2000 network or remove unit from network)

This reset will wipe out anything you've done to configure your gauge, custom pages, contrast, backlighting, etc. and defaults it all back to the original settings.

If that doesnt fix it, apart from calling lowrance customer support and asking their help, i think the gauge will have to be replaced. Remember, the 4" SMIS is just a rebadged Lowrance LMF400.

Oh, there is one more final option:

You could update the SMIS software to the current version. But that brings the very real risk that conflicts could be created between the older engine interface software and the new SMIS software. So this would be a last resort option. To do it you would need a Lowrance head unit that takes a SD card attached, temporarily, to the network. The updated SMIS software is available from Lowrance customer support or their website. Or you could take the gauge out, give it to your local Suzuki dealer, and ask them to update it for you. Might actually be easier to do that!

Cheers

[straycatboat]

I'll try these suggestions tomorrow.
Thanks for your help.!!

[straycatboat]

Ok,
first... I swapped the starboard and port input to the tee's and still no reading on the starboard gauge.
then, did the reboot:
This some how caused both gauges to go to boat setup screen, ( the port gauge still works),

After exiting out of the boatsetup screen I came upon a page that said "Keyboard test"
I ran thru the menu on that and found my version is v 1.50 6/11/2008
I did the "CAN loopback test" (whatever that is ) and it said ..FAILED
I did the "Piezo test" and the alarm rang continuously.

Any ideas to what is broke?
straycat

[Moonlighter]

Hmmmm, nope, that is too technical for me. Suggest a call to Lowrance support is your best chance. Fair change the gauge is cactus......

[Harper]

I don't know the answer to your problem. But I am wondering....why are you running two separate SMIS gauges, instead of reading the dual engine setup on a single gauge? And that begs the question... are you running both gauges off a single backbone, or each on its own backbone? And could the answer to these questions possibly shed some light on a solution to the problem?

[straycatboat]

Ok,
So I called browns marine and the guy there is really knowledgeable on this subject.
he said to disconnect at the backbone the port engine cable.
then do a bus scan for the starboard engine.
I did not find starboard, it did not recognize the engine, said nothing on bus.
So ,
I proceeded to remove/unzip tie the interface starboard cable to buy a new one as he said this is defective.
Then all of a sudden the starboard gauge now reads properly.
Seems like it has a bad connection somewhere in the harness.
Working now.
Does any one know where I can buy an older interface cable with V1.5 software and blue 5 pin connectors.????
Seems like the new ones won't fit the backbone and the 2.5-2.7 version software won't work with my V1.5 software gauges.

[Moonlighter]

If you need to replace the interface cable, ask Brownspoint to supply to one with version 2.5.0 installed, it should work fine with your engines. (See my thread in this forum recently where I noted the advice from Suzuki here in Australia about getting the right software version for your engine year). George from Brownspoint should, if Suzuki in the USA are on the ball, be aware of this!

You will just need to get a "red to blue" adapter cable so you can connect the new version interface cable to your old blue T pieces. George will know the right one to give you.

If v 2.5.0 doesn't work, then 2.30 will. The main difference is that V2.30 has to be manually configured, and you can do that on your SMIS gauges once you have it installed, whereas the V 2.5.0 self-detects and you dont have to configure it.

Are you sure the interface cable is the problem? It might be a drop cable or T piece, or just a dirty or loose connection? The connection i would look at first is the one in the engine bay where the interface connects to the SDS port, every chance there could be a loose or corroded wire in the interface plug. The pins in those white plugs pull out from the back, there is a tiny tab inside that you lift from the front under the pin, (i use a tiny optometrists screwdriver) then the cable simply pulls out from the back, and you can inspect, fix and re-inset the pin again into the same slot.

I do have a few of the blue T pieces (unused) sitting in my cupboard you can have, but mailing them to the USA might be a bit costly!

[straycatboat]

Really not sure where connection problem is, but I checked it at the CPU on engine, looks like new, checked the connection under dash all looks new, no corrosion,
The interface cable was coiled up under dash and when I uncoiled it to get ready to remove I noticed the gauge reading.
As I said earlier ,during the last year it has become an intermittent issue, but by turning of and on the engines sometimes a few times , it would finally read the engine data.
Not sure , but the interface cable seems suspect.
Straycat